Locke & Co. is a Colorado based distillery founded by Owen Locke and Rick Talley in 2010 with a 23 gallon still. They age their whiskey in new 30 gallon barrels for two years and finish the whiskey by dropping in hand cut discs of Aspen wood and age it for another eight months. They sent me some sample bottles a few weeks ago and Matt and I sat down to taste them. Here are our tasting notes.
Locke & Co. Aspen Aged Rye
Proof: 90
Age: Two Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, pine and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, apricots, pine needles and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, citrus, pine and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla is enhanced and a raspberry note comes out. Tasted with a pecan and the pine and citrus are enhanced.
- Matt: Rye grass, vanilla, apricots, pine and oak wood. The dried cranberry took the fruit out of the taste and added black pepper. The pecan added some caramel and black pepper to the taste.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood and pine. The dried cranberry made the finish long and a bit astringent with oak and pine. The pecan made the finish very long with oak and lots of pine.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood and pine needles. The dried cranberry added pepper spice to the finish. The pecan made the finish very long with oak, pine and black pepper.
Locke & Co. Big Catch Bourbon
Proof: 95
Age: Two Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, pine, a hint of fruit and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, citrus, cherries and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, apricots, baking spices, pine and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the pine note. The pecan enhanced the vanilla and oak, but reduced the pine note.
- Matt: Caramel, burnt peanuts, cayenne pepper and oak wood. The dried cranberry added some raisin fruit to the flavor. The pecan enhanced the peanut flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, pine resin and cinnamon spice. The dried cranberry made the finish very long with lots of pine resin. The pecan made the finish very long with oak wood and vanilla.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and cayenne pepper. The dried cranberry made the finish dry with lots of oak wood and a hint of cayenne pepper. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak and peanuts.
I would pair these whiskeys with a cigar that has a lot of cedar spice. I would each for a NUB Habano cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller