DSR – VA – 023: Lost Whiskey Club Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Wheat Heavy
Company/Distillery: GreenSpur, Inc.
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Mash Bill: At Least 51% Corn and a reported 45% Wheat
Age Statement: No Age Statement
Proof/ABV: 90 Proof/45% ABV
Color & Viscosity: In the bottle, this offering from Lost Whiskey Club appears russet in color. From the glass, the whiskey presents a light chestnut color. Tilting the tasting vessel to the side, the whiskey produces fast legs with a medium viscous line remaining. Not overly thick in appearance, a crisp and rather clear layer coats the sides of the glass delicately. The viscous line eventually becomes thick droplets that cling to the side of the glass.
Purchase Price: $32.99 for 375 ml bottle.
Bottle Label Information:
Front Label
“Lost Whiskey Club”
“Straight Bourbon Whisky”
“Barrel No. 55 | Story No. 027”
Back Label
“Share Your Story: @lostwhiskeydistillery”
“Bottled by GreenSpur Inc. in Fairfax, VA”
Distillery Background
GreenSpur, Inc.
GreenSpur, Inc. is a design build firm established in 2009 by Mark Turner. Mr. Turner, originally from Jackson Hole, Wyoming founded GreenSpur, Inc. with the vision of building and designing projects that are outside of the box, merging rustic designs with modern flair. The Lost Whiskey Club was born out of an idea by Turner and his team at GreenSpur to build a location where you could get away and disconnect from the rat race, relax, and enjoy a bottle of Lost Whiskey Club Straight Bourbon Whiskey with friends. You can see the Lost Whiskey Club and learn more about GreenSpur and their mission in this article by Dwell.
Turner’s team includes Nick Cioffi – Vice President of Construction, Jimmy Matthews – Vice President of Development, and Zach Gasper – Vice President of Design. The team designed and built the Lost Whiskey Club on 50 acres about an hour outside of Washington DC.
Tasting Notes
Tasting Date/Vessel: January 2, 2023 – Neat in a Glencairn glass; Then with a few drops of distilled water.
Nose
Christian: In the bottle, Lost Whiskey Club Straight Bourbon Whiskey offers very traditional aromatics. Light notes of tobacco, burnt brown sugar, and honey are all detected. In my Glencairn glass, this heavily wheated straight bourbon whiskey has a delicate, sweet nose. On the first pass I notice honey, fresh pie crust, vanilla bean, brown sugar, and pear. There is a very light floral component present as well. A gentle swirl allows vanilla custard with toasted sugar to develop. I was concerned that adding water to this low proof pour would really take away from it, but it held up pretty well. The water allows the oakiness to take over the nose, overwhelming much of the sweetness from before.
Mike: The long slender bottle channels hints of fresh oak, sweet tobacco leaf, and dried fruits pleasantly out of the bottle neck. Poured into a glass, I nose organic unsweetened applesauce or fresh apple puree that succumbs to raw pie dough. A swirl of the glass produces subtle hints of uncooked rolled oats. These aromas intermingle with soft ripples of ethanol. This is not surprising for this young whiskey.
Mouth
Christian: The mouth feel of this whiskey is very light and almost watery. My first sip offered a bold punch of corn. As I continue to sip further, I begin to notice light flavors of graham crackers, vanilla, oak, and honey. Similar to the nose, there is a tease of fruitiness reminding me of a fresh pear or apple. Water really subdues this pour, making it reminiscent of water flavored with caramel corn syrup.
Mike: As I draw the glass to my mouth for a sip, the youthfulness of this whiskey reveals itself with a wave of ethanol. The young heat raids the palate with a black pepper zest and corn forward flavor. An overall crisp mouthfeel upfront transitions to delicate notes of honey mid-palate, then becoming increasingly dry late.Very faint notes of tobacco and leather emerge late offering a mild bitterness.
Finish
Christian: Man, this sits in your chest and warms forever. The finish is medium, leaning long. This is the first time that the young age in this whiskey has really shown up. Subtle hints of sugary syrup sweetness combined with barrel char and a touch of pears covered in brown sugar really leave their mark on your palate. The finish almost totally disappears with the addition of water and holds a bit of oak bitterness from the barrel.
Mike: This straight bourbon from Lost Whiskey Club offers a medium to long finish overall. Black pepper bite tickles the back of the throat then fades. A progressing warmth picks back up in the mid-chest region and persists fantastically. There is a faint sweetness that lingers on the palate but the source is unidentifiable–more of a refined sugar sweetness rather than organic, from say fruit or corn.
Our Rating
Final Thoughts
Christian: I find this Lost Whiskey Club Heavy Wheat Straight Bourbon Whiskey to be an interesting review. My interpretation of the goal of this product is to be a whiskey enjoyed by friends, away from the hustle and bustle of life, on an exclusive hideaway. With that in mind I have no problem with this whiskey. Although it is very light in flavors and aromatics, Lost Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Heavy Wheat is approachable, unassuming, and capable of being enjoyed by a wide array of friends and visitors with which you wish to just enjoy an evening.
But from a review standpoint, for a whiskey sold to the masses, this product leaves some questions. Primarily, the information provided on the bottle, or lack thereof, just leaves one with many unanswered questions. Where is this whiskey made? We assume it is sourced, but absolutely no information is disclosed. How old is the whiskey – the lack of an age on the label and being a “straight” bourbon, implies that this offering is at least 4 years old. Finally, you have to read the sku on the back of the bottle just to know what product you are even buying – the heavy wheat versus the rye.
Rating: 2.50 Rickhouses
Mike: This is a young whiskey that just needs more time in the barrel to develop an identity. It’s palatable compared to competitors I’ve tasted in the same age range. It’s young, but not harsh. It’s an OK to average offering that could be good to great with more age. I am giving this a slight ratings bump for the attractive bottle, it’s sleek and elegant without being overly lavish looking.
Rating: 2.625 Rickhouses
Gallery
