Distillery: Sourced from MGP
Proof: 113.38
Age: Blend of 4, 6, & 10 year barrels (rumors of some 12 year barrels)
Mashbill: 60% Corn, 36% Rye, 4% Malted Barley
Background: Nevada H&C Distilling is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their whiskey brand, Smoke Wagon is sourced from MGP but is aged in Las Vegas which changes the flavor profile due to the desert heat. Nevada H&C is the first distillery in Las Vegas, in fact, the state had to make a distilling license just for them. The design on the bottle is the Nevada State flower. As for the name, "Smoke Wagon" is old slang for the 1873 Colt single action revolver, known as "the gun that won the west." There is also the distilleries motto on the bottle, a quote from Seneca, "bibamus moriendum est." This translates to “drink, for we must die," really meaning, drink and enjoy life, because life is short. Their other products include a straight, small batch, and some extremely rare Private barrels.
NOSE: A rich, balanced, and smooth nose with matured notes of caramel, cherries, dried fruit, hazelnut, and oak. A classic and rich bourbon nose (24/25)
PALATE: Up front there are rich, creamy, and chewy vanilla ice cream, cherry pie, and caramel notes that are enveloped by bold notes of raisins, baking spices, oak, and leather. It has a rich and chewy mouthfeel (38/40)
FINISH: The finish is long with notes of roasted pecans, rye spice, oak, tannins, and leather. It has a chewiness to it (23/25)
VALUE: Smoke Wagon Uncut & Unfiltered has a $60 SRP which is an absolutely steal. Secondary prices have already soared into the $200 range unfortunately. We’d spend up to $75 (8/10)
Overall: 93/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Smoke Wagon Uncut & Unfiltered is a delicious and smooth cask strength bourbon whiskey that has incredible flavors and bold character. It is easy to see why people go crazy for it! We strongly recommend buying yourself a bottle if you can!
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Noah’s Mill
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Stagg Jr Batch 14
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Manifest Whiskey Project Batch 3
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
