Right. So here at Honest Booze Reviews often a bottle is grabbed based solely on the criteria ‘don’t recognize that’. Now often this can mean we’ll end up with some weird things like vodka finished in cognac, berry gins, and peach whiskies. These by virtue of being offshoots with no baseline end up just not being reviewed. This however we decided we should dig into. We’ve often said that some high tier and well-aged rums or cognacs share a lot of similarities to whiskey. So what about this?
What follows is an essay and one that we VISIBLY CRINGED multiple times during. We’ve never heard of this person but from the cheeky first sentence, to the tone, and bold shouting – fuck you, John Drew
What they Say: “At JOHN DREW we like to destroy everything! Yeah, I said it… “DESTROY”.
With an attitude that’s never satisfied with the status quo we’ve been redefining craftsmanship since 1996… And that’s precisely the spirit that we bring to the table with the BRIXTON MASH DESTROYER.
What exactly is BMD? Think of it as a mash-up collaboration between very high-quality spirits such as KENTUCKY BOURBON & FLORIDA RUM, which is in the very bottle that you’re about to experience.
The journey begins with our well-aged, craft sourced, core spirits. Since we are an NDP, we depend on strategic partnerships with respected distillers to achieve our goals. Each of our distillers then ship the juice to our Florida workshop for maximum quality control.
The blending process comes next, where we wisely finesse our core high-quality spirits into new taste profiles. We have created a number of new BMD blends for you to experience but this ‘BOURBON & RUM’ expression is the first to hit the market.
From the time I founded my little ‘hand made’ cigar factory in 1996 we never asked for permission to craft any of the blends that turned Drew Estate into the second largest in the world – we just got up early and worked hard every day. There was a crew of us together in a foreign land, collaborating to make a difference. I sincerely believe that we created something beautiful that changed the game forever.
Each blend of BRIXTON MASH DESTROYER (BMD) is crazy good in a mixed drink as well… Trust me.
Kentucky Bourbon that’s been mashed with Florida Dark Rum for an experience unlike anything ever created.”
Taste: 4.0 – At first it’s a bit more rum-like and candied. There’s a bit of a mix, but you get more in the aftertaste.
Aftertaste: 3.5 – Once it goes down the hatch though it’s wood, smoke, and awfulness. Here you can sort of tell the weird combo exists, but it’s not exactly nice or pleasant to drink because of…
Burn/Smooth: 0.5 – This has a lingering burning. This hurts to drink, and then it just keeps hitting you as that burning sensation (not a nice warmth) continues. This makes this abhorrent to drink straight.
Aroma: 3.5 – There are certainly bits like a nice caramel and a bit of wood to signify that yes this might actually be some combo of whiskey and rum. However, the prevailing aroma is that of mildly aged alcohol. Just that, just – oh no this is gonna be bad for me.
Honesty: 2.0 – Listen, anytime when we’ve already had to state ‘Fuck you’ to the maker of what spouted nonsense that is above – the score was not going to do well. That’s unfortunate because the style/artwork of the bottle is what actually stood out to us and made it a purchase for reviews. The name destroyer helped as well (although we clearly missed the whole rum & whiskey bit – again we basically see something new and just say yoink). However the word high quality gets tossed around here along with changing the game – well screw whatever game or definition of craftsmanship you’ve decided to come up with.
Mixability: 4.75
W/ Rocks: 3.5 – Well then, does the magic of some ice heal the wounds of burning and marry the two disparate spirts? No*. *Oh sure it’s easier to stomach, and a lot of the burning has been removed. However, it still feels like a weird mishmash of booze, like something a drunk guy at a party who thinks he can bartend would make.
Rum and Coke/Whiskey and Coke: 6.0 – Can cola then save the day? Can a nice helping of Coke make this something that can actually be enjoyed? The answer is thankfully – yes*. *Now that’s not to say this is god’s gift to cola in a glass, but it is finally above par at something.
Value: 1.5 – We have now arrived at the final nail in the coffin of whatever the hell this is. Because this is not good as either spirit, it’s not a nice mellow easy drinker where it doesn’t even matter if it’s a rum or a whiskey, and it’s not good on ice, and only marginally okay with coke. So why would you buy this if you are not a review site? The only logical answer is you see whiskey+rum and you’ve decided to get the kinda drunk where you should have the 2 in a bottle. To those, we say – nay. JD is $25 and Captain Morgan is $14 which comes out to 39. So for 2 dollars more you’d get twice the booze, and the same effect as far as we’re concerned.
Google Shop Average: $37
Website: http://mashdestroyer.com
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 1.5
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Metric Score: 19.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 2.82 |+| Reviewer Average: 1.5
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Final Thoughts: This was, fittingly, a mistake. It’s a review that should not exist as it’s a combo of 2 spirits. We decided to carry on because again – there are some spirits that when mellowed become nice and for the most part – not as simple to discern. This is not the case. This is some yobbo who decided to mix 2 things together and failed utterly.
