Smoke Wagon - Small Batch - Straight Bourbon Whiskey
$50
Smoke Wagon – Small Batch – Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 100
Age: NAS
Distillery: Nevada H&C Distilling CO / Believe to be sourced by MGP
Type: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Mash: 60% Corn, 36% Rye, 4% Barley
Website: Smoke Wagon
*Disclaimer: A score of 5 is the midpoint for my reviews. Above 5 I like it. Below 5 I didn’t for some reason. Most of my reviews are between 4-7. It takes something really really special to go above 7 or below 4. See the methodologies for rating at the end of the article
Nose: More Spicy than Sweet. But some sweetness is still in there. Mild notes of Burnt Sugar and Oak followed by All Spice, Cinnamon, And Black Pepper. You also get a hint of dark fruits. – Raisins.
Taste/Palate: Rich and Thick. Werter’s Original (Creamy Caramel), Damp Oak, Tobacco, Vanilla Bean, Cinnamon and Clove.
Finish: Similar to the Palate the finish is Creamy. The Sweet notes simmer down and the Oak, Leather, and Spice pick up.
Verdict: It’s certainly different than the Smoke Wagon – Straight Bourbon Whiskey which aligns itself as the lesser expensive sibling. The Small Batch presents itself as older and more mature. Overall I prefer the taste of the small batch, but the 75% mark-up is hard to justify without an age statement. Regardless, it appears to be older, and this is about taste, it just knocks it down a peg or two on the value scale.
The Story: Since Smoke Wagon doesn’t distribute to my state of Michigan I have to have my eyes and ears in other states grab these for me. I frequently get sent pictures of bourbon aisles and I have to zoom in and let my friend know if I care for something in the picture or not. In this case I saw the 2 different Smoke Wagons. I heard a lot of about them and decided to give the Standard Bourbon and their Small Batch a Try.
I’ve found that many bourbons are geographical. Not just in availability but also in hype. For example. In my area of Michigan everyone is going crazy for “Baby Saz” – Sazerac Rye (Not in the antique collection). I had a liquor store owner pull one from behind the counter since I was such a good customer to show me the bottle and offered it to me for purchase like it was the holy grail. I declined the purchase. When I travel through IL I saw one store that had a display of Saz sitting on top of the unopened cases of more Saz. It’s good to have a decent reach if you want to try something that isn’t as hyped up in a different state or location.
The Distillery’s Story (Directly from the Smoke Wagon Site): The raised imagery of desert sage, the Nevada state flower, can be found on the Silver Dollar bottle as well as the amber Smoke Wagon bottles and in the label of the Straight Bourbon.
The Morgan silver dollar (replicated on the bottle’s face) was minted in Carson city, the state capitol. It is the perfect symbol and name for our vodka due to its Nevada significance and the fact that silver dollar vodka is silver filtered.
Smoke Wagon? Does that mean it’s smokey? Smoke Wagon is actually old west slang for the 1873 Colt single action army revolver or “the gun that won the west”. Our logo stamped in wax consists of two crossed Smoke Wagons over the state of Nevada. Below it is our motto and a quote from Seneca, bibamus moriendum est. The literal translation is “drink, for we must die” but the meaning is more along the lines of, drink and enjoy today because we won’t be around forever. We can only assume Seneca meant to drink responsibly, of course.
What you won’t find on the site is what I found in research. Like many bourbon bottles out there, Smoke Wagon or Nevada HBC Distilling Co. is a Non-Distilling Producer. They get their base contents from MGP in IN and then age in Nevada. The climate difference from IN to NV will certainly make a difference in taste from other MGP products. They then blend the juice to fit their preference. Smoke Wagon practices the blend to taste method as opposed to age to taste.
Methodologies for Rating:
1. Dump it down the drain or regift it to someone you don’t care for.
2. This doesn’t even belong in a mixed drink. Use in case of an emergency.
3. It’s really not for me, but I heard some people like it.
4. Its only good when I’ve had too many and it’s decent in a mixer.
5. Solid. It hit all of what’s expected.
6. Above average. Good to bring to an event and you wouldn’t expect any guff from it.
7. Buy two if you see it to make sure you have one on reserve.
8. Very Very good. Constantly a GREAT POUR.
9. Superb. If I were to drink this and only this from now on I’d be a happy person.
10. Perfection is impossible. But this really comes as close as you can possibly get.
Reviewer: David S
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