Whiskey Slickers: Skill Check, A Colorado Blend

Collaboration with Mile High, Branch & Barrel, and Root Shoot

A custom blend of different proportions from three single barrels

MSRP: $89.99

Mash: Branch & Barrel: 80% corn, 20% malted barley

Mile High Distillery: 70% corn, 10% malted barley, 20% wheat (Minnesota white/Colorado White/Cara)

Root Shoot Spirits: 100% malted barley

Proof: 120.3

Age: Range of 4 to 6 years old

Nose: McIntosh Apple, caramel soaked cake, a bouquet of citrus zest from lime, grapefruit and orange, floral jasmine, banana, nectarine, pine sap, a pop of ethanol if you dig in too deep

Palate: pine sap immediately greets you, then a birch syrup before opening to the fruiter aspects again, nectarine, citrus zest, plum, a subtle backbone of caramel cake brings it all together, the back palate brings about a fresh leather earthiness

Finish: a medium to long finish of pine and leather linger on the palate

Rating: Hoard it (Out of Hoard, Buy, Try, Pass)

Thoughts: Honestly, this just gets better as it opens up. I think it was very smart to use a majority of Branch & Barrel to bring about the more classic bourbon notes, while the Root Shoot adds in gobs of fruit. Mile High makes a very powerful whiskey, and a lot of those tree resin like notes are absolutely coming from the Mile High distillate, so I applaud using it sparingly as to not drown out the other two elements. This has become much more cohesive after a few pours into the bottle, and I'm really digging what I'm experiencing. I'm not sure that I've gotten so much fruit in a whiskey before. But instead of being way too fruit forward and sweet, the earthy elements reign it back in and round it out. I love how fun of a bottle this is in every sense. From the playful label, to the layers of elements from different distilleries, this whole project is the kind of melting pot that is a perfect allegory for what Colorado is as a whole. Whiskey Slickers did a great job with this blend.