Distillery: Oceanside Distillers
Proof: 117
Age: NAS (at least 2 years)
Mashbill: Undisclosed (Wheated)
BACKGROUND: Oceanside Distillers is a craft whiskey distillery in Oceanside, CA. They started out when the founder's son was tasked with a unique school project to create an alternative fuel source and he wanted to do liquor as the fuel source. Even though the school principle shot it down, it did not stop them from running with the idea and deciding to create their own distillery. When they realized that they could not distill at home, they leased a buy, got the necessary licenses and got a still. Their initial product was always to be a bourbon and they began by purchasing 5 gallon oak barrels to try different recipes at expedited aging rates to determine what they would produce as a flagship whiskey at scale. They settled on a bourbon that was flavor forward with a sweet and smooth flavor profile. They do not add any additional flavoring or coloring to their whiskey and are a full grain to glass distillery. They currently only use the first 4 plates in their still column to remove the sulfur, increase the proof, and enhance the flavors. When we tried the bourbon before aging (white whiskey) off the still, it was already quite tasty. One interesting thing about their grains is that they get their corn from local California farmers but get their rye from Germany and their wheat from Ireland. The logo on this bottle also has a unique story. Steinmetz, is the founders last name, the crest is designed by them to represent their family history, the eagle represent America, the country that they live in and love, the lion is for South Africa where they have family lineage, the bow represents Switzerland where the founder's wife is from, the hammer is a representation to masonry which they have family ties to.
NOSE: For a cask strength whiskey the nose is incredibly smooth and sweet. The sweet notes are so dominant and enjoyable. I was greeted with vanilla ice cream, fresh and rich caramel, condensed milk, toasted brown sugar, and light oak. The only downside to this nose is that it is on the lighter side. (22/25)
PALATE: The proof shows up on the palate without being overpowering. The whiskey is very creamy and on the front of the palate you taste a lot of vanilla, butter scotch, oak, baking spice, and some cherry. As the whiskey sat in my mouth there was a bitter dark chocolate note that made itself known. Overall it had a slightly dry mouthfeel while being smooth and bold. I think if this whiskey aged for about 3-5 more years it would be able to hold it's own against many highly allocated whiskeys. (34/40)
FINISH: The finish was full of rye spice, cracked pepper, oak, and more of the bitter dark chocolate. The creaminess from the palate is absorbed by the rye spice on the finish. It is medium in length and warms you up from your chest down to your stomach. (22/25)
VALUE: The cask strength sipping whiskey carries a $70 SRP which is pretty expensive. However, as a cask strength wheated bourbon important grains from Germany and Ireland it makes sense. We think it would be best priced at around $55 but is still worth it at $70 (7/10)
Overall: 86/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Oceanside Cask Strength Sipping Bourbon is a very tasty, smooth, and enjoyable cask strength bourbon that can be appreciated by anyone new to whiskey or long time whiskey lovers. We highly recommend getting yourself a bottle if you can. We think that you'll be pleasantly surprised by this whiskey and we challenge you to compare this to any cask strength wheated bourbons. If you want to try out their bourbon, which we highly recommend, you can order online and they can ship to CA and KY.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Old Weller Antique 107
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Larceny Barrel Proof C920
Similar &Slightly Worse Whiskey: Wild Turkey Rare Breed
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away
