Spirit Review: Buffalo Trace White Dog

375 ML bottle/ $12.99 at Total Wine

I was browsing around Total Wine this weekend and came across the Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1 and it caught my eye. It helped that it costs a lot less than the Hudson Bay ($33.49) whiskey. I've heard a couple other people talk about it on Twitter and heard mixed reviews. So I decided to review it here for you.

White dog is what the whiskey is called right after it comes off the still. This is a completely un-aged whiskey. This is basically moonshine. This is also what whiskey used to be a couple hundred years ago. That is, according to the back of the bottle, the inspiration for the release of this whiskey. It allows whiskey aficionados to taste what frontier whiskey was like. I also think they've probably been asked multiple times by us whiskey aficionados what it tastes like coming off the still. The mash is made up of corn, rye and malted barley. I can't find what the percentages are though. It is also pretty strong at 125 proof (62.5% ABV).

Pouring it into a glass you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and vodka. Although this is a little bit thicker and has longer legs. However as soon as you put it to your nose you'd be able to tell. The first aroma that I get is bread and yeast. It is overwhelming to the nose and can be smelled without putting your nose into the glass. Once I put my nose into the glass I get a slight amount of rye spice with a sweetness at the end. It reminds me exactly of what the distilling room in a distillery smells like, definitely a good smell. Once I take a sip I am able to taste a fairly strong spice on the tip of the tongue with a sweetness on the outside of the tongue. I can feel the whiskey coat my throat as it goes down. It was a pleasant sensation. Taking another sip of it I am able to taste orange, lemon and bread. Not the combination you'd expect, but what I can pick up. There is a slight amount of alcohol burn but not as much as you'd expect at 125 proof.

I decided to light up a Cain Daytona 646 after getting my impressions of the whiskey. It was a very complimentary pairing. With the slight spiciness of both of them enhancing it on each other. Neither of them over powered the other and they were well balanced. I would recommend this cigar to pair with this whiskey.

I was definitely surprised at how much I enjoyed this whiskey. I've had a couple other brands of moonshine before and none of them compared to this. While this isn't something that I'd drink on a regular basis, it would be something I'd drink occasionally or bring out at a gathering of whiskey lovers as something new and different to try.

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