HF Gala : Summer 2024

The first official High Flight Gala was a success! Good food and top-notch bourbon! While we were missing some members due to other commitments, we had a wonderful evening. A HUGE thank you goes out to Mike and Susan. Thank you both for your hospitality and sharing your beautiful backyard with the club!!

For the Gala, we chose 3 top shelf bourbons (which we loosely defined by exceeding $100). We sampled these whiskeys in usual High Flight fashion, blind-tasting followed by scoring.

#1) Widow Jane Lucky 13 (Red Hook, NY) 46.5% / 93 proof / Aged 13 years /$120

Undisclosed mash bill.

HF Avg: 3.4

NOSE: Lots of cherry and caramel, with a hint of vanilla creamsicle. Some mention a strong nutty scent (think peanut butter) emerging at the end of the sniff. Very interesting and quite nice!

TASTE: The smell carries over into the taste - cherry, caramel, vanilla, and sugar. Underlying nuttiness persists. Very soft mouthfeel.

FINISH: Cherry and caramel fade into oak.

Lucky 13 is a very nice bourbon, like cherry pie in a glass. Not overly sweet, as the nutty/salty undertones provide balance to the sip. While an average score of 3.4 isn't a club high score, I think everyone really enjoyed this. We didn't see a single score below 3, which may be a club first?

#2) High West Bourye (Park City, UT) 46% / 92 proof / Aged min. 10 years /$125

Blend of bourbon and rye whiskeys. Uses 2 ryes (MGP and High West Ryes). The Bourbon portion is either sourced from MGP and/or another Kentucky distiller.

HF Avg: 3.38

NOSE: Sweet and spicy. Caramel, oak, vanilla notes are present (likely provided by the bourbon) while the rye brings the cinnamon and black pepper spice.

TASTE: Just like the nose, this whiskey is very balanced and full of nuance. The nose of vanilla and caramel expands to flavors of creme brulee and toffee. Notes of coriander and black pepper balance out the sweetness.

FINISH: Moderately long warm mouthfeel.

A unique-yet-balanced whiskey! I really enjoyed the duality of sweet and spicy. Unfortunately, much like the elusive jackalope, this whiskey is tricky to find! Distribution is limited, but hopefully this expands over time. If you can't find it online (and someone willing to ship), you'll have to swing by High West's saloon in downtown Park City. In the meantime, you can find many of High West's standard bourbon and ryes at your local store. I think the Rendevouz and Double-Rye are both quite tasty. #3) 2XO "Tribute Blend" (Kentucky)

58% / 104 proof / Likely aged 6+ years /$100

Undisclosed mash bill.

HF Avg: 3.43

NOSE: Oaky, vanilla sweet cream, baking spice, red berries.

TASTE: Freshly baked vanilla cookies with strawberry drizzle

FINISH: Long lingering baking spices with an underlying sweetness. Like cinnamon spiced eggnog.

2XO (two-times oaked) was started by Dixon Dedman, who brought his family's distillery, Kentucky Owl, back to life after being acquired by Stoli. This Tribute blend is a lovely bourbon with a nice oaky sweetness that our club seems to really enjoy (with Woodford Double Oaked being one our highest scoring bourbons). 2XO did not disappoint. I gave this one a solid high flight 4.0 - I thought it was outstanding! Also, an honorable mention goes to Wild Turkey 101. While not graded, it made some mighty fine old fashioned's! Thanks to those who joined us at the Gala, and sorry to those who missed. There's more gala bourbon left for y'all to try! For October, we are back to our usual Thursday meeting on 10/10. More details to come. Cheers!