Last Friday I had the pleasure of having supper with a couple of dear friends, their young son, their dog and their cats. Though to be honest, the cats had a tendency to avoid the proceedings. When I visit with friends, I like to bring a gift along. With this particular friend, the size of the gift depends on how long it has been since I last saw him. See this friend’s gift is almost always a selection of whiskey samples.
As you can probably tell by the pace of reviews, I have a lot of whiskey come through my house. Some of it is very good, some not very good. Some of it is interesting or noteworthy, others are boring and forgettable. I try to set aside anything that I think he might find interesting, whether that thing is good, bad or just something that isn’t sold here in Minnesota.
Yes. I am the kind of nice guy that gives certain friends samples of bad whiskey. Not because I’m mean, but because they might find it interesting. So…I guess…buyer beware on my friendship?
Anyway as we tend to shop different stores, and often for different types of whiskey, my friend will often return the favor. And this time was no exception. One of the samples that came home with me was a very healthy sample of Stargrazer Malt Whiskey with Hops from Tattersall Distillery in Minneapolis. This whiskey was made in collaboration with Bauhaus Brew Labs and is a based on their Stargrazer beer. According to the distillery:
We partnered with our neighbors at Bauhaus Brewlabs and created a whiskey based off of their Stargrazer beer, a German Style Schwarzbier. We take the base grains of the Stargrazer beer, create a malt whiskey, and then add the hops in afterwards to replicate the finished beer.
So as I am a known fan of beer and an admitted non-fan of most malt whiskeys, I was very curious to try this one. And of course, I had to try it alongside its younger brother, Bauhaus Brew Labs’ Stargrazer beer.
Stargrazer Malt Whiskey with Hops
Purchase Info: This was a sample given to me by one of my friends. As of the time of this writing, I see that Ace Spirits has it for sale for $37.99 for a 375 mL bottle.
Details: 45% ABV. As this was reviewed from a sample from a friend, I have no info on the age of the product. A collaboration between Tattersall Distilling and Bauhaus Brew Labs.
Nose: Sweet and floral with cinnamon and pine.
Mouth: The hops really come through on the mouth, bringing some nice floral notes. Along with that are caramel and cinnamon candy.
Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering beery notes.
Thoughts: I really like this! I know, I’m as surprised as you are. Being a huge beer fan, this hits a lot of the same notes for me. Plus it tosses in some of my favorite sweet caramel whiskey notes as well. It does taste young so though I do not know the age of the product, I’m guessing it is of an age where a parent would still use months not years to describe it. But in this case, I think that is working in its favor. I’m really enjoying it.
Stargrazer Beer from Bauhaus Brew Labs
Purchase Info: $9.49 for a 4-pk at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN
Details: 5.0% ABV, 28 IBU, German-style Schwarzbier
Color: Black
Nose: Wheaties Cereal and barnyard funk.
Mouth: Wheaties Cereal and coffee.
Thoughts: I like this, but not nearly as much as I liked the whiskey. The combination, however, is fantastic. Unsurprisingly, they pair very nicely together.
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