Back in Fall 2022 I wrote up some notes on a handful of autumnal whiskeys that for me conjure the aromas and flavors of the season. Four of the five were bourbons, and one was a “barely legal” rye that with only a small shift in grains could become a bourbon. In the blog post’s title I’d referred to five Fall “whiskey” faves. Yet despite the one barely-rye rye among them, I could rightly have titled that post “Five Fall Bourbon Faves.” Bourbon’s emphasis on caramel and oak lends itself very well to Fall, my favorite of the four seasons.
Of course, my sense for what makes a whiskey autumnal is based on my American sense of the season. Even more specifically, my Northern Californian sense. I’ve spent the majority of my life in this region. I’ve also lived in Germany and Japan, and experienced their Fall months in full. But those stints weren’t significant enough to override decades of NorCal conditioning.
But as whisk(e)y is indeed global, I thought it might be fun to return to the subject of autumnal pours and expand my range a bit, to get beyond my local clichés of Thanksgiving Day pies, apple harvest festivals, and damp browning oak leaves. What else conjures Fall? What are the textures, the qualities of light, the sense of time, the temperatures and moods?
So pour yourself a glass of something that conjures Fall for you, and let’s get sippin’.
CROFTENGEA
Single Malt ScotchMASH BILL – 100% malted barley
PROOF – varies
AGE – varies
DISTILLERY – Loch Lomond Distillery
PRICE – $$ to $$$
Croftengea is hands down among my favorite peated scotch brands. Croftengea is not a distillery itself, but a recipe created by Loch Lomond Distillery in the Highlands region. Of the recipes made under the Loch Lomond roof, Croftengea features the highest peat levels. Its primary use is to add complexity to Loch Lomond’s blends, so Croftengea is rarely released under its own name, and then usually only by independent bottlers like A.D. Rattray and Hunter Laing. The sweet and heathery Highland peat, smoky but much lighter than the brinier maritime Islay peats, blends neatly with the barley and cask notes. A good bottle of Croftengea is warming, like a wool blanket wrapped around your shoulders when you’re seated next to a crackling campfire. Perfect to ease the chill off a cool autumn evening. Croftengea is not exactly ubiquitous though. So if you can’t find it, Highland Park makes a good option for a similarly sweet peated scotch. And for something broodier try Laphroaig Sherry Oak.
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HOME BASE SINGLE MALT
MASH BILL – 100% malted barley grown and malted at Mecca Grade Estate Malt in Madras, OR
PROOF – usually ~92
AGE – currently 6 to 7 years on average
DISTILLERY – Home Base Spirits
PRICE – $80
I’ve been following the Home Base Single Malt releases since their first batch, which at 3 years 6 months conjured spring with its fresh butter, cream, and apricot pie notes. When I tasted a later batch aged 5 years 7 months, the experience had moved on to late summer, with drier notes of straw, soft malt, nutty barley, ginger, green tea, grapefruit peel, and candied lemon. Current batches have reached 6 and 7 years, and now we’re deeper into those cooler, darker months of autumn. Molasses, dark seedy bread, rich Douglas fir, ginger, honey, malt, bitterness from the malt and oak. There is a sunny morning coziness to this single malt, with the rustic textures of leaves showing their vibrant colors, and the earth’s rich aromas rising in the season’s misty air.
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OLD POTRERO RYE
cask strength single barrelsMASH BILL – 100% malted rye
PROOF – ~120+ on average
AGE – currently 8 to 9 years on average
DISTILLERY – Hotaling & Co.
PRICE – $90
The standard Old Potrero release, aged 6 years and bottled at 97 proof, is good. But the single barrel releases, a bit older and always bottled at their natural cask strength, really hit differently. You want to keep warm on a late November night? An Old Potrero SiB will do it. The 100% malted rye mash bill offers rich layers of malty chocolate and dense rye spices. These core notes are variously complimented by dark fruits like plums, cherries and figs. Molasses and honey often make an appearance. The density of the whiskey combined with an overall rustic quality reminds me of the thick aromas and textures of autumnal earth, welcoming newly fallen leaves to blend into a rich mulch that only time can yield.
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WINE FINISHED AMERICAN WHISKEYS
specs varyDISTILLERIES – e.g. Redwood Empire, Westward, Woodinville…
In Scotland and Ireland, wine cask finishing has been a norm for generations, especially sherry and European wine casks. In the last decade, an increasing number of American distilleries have been experimenting more regularly with wine cask finishing. Initially there was some philosophical resistance among American bourbon and rye fans to this. But once you have a chance to taste something as exceptionally complex as a well-aged Redwood Empire Haystack Needle release, for example, there’s no denying that wine cask finished bourbon can be incredible. In Washington, Woodinville Whiskey Co. is situated in a forested area amidst several wineries. Woodinville keeps their fermenting vats open, allowing the fragrant local air to get in there and work its magic, making their Port, Oloroso, or Moscatel finished bourbons seem entirely organic. And Westward Whiskey’s founder, Christian Krogstad, worked in the Oregon brewing and wine industries before turning to whiskey making. His personal connections and wine/beer knowledge have led to exceptional cask finishing experiments with Westward’s already unique single malt whiskeys. The diverse results of these three distilleries are united by a tendency toward cozy, layered, rich whiskeys, balancing earthy and desserty aromas and flavors—perfect for Fall!
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YOICHI / YOICHI 10 YEAR
MASH BILL – 100% malted barley
PROOF – 90
AGE – NAS / 10 years
DISTILLERY – Nikka
PRICE – ~$90 / ~$160
When I first tried the standard Yoichi release, for the price I thought it was fine. It has a nice creamy texture, with custard and cream notes, smoke and soft peat, seaside notes of sand and salt, and faint tropical fruit notes like pineapple and mango. It’s very subtle and easygoing, with an overall earthiness to it. Not a star on its own, Yoichi seems to me a good accompaniment to a meal. Then I had a chance to try the Yoichi 10 Year release. Definitely a step deeper into complexity, with a musty, mulchy dustiness on the nose like dry leaves. On the palate, a rich creamy texture carries smoke, malt, caramel, vanilla, oak tannin, peach preserves, and lemon rind, all flowing like a river into the gently lingering finish. Yoichi is a sunnier day in autumn, but autumn nonetheless.
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Last Call
I find Fall to be a thoughtful time. It has a quiet to it, despite the occasional noisy election year. 😉 Sunny days offer a crisp, cool clarity. Cloudy days compel reflection, painting the world in misty watercolor shades. After it rains, rich earthy aromas rise afresh, bringing new sensations and ideas.
As I look back over the notes above, I notice how often three particular descriptors recur—cozy, rich, earthy. Of them, it’s the tendency in these whiskeys toward variations on earthiness that especially pulls my senses to the Fall season. Leaves turn bright colors in their final moments of life—one last hurrah before falling to the earth. The cool air and mist and rain saturate the soil, newly rejuvenated by the freshly dead leaves. Dig your hands into this paradox and you can feel its rich, dense blend of mulched vegetation, pulverized stone, animal bone, insect shell, and time. Textured aromas weave into the air. There is a meatiness and mustiness to it, a cozy dark tea brewed from decay and life.
There’s nothing like a good whiskey to match this time and mood. It’s like taking a sip of the season, and feeling the season become a part of you, not unlike how newly fallen leaves become a part of the ancient earth. The paradox that whiskey is a toxin and Fall is a time of dying, and yet both are so enlivening, is one of those great gifts of nature.
Cheers!
The Right Spirit 