It’s been a minute since we’ve had something that is actually this well liked, but to give away too much at the beginning – Tin Cup is a good whiskey. That’s not to say it does not have its faults. While no single aspect of Tin Cup makes it exceptionally amazing, it is a solidly good whiskey, and it’s only true complaint comes in trying to change it.
None of the scores below are in the 10’s, or even the 9’s and 8’s – this isn’t something that blows you away because of some aspect, some depth of character. What makes Tin Cup so good is that it’s so good – everywhere. Well everywhere until you add some ice or cola to the mix, but that’s just one metric we go against.
What they Say: “Tin Cup is a blend of two great American whiskeys, each aged in #3 charred oak barrels. “High Rye” bourbon, distilled and aged in Indiana, is blended with a small amount of Colorado single malt whiskey. These whiskeys are then cut with Rocky Mountain water. Tin Cup is named for the Colorado mining pioneers and the tin cups from which they drank their whiskey. Enjoy.”
Taste: 7.0 – You get the caramel and wood, but there’s an undercurrent of spice to keep it from being considered sweet. It’s quite nice.
Aftertaste: 7.5 – A wave of smoke and rye, and then it changes mellowing and sweetening, but with a barb of smoke to go with the burn below. Overall a very well done job here.
Burn/Smooth: 6.5 – There’s like a weird tail end of warm burning, but it actually goes down rather smooth.
Aroma: 7.5 – That blend of rye and bourbon aromas works well here. It’s the right amount of woody and smoky, but not overpowering. It sadly doesn’t linger on the senses, but it’s fantastic.
Honesty: 7.0 – Simple, not too self-flattering, and mostly just says where it came from. The design with the raised bottle lettering is not super great, but the hexagon bottle and the small tin cup it comes with is spiffy. It’s also cool to have the logo they do, but please – do keep from putting it ALL over this thing.
Mixability: 4.67
W/ Rocks: 4.0 – It condenses that rye and smoke, and to be honest it’s far worse for it. You’re better off sticking the tin cup in the freezer and drinking from that if you want it chilly.
Whiskey and Coke: 3.5 – It just feels like it’s only bringing the sweetness. You can adjust it a bit, but even then – not a great cocktail.
Old Fashioned: 6.5 – Finally a decent cocktail. Mind you this isn’t the best option for an Old Fashioned, but what you lose by condensing the whiskey and adding the other ingredients is better than just having it on rocks. However neat is still the way to go.
Value: 7.5 – Hmm. So this is a bit of unpopped corn in the bag, but hear us out. Yes, this is not a great cocktail whiskey outside of an Old Fashioned. However straight it’s quite nice. Then you consider the price and what this whiskey is. It’s not a replacement for a cheaper JD, it’s what a super expensive single barrel or small batch bourbon/whiskey WANTS to taste like, and for that it is mighty.
Google Shop Average: $29
Website: https://www.tincupwhiskey.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 7.5
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Metric Score: 47.67/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.81 |+| Reviewer Average: 7.5
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Final Thoughts: We don’t have any sort of overreaching strategy buying whiskey, it’s often a case of hmm that doesn’t sound familiar *check owns website* okay it’s not there let’s get it. As such what we get could be anything, and often it’s not great. That, therefore, makes something so above average at nearly every turn such a darling for reviewing. That’s why even though no score is above an 8 I was prepared to give this a reviewer score of one, but that inability to be enjoyable on rocks knocked it down 0.5.
