Old Potrero 18 Year Old Single Malt Hotaling’s Whiskey isn’t a single malt like we’ve come to expect. Instead of using 100% malted barley Anchor distilling used 100% malted rye instead. So why didn’t they call it a malted rye whiskey? I don’t know, but what I can tell you is that it’s quite a unique whiskey and when we tasted it that night I enjoyed the almost perverse weirdness of it. It didn’t blow me away or anything, but it was one I returned to a just because it was so unique and interesting.
For a bit more about the Old Potrero 18 Year Old Single Malt Hotaling’s Whiskey we turn to Anchor’s site:
“This unusual whiskey has been aged for 16 years” – this is obviously the older 18 year version – “in once-used, charred oak whiskey barrels. Many of the finest Scottish “single malts” are aged in the same manner. The method of producing this Hotaling’s Whiskey is identical to the other Old Potrero whiskeys-it is a pot-distilled spirit from a mash of 100% malted rye. Only the barrel aging is different.”
Old Potrero 18 Year Old Single Malt Hotaling’s Whiskey Info
Region: California, USA
Distiller: Anchor Distilling
Mashbill: 100% Malted Rye
Cask: Second-Fill Charred Oak
Age: 18 years
ABV: 50%
Single Barrel | Bottled In Bond
Price: $200
Old Potrero 18 Year Old Single Malt Hotaling’s Whiskey Review
EYE
Caramel
NOSE
This is a bit weird… it smells like strawberries and cream mixed with a dark fruit compote made of cherries, figs and raisins that was spread on an on oak plank. Light notes of spice, dust, olde time candy and a sprinkling of dill round things out in an odd but not unpleasant manner.
PALATE
Citrus, caramel, soap, dill, grain and old wood gets dusted with a tiny bit of something that kind of resembles dill. The nose is much more dynamic.
FINISH
Medium fade of caramel, citrus, soap and wood.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
A bit unbalanced, medium body and a soft average texture.
OVERALL
Old Potrero 18 Year Old Single Malt Hotaling’s Whiskey is a weird whiskey for sure. The nose is crazy and dynamic but it’s all over the place with sweet, dark and funky notes that move in a way that’s hard to get a read on. The palate, on the other hand, is rather straight forward and simple in comparison and ends up comparatively boring and mundane in its oddness.
To be honest I’m not fully sure what to think about the Old Potrero 18 Year Old Single Malt Hotaling’s Whiskey. On one hand I’m intrigued because it’s so weird and on the other hand I’m a bit turned off to it. After setting the glass down I kept wanting to come back to it and explore it to see if I could figure it out and really “lock in”. In the end I landed on a solid B because while it’s at the right level of weirdness, and would like to revisit it from time to time, it’s not a daily drinker for me.
SCORE: 83-86/100 (B, not consumed at home)
