Review: Savage and Cooke Digits Bourbon 5 Years Old

Review: Savage and Cooke Digits Bourbon 5 Years Old

Review: Savage and Cooke Digits Bourbon 5 Years Old

California’s Savage and Cooke continues to crank out odd but engaging whiskeys, its latest being a collaboration between winemaker-cum-whiskey blender Dave Phinney and famed basketball star Scottie Pippen. Curious, eh? Digits is a 5 year old Tennessee bourbon, but beyond that details are elusive. There’s also a photo of a hand on the label. With five fingers. Digits. Get it?

Savage and Cooke Digits Bourbon 5 Years Old Review

The whiskey plays its cards close to the vest to kick things off, hitting the nostrils as a bit doughy, with notes of sandalwood and sesame giving way to an almond cookie character after some airtime. Fortunately, the palate reveals itself as rather more engaging, sweeter than expected with a mix of molasses and clover honey, hinting at red berries that brighten things up a little. Ample notes of caramel and vanilla provide a traditional — albeit very mild — trajectory toward the finish, which is lightly sweet and dusted with nougat, more honey, and some light green herb notes. Pretty, uncomplicated stuff — which seems to be exactly what Phinney and Pippen were aiming for.

While 70 bucks may be asking a lot for this one, Digits is ultimately a pleasant whiskey that should find plenty of love amongst fans of a softer, less aggressive style.

92 proof.

B+ / $70

Savage and Cooke Lip Service Rye

USD70
9

Rating

9.0/10

A veteran journalist, the author of four books, a published poet, and an award-winning winemaker, Christopher Null has more than 25 years of experience writing about wine and spirits. He founded Drinkhacker in 2007. He also writes regularly about the science of booze for WIRED and is an occasional contributor to ADI's Distiller magazine. He has been a judge for both the American Distilling Institute Judging of Craft Spirits and Whiskies of the World spirits competitions and often works as a consultant, developing formal tasting notes for spirits brands around the world.

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.