High West Midwinter Nights Dram

Merry Whiskey Wednesday everyone! As I have been teasing for a bit, this next batch has had me on the edge of my seat oozing with excitement since I bought her back in November, after the first tiny taste I had, I Christmas couldn't come soon enough, and now that I've got my photos, I'm free to enjoy on any special occassion of my choosing.

This is High West's 'A Midwinter Nights Dram', a play on the play of William Shakespeare, and the nectar certainly holds up to it's poetic naming. The whiskey is a blended Rye coming from MGP, Barton Distillery, and High West themselves, then finished in Port wine and French Oak barrels. This is a hell of a blend and a blessing in a bottle, The Midwinter Nights' is coming in at very close to the top of my list in favorites this year. I'm already a sucker for High West and all they put out, and this is without a doubt their best offering from what I've tasted thus far.

Nose - Cinnamon, apricots, candied fruits and pine notes with a very subtle hint of lavender and an overall plum profile. This thing bottles up everything you love about the holidays and offers it as the sweetest of gifts.

Palette - Vanilla and caramel right up front that quickly takes to cinnamon and ginger, with even sweetness and dried fruit flavors that flow in with the rye spice.

Finish - Everlasting, this is one of the best parts of the whiskey. The taste of spice and sweet fruits lasts with you and the warmth - not burn - of the alcohol makes it's way right to the center of your being, deep in your chest, and fills the body with a nice, cozy feeling of serenity and holiday spirit.

Drinking this outside next to a crackling fire was truly one of the great highlights of my holiday weekend. The Midwinter is an absolutely gorgeous treat that gives me everything I love about bourbon, but puts it in a rye, delivering some of the most unique and festive profiles I've had. At $100 per bottle it's a hard investment to make, but if you are a lover of fine whiskey with a moderately experienced palette, I would highly recommend it.