Review: Pinhook Bourbon Country Cask Strength Bourbon 2018

By Stephen Allison | July 20, 2019 |

While Pinhook is based on young MGP distillate, it’s expanding fairly dramatically as it positions itself as an inexpensive alternative on the premius shelf. Its 90.5-proof “Bourbon Country” bottling is becoming popular, and now Pinhook has released its first cask strength version of the whiskey. Will it pull ahead of the competition? Let’s taste and find out.

Bourbon Country Cask Strength features a light but pleasing nose of cinnamon candy, candy corn, licorice, vanilla and a touch of orange. It’s pleasant, but it lacks much depth. Unfortunately, even when diluted the alcohol comes through too strongly, masking the aroma and singeing the nose. On the palate the whiskey feels neither syrupy nor thin but it leaves me wanting for more flavor. The orange, vanilla and sweet candy are there, yet the flavor is overpowered by alcoholic heat which prickles the palate well into the finish. Now, this isn’t a bad whiskey by any means. The distillate is good but when I taste it I can only imagine the improvement more time in barrel could have brought. Decent, but hard to recommend over other excellent cask-strength bourbons such as Elijah Craig and Booker’s.

115.3 proof.

B- / $50 / pinhookbourbon.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]