But Fireside Bourbon is not a rye whiskey. Lingering notes of citrus peel and semi-ripe strawberries combine with a touch of vanilla custard to help extend this pleasant finish. There’s enough sweetness (now in the form of honey) that helps keep the finish in balance.

Spicy notes like dry cinnamon and ground pepper add a nice pop of heat. The sweet flavors do eventually catch up as the session goes on with notes of fruit leathers, plums and charred citrus rinds.įinish: Lingering flavors of sweet grass and mint oil settles on my tongue and cheeks. However, barrel char and “new leather” flavors chase the other flavors around during the whole sip, leaving the impression that this bourbon is much more tannic than its age suggests. If I had to pinpoint what it is I’m tasting, I’d say it’s more like a mix of Double Mint gum and Bazooka Joe gum in my mouth at the same time. Wherever this rye comes from, it’s an extremely potent strain! (insert Colorado + marijuana joke here) There are herbal and floral notes and even cedarwood planks. Palate: My first few sips would make it hard to convince me that this isn’t a rye whiskey. As the glass opens up, I also found some lighter seasoned wood notes. There’s an underlying grassy-ness that seems to follow around many of the other scents but is light enough to not obscure them. That could be a good or a bad thing depending on your expectations, but I generally enjoyed it. The sweet aromas in this glass lean more towards molasses but aren’t as sweet as you normally expect from a bourbon. I even detect a decent amount of gingerbread. There are scents of mint and bubblegum as well as sweet hay. Nose: The nose initially comes off very similar to a rye whiskey. So how is it? I sat down with this bottle over the course of a few weeks to see what it was all about. Barrel Proof single barrels are also available, but for today I’m tasting this one. An Easter Egg for those familiar with the mile-high city (5,280 ft above sea level) is that the ABV comes out to 52.80%, which was both intentional and coincidental as the distiller’s found their product tasted best proofed down to roughly 53% ABV anyway. The bottle I’m reviewing today has an age statement of 3 years and 3 months with a proof of 105.6. In the very near future, their lineup will also include an even higher rye-bourbon mashbill as well as a rye whiskey.įireside Bourbon typically comes in a batched, 80 proof bottling that is aged a minimum of 2 years, but their single barrel line sees a nice bump in age and proof.

They must have liked it a whole lot because their mashbill is on the high side of rye content at 20% (Fireside’s mashbill is noted as 70/20/10).

To that end, they found a local farmer that was growing what they were looking for. MHS wanted to make a ryed-bourbon mashbill that could be sourced from locally grown grains but also would be sufficiently spicy and flavorful.

They age their whiskey in a local warehouse that only has one floor consisting of 6 tiers for a more equal aging process. Fireside Bourbonįireside Bourbon is a straight bourbon whiskey that is produced entirely by the team at MHS and is not blended with any other outside distillate (like Tincup and Breckenridge does). But we’re here today to look at their Fireside Bourbon. Although they’re smaller than their Colorado brethren, that hasn’t stopped them from being distributed into other states. Mile High Spirits also hails from Colorado and their distillery is nestled into the heart of Denver. Names like Stranahan’s, Tincup and Breckenridge have all became common sightings from coast to coast. But the Centennial State has given us quite a few names that have reached national-distribution in a relatively short time. When you think of bourbon and whiskey-producing states outside of the big 3, Colorado may not even register on your radar. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Mile high spirits and distillery