A local group I am in did a bottle share on Elixir Spirit’s Four Horseman of the Whiskey Apocalypse(warning Facebook link) a set of 4 high proof MGP light whiskies sourced by Backbone with over the top stickers. I’d only had two experiences with MGP light whiskey before these samples with the High West 14 Year, which was interesting as a novelty but not something I want to drink regularly and Single Cask Nation’s 12 light whiskey finished in bourbon, rye and IPA casks which I did not care for. Given that I am not sure why I thought a sample set of MGP light whiskies was something I should go in on but here we are so let’s taste them.
Also based on the advise of a more experience light whiskey drinker I let these rest for 15 minutes instead of my customary 5.
Death
Age: 11 years
Abv: 132 proof
Neat
Nose: Potent with strong acetone notes and subtler oak and sweet notes.
Taste: Tons of burn, acetone, an almost plastic note, slight sweet notes underneath.
Finish: A welcome rush of sweet vanilla and then a faint lingering burn.
0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this
Conquest
Age: 11 years
Abv: 135 proof
Neat
Nose: Smells like vodka with some fainter vanilla and caramel notes.
Taste: Hot with a good amount of ethanol taste and some rich caramel and spice underneath. Great mouthfeel.
Finish: Long and lingering with spice and vanilla notes.
0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this
War
Age: 11 years
Abv: 136 proof
Neat
Nose: Vodka and sweet vanilla notes.
Taste: Subtler ethanol with warm spices, rich caramel and oak notes. Great mouthfeel.
Finish: Shorter finish with warm spice and faint caramel.
0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this
Famine
Age: 11 years
Abv: 143.3 proof
Neat
Nose: Off putting with plastic and oak notes.
Taste: More plastic and oak. Very harsh.
Finish: Medium to long finish with more of the weird notes.
0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this
Conclusion
Well that was something. The Death was aptly named and was one of, if not the worst, whiskey I’ve had this year closely followed by the Famine. The Conquest and War were shockingly better than the other two and were enjoyable if not something I would want to drink regularly. The higher proof made them more interesting if nothing else. The other folks I’ve heard back from on the bottle share agreed that War and Conquest were the best though some people enjoyed Famine more than I did.
I think I am done with light whiskey for a while at least. Bourbon, rye and scotch are more my kinds of whiskey.
TL;DR: Conquest and War are what High West’s Light Whiskey should have been. Death and Famine were drain pours. None impressed
Scale
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