Review: Wolves Whiskey American Single Malt 5 Years Old
Review: Wolves Whiskey American Single Malt 5 Years Old
We’ve been writing about Wolves Whiskey since shortly after its start in 2019, but it wasn’t until late last year that the brand dropped its first year-round product: Wolves American Single Malt. The bottle, denoted by a blue label, is cagey about the name of the product, just saying “American Single Malt Whiskey” in the fine print, but if you see the Wolves logo and that blue label, you’ll know what you’re getting.
What’s in the bottle is a 5 year old ASM, made from unspecified malt; much of Wolves’ collection is made from a beer base which is distilled, but there’s no clear information on the distillate here. We do know that those 5 years of aging are spent in California wine barrels that are warehoused in Arizona, with a finishing session in Cognac barrels after primary maturation.
Wolves calls this release its “flagship” bottling. Let’s try it out.
Wolves Whiskey American Single Malt 5 Years Old Review
The nose is surprisingly pretty, much more gentle than the usual fare from Wolves, which tend to be at least moderately aggressive when it comes to hops and toasty granary notes. Aromas of gentle barrel char, toasted sesame, roasted almonds, and rolled oats all waft from the glass, cut with a light slick of honey syrup. The barrel-driven aromatics build in the glass, and eventually a red wine-driven oxidized note, coming off as a bit doughy around the edges.
The palate doesn’t really rock the boat, hitting first with notes of fairly bitter black tea and crushed black sesame seeds, before a gentle sweetness comes into focus. Sweetened oat clusters, a sweeter tea element, and some black fruit notes all emerge with time, though the lattermost of those take their time to develop. That’s clearly the Cognac cask speaking its mind, showcasing what is ultimately a rather unctuous blend of dried figs, blackberries, and cherries in syrup. The finish filters that again through a red wine quality, impregnating it with a doughiness that ultimately comes off as slightly gummy, clinging to the back of the throat. This is a common feature of wine-aged whiskeys, and in Wolves’ flagship edition, it’s especially notable.
All told, this is a more subdued and less thrilling expression from one of the most interesting ASM producers on the market today — though if you have not experienced any of Wolves’ limited edition expressions, this wouldn’t be a terrible place to get your feet wet.
96 proof.
B+ / $90 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Wolves Whiskey American Single Malt 5 Years Old
USD90
