California Gold High Rye Batch #3

There is gold here alright!

DISTILLERY	San Diego Distillery
REGION	San Diego, California
AGE	NAS
STRENGTH	59.5% ABV (119 Proof)
MASHBILL	Not Stated
MSRP	$104.99

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GLANCE

Clear with a dark cherry wood hue. Deep intensity

NOSE

Clean with pronounced intensity. A lot going on here. Baking spices – nutmeg really popped out for me. I agree with Chris Chen with the pepper and eggy custard notes. On top there was cinnamon (but not fresh), and apple pie with hot fudge. I also picked up on savory notes (which reminded me of some Frey ranch picks), the savory notes made my palate water – maple wood smoked salmon. Dark smoked fruits but not jam like. Pancakes cooking and fresh dough. At times I would get pop of a medicinal note or cough syrup

PALATE

Dessert like definitely but not overly sweet. A high medium sweetness overall. The savory flavors help offset it. Mouth-filling and heavy texture (almost like plops down on your tongue). Pronounced flavor intensity. You start off with maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg spice throughout. Now the jam fruits (cherries, blueberries and strawberries). I got nice pops of cooked mango. Butter Texas toast / French toast. Some clove and Orange rind. The orange adding nice zestiness. The savory comes from BBQ sauce like flavor notes that hang around towards the back of the palate. Peppery tongue feel, as the liquid washes over.

FINISH

Medium in length and simple. You get the Kentucky hug, sweet oak and some baking spices. Felt drying at times. Not it’s forte here.

CLOSING REMARKS

More on California Gold – (https://punchdrink.com/articles/how-homemade-blend-california-gold-became-one-of-america-best-bourbon-whiskey/)

For me this is optimal bourbon flavor profile overall. I would have liked to tune up the zestiness and bright flavors more (felt a bit too dark and heavy at times). Finish was disappointing (not much going on here). Final comment, the price point is not great – I have gotten closer to this flavor profile with some ECBPS, Frey Ranch picks, couple 1792 full proof picks. But if the blend is that good, then it’s worth for some! Cheers