Review #122 - Fraser Valley Colorado Bourbon
On a trip to the Rockies a couple of years ago, we stopped at Fraser Valley Distilling in Fraser, Colorado. This is a small, local distillery producing a range of products - whiskies (including bourbon, rye, single malt, and more), gins, agave, vodka, and more.
After tasting a flight of spirits at the distillery's cozy tasting room, we decided to snag a bottle of this Colorado bourbon whiskey - it stood out from the others. This was earlier on our whisky journey, and we couldn't quite pick out what the unique factor was, but our interest was piqued.
While the distillery currently makes a straight bourbon, this is actually a different product, a more limited bottling from earlier in their distilling journey. This is the 'Colorado Bourbon,' a whisky with a mashbill high in malted barley content - the difference that stuck out in our tasting at the distillery.
Like many young, craft distilleries, the whisky produced is often bottled at a relatively young age; in fact, this one doesn't boast an obvious age statement, but in the print on the back label, you can find a guarantee of one year of aging.
Fraser Valley Colorado Bourbon
USA - Bourbon
Price Paid: USD 38 (2021)
Current Locally Available Price: N/A - no longer available (2023)
Age Statement: 1 Year
Strength: 43% ABV
Details: High barley mashbill
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 11 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A decent amount of grain, both corn and malt - this almost smells like a single malt at times due to that high malted barley content. Young but still oaky, lots of oats and cereal, along with some white pepper; it's relatively dry, not too many sweet flavors other than barley sugar. Some cinnamon comes in, and in one tasting, hints of stone fruit wafted in.
Palate: Medium-thin mouthfeel, lively and spirity, and that one year age statement is shining through - young with sugary oatmeal grains, some heat and not too much oak. There's a hint of maraschino cherries, but lots of spices take over - anise, black pepper, wood smoke, a slight astringency, too.
Finish: Medium length, warming with hot cinnamon and some wood astringency. A hint of acetone, and there's some corn grain once again.
Final Note: The big drawback here is the age - while some whiskies can be good after a relatively short time spent maturing, this one needs a little more time. The more current bourbon offering from FVD sport a 'straight' bourbon designation with no age statement, meaning it should be at least 4 years old; that might be worth a look soon, so we can compare. As for value - not necessarily relevant in this case, as this bottling is no longer available.
Our Average Rating: 4.8 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.59
