The Basics: 

Cedar Ridge Distillery

121.6 Proof

NAS - 6.5 Years Old - NCF

$70 MSRP

Nose:

Caramel sauce, cinnamon swirl bread, coffee crumb cake, vanilla bean, toffee, and slight grassiness.

Palate: 

Strawberry, raspberry, heavy charred oak, spicy cinnamon, toasted marshmallow, and espresso.

Finish:

Medium-long finish with dried strawberry, tannic oak, black pepper, and leather.

Final Thoughts:

The first ever release of the Cedar Ridge Single Barrel collection, hand picked my master distiller Murphy Quint, comes in at a whopping 121.6 proof, non-chill filtered Iowa whiskey. The nose brings very sweet aromas of rich caramel and coffee crumb cake, with a touch of ethanol to let you know that this is cask strength. Unlike the nose, the palate delivers intense spicy cinnamon and heavily charred oak. There are some sweet red fruit notes, but the spice is what really shines through. The finish follows suit with the palate by continuing the strawberry and tannic oak notes. Overall, this whiskey is a great start to the new single barrel collection. The whiskey is a bit hot when first opened, but as it sits for a few days, the sweeter notes really start to come through nicely on the nose. Cedar Ridge has created a well balanced whiskey with depth of flavor and complexity that is nice to see from a small distillery that isn’t sourcing from one of the big names.