Review #240: Alvin Langston SiB 5yr Wheated Bourbon

Review #240: Alvin Langston Single Barrel Cask Strength 5yr Wheated Bourbon

MASH BILL: 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% malted barley (MGP distillate)

AGE: 5 years

PROOF: 117.4

COST: $50 for 750mL bottle

Alvin Langston is a NDP in South Carolina named after the grandfather of one of the three founding partners. They are primarily known for their Contrary Cow Chocolate Whiskey, but they have a very respectable private barrel program. They source most of their whiskey from Kentucky and Indiana, and I have it on good authority that this particular bottled features MGP's standard wheat whiskey. It’s not uncommon to find 5-7 year-old Alvin Langston rye whiskey and bourbon, they even have a 10 year old bourbon and a 20 year old light whiskey, but I have never seen a wheated bourbon with their label. So, lets see how this 5 year old wheated bourbon tastes!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Tawny color (1.4), oily looking with slow, fat legs.

NOSE: Sweet with demerara simple syrup, sweet oak, and torched orange peel. Some lighter notes that dance around including vanilla, coconut, and chocolate. A slightly dirty, earthy baking spice note. With a big inhale, that toasted orange peel note morphs into more of an orange extract.

PALATE: A nice creamy mouthfeel as it washes over the palate. Burnt brown sugar, cocoa powder, and a light cherry note hit me at first. My mouth prickles as a nice baking spice builds in. The earthy undertone that persists from the nose appears more woody now with seasoned oak and a touch of barrel char. With a good chew I get a cherry/berry/vanilla compote that comes to the forefront (love this part of the sip). A light orange citrus is married to the baking spice.

FINISH: This has a long, sweet finish overall. Caramel, dried wheat earthiness, chocolate orange, and a hint of cinnamon. The cherry note from earlier occasionally raises it’s head, but mostly tannic oak late in the finish after the sweeter notes die off. An earthy mix of oak, dried grain, and cinnamon with a touch of burnt brown sugar bring this to a close.

RATING: 6.4/10

OVERALL: It has some wonderful sweet notes that I would expect to find in a wheated bourbon, but there was a bit of astringency that carried throughout the sip. It wasn’t hateful, but enough that it made me think it might mostly be due to a cask strength at 5 years old. I think a couple more years or just slightly proofing it down to say 110 might have helped cut it some. When I add just a couple drops of water, it cuts the astringency as well as that sort of earthy, grainy note and brings out a lot more caramel. Overall, it has great sweet flavors that you would expect from a wheated bourbon, but I do find that I prefer to sip it with a dash of water versus neat to help cut some of the astringency and graininess (younger?) notes.

 

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings

 

Check out all my reviews: Woodgrain & Whiskey.