Distillery: 117 West Distillery
Proof: 90
Age: 4 Years
Mashbill: 100% barley
BACKGROUND: 117° is based out of San Diego California. The original founders of the distillery are high school teachers with a PHD in chemistry. The original idea was to open a craft brewery, but due to the saturation of the market in the area, that idea was scrapped and 117° West Coast Whiskey was born. The whiskey was modeled behind a porter/stout beer. The malted barley is made from a raw chocolate roasted barley making the “crystal malt.” The American single malt whiskey is aged in new oak barrels, giving off the classic vanilla caramel flavors. 117°’s goal is to reinvent traditional whiskey with their “American single malt.”
NOSE: From the moment I put my nose to the glass I was immediately able to smell the strong roasted flavor from the barley. As my senses adjusted I started picking up flavors of toffee, vanilla, dark chocolate, and toffee.(21/25)
PALATE: I was pleasantly surprised by how much flavor was packed into such a young whiskey. Heavy flavors of both milk and dark chocolate come out, accompanied by coffee, caramel, and again that roasted barley flavor (32/40)
FINISH: The finish didn’t quite measure up to the palate, but nevertheless still quite enjoyable. A medium finish with fading flavors of salted caramel, chocolate, and an overall coffee flavored fish which was unique and very well done.(21/25)
VALUE: For $60 I think this is a terrific bottle for any whiskey drinker that is looking to add a bottle to the collection that stands out. (7/10)
Overall: 81/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: This is probably the best chocolate whiskeys I have had to date. If you are a coffee drinker or enjoy dark porters/stouts, you will love this whiskey. 117° is one of the most unique distilleries we have seen to date.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Westland Peated Whiskey
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Balcones Single Barrel Malted Whiskey
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Woodford Reserve Chocolate Malted Rye
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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
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