The makers of Unser Bier in the Gundeli district of Basel produce this young whisky and host an annual seminar in November, where guests learn about distillation and maturation from the master brewer. The nose has honey and melon, but it’s drenched in the sweet wine notes. The palate mingles the melon and honey flavors with sugared sultana until the sweetness abates, bringing out more fruit skins, then a surprising spearmint note on the finish. CHF79

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2016)

Distilled from corn, malted barley, rye, and flaked rye, and aged in small barrels with toasted orangewood chips. While this whiskey smacks of its youth, with green flavors of burnt cane stalks wrapped in orange blossom honey and charred marshmallow, there is something compelling about its primary spirit quality, freshness, and sincerity. A fine example of what it aims to be—young small-barrel whiskey.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Fall 2016)

A composite of 5, 7, and 8 year old Kentucky and Tennessee bourbons. It offers exceptional color at this ABV, but the grain and oak-forward nose suggests youth, with hints of medicinal boiling oatmeal and cinnamon. Slightly dry to adhesive mouthfeel is followed by menthol, heavy smoke, cinnamon-custard pie, licorice, caramel, and a hint of cherry cough syrup. With the stocks selected for this batch, I’d hoped for more, but it tastes unlike traditional bourbon. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Fall 2016)

Initial aromas of boiled corncob, sugarcane stalks, and burnt sugar give a suggestion of youth and slight bitterness. Dig a little deeper and the secondary flavors of honeyed fruit, green apple, lavender, vanilla, and fresh oak reveal potential. While clearly young, there is still a lot to admire in this soft and delicate wheated bourbon, with its hints of smoke and a mouthwatering saltwater taffy finish, possibly derived from aging in floating boathouses on Puget Sound. 375ml

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Fall 2016)

Hands up if you’d ever wondered what would happen if you seasoned old bourbon barrels with fermenting Irish cider, then added a triple blend of whiskeys? Anyone? Fizzy sherbet, green foliage, and cider (not apple) notes, that’s what. Seasoning suggests the cask occupants are less than good mates, the cider more a lingering tenant. Pot still surfaces through the saccharine cider flavors, with coiled Bramley apple peels, citrus strands, and a nippy spiciness. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. €54

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2016)

There’s promise here, with peach, dried apricot, baking spice, and vanilla delighting the olfactory, and a slight hint of coffee just in case you needed it. But the intense heat shows itself and grain covers subtle sweetness and spice. The best high-proof whiskeys are actually quite smooth; this needs water to find its sweet spot. Sourced whiskey.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Fall 2016)

One might speculate about the initial qualities of this young grain prior to its sherry cask finish. While it boasts a richer color, the nose is reminiscent of roast beef, plasticine, wet dog, and bruised raspberries. In the mouth, it has good weight, though mouth puckering, with some brief rubbery notes early on before showing strawberry bubblegum, sugar crystals, black cherry, rhubarb, faint coffee notes, and an ever-growing pepperiness. An enjoyable finish of baked apple and star anise. (727 bottles) £44

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2016)

Showing its youth through an obvious green character that peers from beneath a cloak of campfire and applewood smoke, with banana as the prominent fruit, along with secondary apple, citrus, and a peculiar rubber tire note. The palate is light-bodied and overtly sweet, with grass, marshmallow, and vanilla. Reminiscent of a Lowland malt, which only contributes to the disjointed feeling of the whole package.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Fall 2016)

Four barley types—two row, pale chocolate, kiln coffee, and Carafa—and malted wheat; aged 6 months in used Woodford Reserve Double Oaked barrels. Initial pungency and varnish. Then freshly-cut grass, petrol, wood shavings, and a slight hint of chocolate. New make mouthfeel. A hint of honey and milk chocolate is quickly overtaken by an astringent finish. In another few years, maybe this will become more palatable, but this is far from ready, and bourbon remains this distiller’s strong suit. 375ml

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Fall 2016)