Still Austin is an artisan distillery in Texas that has impressed me with the quality of their whiskey. I have tried several of their products and liked what I tasted. Their products are still young – only two year old whiskey in the bottles I have tasted so far, but it is good, well-made whiskey that will get even better with age. I have a bottle of a limited release cask strength Bourbon. I sat down with Matt to taste this bottle and here are our tasting notes.
Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon
Proof: 118
Age: Two Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: An interesting nose with a lot of spearmint and maybe a little pine with vanilla and sweet oak.
- Matt: Vanilla and spearmint with a little evergreen tree sap.
Taste:
- Mike: Very minty with caramel and a lot of pepper spice. Tasted with a dried cranberry and there is less mint and more vanilla with a note of citrus fruit. Tasted with a pecan and apple and cherry fruit notes come out and the pepper spice is reduced.
- Matt: Caramel and mint with notes of pine. The dried cranberry brought out sweet oak wood and a little sour cherry fruit. The pecan brought out apple fruit notes to join the oak and pine wood flavors.
Nose:
- Mike: Very spicy with oak and black pepper. The dried cranberry made the finish shorter, sweeter and less spicy. The pecan enhanced the oak making it dry with black pepper and some lingering fruit notes.
- Matt: Long and minty with oak wood and hint of wasabi spice. The dried cranberry added a hint of cherry wood smoke to the finish. The pecan made the spice white pepper and less minty.
I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that has a lot of earthy tobacco notes in the smoke. I would reach for a Rocky Patel Decades or a Nub Habano wrapper. I think the mint and the spice of the bourbon would pair best with tobacco earthiness and vanilla notes in the smoke.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller