Day 22

High West

Cask Strength Straight Whiskeys Blend

Style: Blend of Straight Bourbon and Straight Rye whiskeys

Mashbills: Undiscloded bourbon and rye mash bills

Aged: Blend of barrels aged 6-10 Years

Proof: 119.6

Cost: $64.99

Why I chose it: One of my favorite new bottles this year was a High West cask strength bourbon finished in Barbados rum. If I had run across more of that, I would have included those, but I was able to find these similar guys. Additionally, I thought it was fun to learn this is a mix of straight bourbon and ryes, which we haven't had yet. It's likely quite similar to their distillery special release "Bourye". For what this lacks in exclusivity, it makes up in value (being ~half price). High West didn't start releasing cask-strength bottles until 2023. I'm curious if some people were turned off by their lack of heat with their earlier experiences (if they didn't care for them). Will this bottle make a believer out of you? Well at least you'll have another data point to look back on the next time you see this somewhat accessible bottle on shelves.

Distiller's page: https://highwest.com/products/cask-strength-bourbon