The Original Gold Bar Blended Whiskey (40%)
The American blended whiskey category is an exceptionally broad one, allowing up to 80% grain neutral spirits, or GNS, to be added to the mix, along with whiskeys made from corn, wheat, and/or barley. This whiskey packaged in a bottle shaped like a gold bar is thankfully not that sort of blend, but is rather, according to the distillery, distilled from 88% corn, 9% rye and 3% barley prior to a finishing in Napa Valley wine casks.
About the distillery itself, there is a dearth of reliable information – certainly surprising in this Internet age. The company website notes that the distillery is located on Treasure Island in San Francisco, home also to the company’s tasting room, cocktail bar, and event space, but also states in the FAQ that “we mature, double cask and bottle all of our whiskies on site,” with no mention of the actual distillation. Further, the Original Gold Bar bottle describes the whiskey as being “blended, finished & bottled” in San Franciso, but not distilled.
(The premium Black Double Cask Bourbon does offer the information that the spirit is distilled in Texas and matured in San Francisco.)
Still, there is nothing wrong with sourced whiskey if it has been managed well post-distillation, and Napa wine barrel finishing does go a long way towards distinguishing Gold Bar as something a bit different, so let’s see what it tastes like.
Its colour is – dare I say it? – rich gold, while the aroma is highly floral, approaching concentrated potpourri, with rose and carnation, perhaps even a whiff of marigold, alongside banana and yellow plum notes. I’d frankly expect more fruit here, given its wine barrel finish, but what it shows is certainly pleasant and inviting.
More fruit appears on the palate, which is light, sweet, and even when sipped straight, almost refreshing in character. The start is grape, plum, and mandarin, while the body adds vanilla and caramel and just the lightest hint of spice, all leading to a slightly drier but still sweet, orange caramel finish.
At its price point, this sits around the middle of the premium American whiskey category, and with its highly distinctive bottle, is perhaps worth it as a talking point alone. It is also what you might call an ‘approachable’ whiskey, with a light, sweet flavour that neither demands much of its drinker nor delivers an abundance of complexity, leading me to deduce that it is principally meant for mixing rather than contemplative sipping. Something to bear in mind if you decide to give a bottle a try.
76 ($67)