St. George Spirits Single Malt Whiskey Lot 23

ST. GEORGE SPIRITS SINGLE MALT
Lot No. SM023 (2023)

MASH BILL – 100% two-row barley roasted at five precise levels: pale malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt, black patent malt, and alder/beechwood-smoked malt imported from Bamburg, Germany.

PROOF – 86

AGE – blend of 4.5 to 12 year whiskeys aged in 26 used American and French oak casks from Kentucky and California that formerly held bourbon, apple brandy, Sauternes-style wine and Port

DISTILLERY – St. George Spirits

PRICE – $99 (slightly discounted from the usual ~$110)

WORTH BUYING? – Always!

Uncorked and tasted in The Year of No Buying (The what? 🔗 here.)

Purchasing the annual St. George Spirits Single Malt release was one of the caveats I granted myself during my current Year of No Buying. It has become the traditional December holiday season bottle in my home, because, although the exact blend changes from year to year, the consistent spice and fruit notes ping strong sense memories for me of childhood holiday family gatherings.

After enjoying Lots 17 and 20, it was the extraordinary Lot 21 that convinced me this was an annual release to follow by course of habit. Not thinking Lot 21 could be topped, Lot 22 took things yet another notch deeper and now it’s simply not a question—every December I will pick up the latest St. George Single Malt release.

I want to drink this right now, so here we go. I bought this bottle today, actually, on the day I’m writing these notes. So it’s now thirty minutes after uncorking and this is pour number one. These brief notes were taken using both a Barber A03 tasting glass and traditional Glencairn.

COLOR – in various light, alternately pale and medium orange amber with brassy highlights

NOSE – that familiar St. George aroma, with quince, a gooey caramel sauce, vanilla, bitter ruby grapefruit peel, soft dry oak tannin, faint milk chocolate

TASTE – starts out brightly then gradually darkens, the quince and grapefruit peel nicely balanced with the caramel, vanilla, and subtle milk chocolate, and then a flare up of grapefruit toward the end

FINISH – bitter grapefruit, quince, and oak tannin, with subtle traces of the candy notes

OVERALL – like some homemade December holiday candy, chewy and with sparkly spices

A good ol’ dependable. I don’t have last year’s Lot 22 on hand to compare. Looking back on my notes, as well as my Lot 21 notes, Lot 23 shares all the key St. George Single Malt flavors, leaning a bit more toward the bitter elements than Lot 22, which featured an exceptional mocha note, and without the readily evident cream or custard notes of Lot 21.

Comparisons aside—because really they don’t matter, I’m going to buy this every year no matter what—at uncorking Lot 23 announces itself with the confidence and clarity I’ve come to expect from the St. George Single Malt.

In fact, all St. George products tend to serve up flavor in abundance and with enthusiasm. Their absinth is my go-to, no question. It’s so flavorful I typically use just a bit less than a cocktail recipe calls for. Their Bruto Americano beats the classic Campari it’s modeled after any day of the week. And their apple brandy is Roald Dahl-esque in the way it puts you right inside the fruit.

And there I’ve mentioned author Roald Dahl (of James and the Giant Peach fame). St. George Single Malt has previously also taken my brain to painter Clyfford Still. The combination of brash, complex, clear flavors evokes these artists who make work that itself has those qualities. That’s my favorite kind of whiskey—the kind that takes me to other arts, other experiences, other times and places.

As I write this, I’m just under a week out from when I intend to post it, so I’ll try this whiskey again in a few days—if there’s any left! I’m bringing it to a party tonight alongside a few other bottles, so we’ll see if it lasts…

It lasted. Whew! Everyone loved it. But there was a lot to try that night, so, plenty of this bottle remains for me. 😉🥃

Now it’s five days after the uncorking tasting. I’m trying it again, this time just in the Glencairn:

NOSE – whole cream and grapefruit peel up front, then quince, caramel on dry biscotti cookie

TASTE – cream, and a wonderfully creamy texture, with grapefruit and quince, caramel and vanilla taffy, a bit of milk chocolate, ending with a nice underlining of the bitter citrus peel

FINISH – cream, oily caramel chews, subtle milk chocolate, that nicely bitter grapefruit peel

OVERALL – In just a handful of days it’s aired out in a lovely direction, with more emphasis now on the creams and caramels

Lovely. The whiskey tastes more settled in now, and even more well rounded. To compare it with its predecessors properly I’d need them on hand for a side-by-side. But this Lot 23 does not disappoint. It’s hard to imagine a better holiday season whiskey.

Cheers!