We almost considered not doing this as a traditional whiskey due to the coffee’s effect. However aside from their clear spirit, this is their main aged bourbon, and their choice of a barrel (much like a sherry cask) will simply be an artifact of our review against them. That review sadly is poor.
We’re not saying that bourbon can’t be aged in coffee, or even that it can’t be done well, but maybe let’s not? We bought this because it’s a fun tin can, and we’re suckers for good (or at least unique) design. We had hoped this would either be something truly special or as dark and vile as the oil can it comes in. What we got instead was some bourbon ruined by coffee.
What they Say: “Front: A masterful blend of corn, rye, barley, and limestone water. Barreled in charred new American oak, charcoal filtered, rested and mellowed in roasted small batch coffee beans, giving a uniquely complex balance and a smooth finish. Blended bourbon whiskey mellowed in coffee beans.
Back: Stillhouse has elevated the genuine American craft of making spirits using our proprietary all-natural recipes and distilling mastery. Our superior taste and remarkably smooth finish create the new standard for a great American classic.”
Taste: 3.5 – As usual we need to specify that while we always do aroma first, it’s not first on our list because it’s not super important. However, this tastes like it smells. Which is to say what happens if you took some basic bourbon and pour it through a used coffee filter.
Aftertaste: 4.0 – It just gets more woody bourbon and more lingering coffee bean here. Now we have to defend the low scores here because in short, his has to be judged as a bourbon, it’s not some specialty liquor, they simply did this to make it a bit more unique, and fuck them.
Burn/Smooth: 6.5 – There’s a bit of heat, but this is actually fairly smooth despite being an Irish coffee without cream.
Aroma: 4.5 – It smells like raspberries and lavender. Nah. It smells exactly like you thought it would, like someone poured whiskey through a coffee machine instead of water because fuck it – it’s a rough morning today.
Honesty: 7.0 – The word elevated is a bit much. The little booklet is mostly cocktails, but there are some aspects that tarnish this. However, speaking of tarnish let’s not ignore the elephant in the room. This looks like a can of paint thinner, and for a whiskey to take that on is, to put it mildly – fucken baller. So yes this does lose points, but it was earning them from the shelf we took it off of.
Mixability: 4.75
W/ Rocks: 4.0 – That really brings out the coffee, which is to say – not what you want in a bourbon. It’s a thing sure, but no.
Whiskey and Coke: 5.5 – The coffee is basically gone. This turns this into just another whiskey and coke – which cool?
Editor’s Note: However there is another… if you mix this with the Maine local cola known as Moxie (something that also pairs well with whiskey/coffee brandy/or Jagermeister) it’s actually a delight*. *must love Moxie
Value: 3.5 – It’s a cool thing to keep around, and it’s nice to look out, but we come back to the same problem. Who is this for? Coffee lovers will say no, bourbon lovers will say no, and those who like both – still no.
Google Shop Average: $28
Website: http://stillhouse.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 4.5
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Metric Score: 33.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 4.82 |+| Reviewer Average: 4.5
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Final Thoughts: Again we have to stress this – you have to be a fan of Moxie. Because that is the only thing keeping us in high spirits (hehe) about this whiskey. Well that, and using this can to store like a varnish blend or some shit like that. We look forward to trying the base spirit, and who knows – maybe we’ll age the damn thing ourselves and forget the coffee.
