Deerhammer Down Time: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

Deerhammer Down Time

Deerhammer, an artisan distillery in Buena Vista, Colorado, produces a single malt whiskey called Down Time.  The whiskey is sort of a cross between a bourbon and a Scotch.  It uses entirely barley in the grain bill, like all single malt Scotch, but it uses yeast that is more popular with bourbon distillers and is aged in a freshly charred new American white oak barrel, exactly like bourbon.  The result is interesting for sure.  The oak comes through on the nose as well as the noticeable barley grain bill and absence of corn sweetness.  Lots of wood, caramel, and toffee line the palate.  Some herbal qualities and spice arise at the finish and then are drowned out by the oak and a bitterness like swig of black coffee.  The whiskey is significantly complex as the grains, yeast, and barrel are all providing different flavors to create a unique whiskey.

Dearhammer Down Time

Average Score 61.5

Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by Calandro's Supermarket. Calandro's has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, and other whisk(e)ys as well as wine and craft beer. This WW feature was scored by Eric Ducote, Brenton Day, and Charles Pierce. Scores are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, and Balance and Complexity using our own proprietary scoring system. Marks are then added and averaged, leaving us with a final score out of a 100 point scale. Our scale should be looked at on the full range of 0-100 rather than an academic range where 70 is passing and anything less is failing. A 50 should be considered a very mediocre whisk(e)y while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 90 is rather extraordinary.