Review: Cedar Ridge The QuintEssential Number Five
Iowa’s Cedar Ridge is perhaps best known for their regionally popular (and often very good!) bourbon, which can outsell some of the nation’s biggest brands in its home market. But never content with just corn, Master Distiller Murphy Quint has also been churning out a series of single malts, including a limited-edition lineup dubbed “The QuintEssential.”
Today, we’re looking at the fifth installment in that line, a 117.8 proof bottling that features five finishing cask types:
Imported Port
Estate Port (Cedar Ridge also boasts an active winery)
Imported Madeira casks
Estate V casks (according to the brand, “a Madeira inspired wine”)
Estate Marquette Red Wine Casks
The bottling is available at the Iowa-based distillery, as well as online and in some select out-of-state markets. Let’s see how it tastes.
Cedar Ridge The QuintEssential Number Five Review
The nose starts off with hot porridge and plenty of Port influence, along with burnt matches, sawdust, chili powder, and grape must. Lingering just below comes cooked mushrooms, creosote, and plenty of malt, which together lend a rich, nearly peated quality that plays nicely with that (increasingly prominent) dose of chili.
While the nose leans a touch chemical, the palate is softer and more approachable, leading with a white grape reduction, sweet balsamic vinegar, smoked cherries, and dried fig. Hints of sulfur and smoke weave in and out across the midpalate, while the sweet and fruity flavors sit thickly on the tongue, carried by a viscous mouthfeel.
The palate moves back toward nutty and malty, along with both continued fortified wine and browning sauce. It’s a complex pour not afraid to mix in a number of savory components, resulting in one of the more adventurous Cedar Ridge expressions I’ve sampled to date. Kudos to Quint, as this swing generally connects for adventurous palates.
117.8 proof.
A- / $100
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