Review #183 - Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon
With a mashbill of 70% corn, 25% rye, and 5% malted barley, this Texas bourbon uses grain entirely grown in the state. In fact, all of Still Austin's whiskies use Texas-grown grains, a part of the distillery's core values, which emphasizes craft production and high quality.
This cask strength bottling comes in at an even 59% ABV (118 proof), and while there's no obvious age statement on the front label, we do get a statement of two years on the back - not too surprising, considering the hot climate in Texas that the whisky ages in.
Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon
USA - Bourbon
Price Paid: USD 50 (2023)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 60 (2023)
Age Statement: 2 Years
Strength: 59% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 1 month; bottles at 100%, 90%, and 80% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Rich and sweet, lots of candied dark flavors - molasses, dark chocolate, strong vanilla, and dark cherries. The chocolate becomes lighter and more malty with time, and spices come in later: cinnamon, paprika, nutty spice, and cardamom; we end with some butterscotch candies.
Palate: Medium-thick mouthfeel, warm but not too hot. Nice oaky spice greets us, with some char, anise, and nutmeg; sweetness comes from brown sugar, molasses, rich chocolate cake, and vanilla cake. Further into the palate, it gets more spicy, with cardamom, clove, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes.
Finish: Medium-long and pleasantly warming; balanced between dessert-sweet and spicy. Enough oak that it almost seems double-oaked, and some barrel char as well, but nice milk chocolate and butterscotch flavors to balance it out; there's an aftertaste of burnt sugar.
Final Note: Is this really only two years old? Or is there some older whisky in the blend hiding behind that age statement? This is very nicely developed - strongly flavored, well-balanced, with great sweet flavors and nice strength. The palate is very good, but the nose especially stands out as excellent - those dessert flavors go on and on. Value is pretty good, too - we can find it for $50 to $60 in our area, and it's a definite recommendation at that cost.
Our Average Rating: 7.3 / 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: 7.96
