Review: Stranahan’s American Single Malt Whiskey Snowflake 2025 Windom Peak
For most whiskey fans, December marks the end of release season. For devotees of Colorado-based Stranahan’s (self-proclaimed “Strana-fans”), it’s time for Snowflake, the distillery’s most anticipated and acclaimed whiskey. Bottles go on sale following a week of branded festivities, with nearly all going to those who camped out to reserve spots in line. Whiskey, it seems, can do wonders to stave off the Denver cold.
As always, this year’s Snowflake is a unique, never-to-be-replicated blend featuring single malt aged across a variety of cask types. It’s the 28th in the series and the third such creation from current Head Blender Justin Aden. The whiskey’s namesake always comes from one of Colorado’s numerous 14,000+ foot mountains. This year, that honor goes to Windom Peak.
For the 2023 release, Aden leveraged smoky mezcal and Islay Scotch casks. In 2024, he leaned hard into fortified wine. In 2025, Aden took yet another path, telling Drinkhacker he used a two-coupe blend to construct a “mild, tropical, and nuanced” flavor profile.
To accomplish the task, Aden used 60% of a base blend composed of whiskey finished in second-fill reposado and extra añejo tequila casks, which he sourced from across parent company Proximo’s portfolio. A number of those casks previously held Snowflake components from 2021 and 2023, and some held parts of this year’s base for up to 4.5 years.
The remaining 40% “flavor coupe” blend features malt aged in barrels that formerly contained rhum agricole, orange wine, and white Port; a single New York applejack cask was also included. Aden tells Drinkhacker he targeted a complex profile that wouldn’t automatically evoke tequila.
After combining, the whiskey was bottled at 94 proof. Let’s see how it tastes.
Stranahan’s Snowflake 2025 Windom Peak Review
On the nose, we’ve got an early bolt of fruit flavors, including tart green apple, ripe guava, bitter orange, and watermelon hard candy. That apple note is especially bright this time around and sticks through the entire nose, perhaps owing in part to that single applejack cask. There’s also plenty in the way of candy peach rings, a scent common to recent Stranahan’s releases and a standout note from last year’s Snowflake (Redcloud Peak). Early, sweet notes recede slightly, allowing scents of tannic orange wine and light rhum funk to build in the nostrils. A tiny procession of herbal agave arrives next, but it never comes close to hitting the impact of the early fruit (or even the wine). The nose ends with a fleeting — though fun — dash of chocolate bitters.
A first sip isn’t quite as fruit-forward as the early nose, and it’s certainly more restrained in that realm compared to 2024. Here, fruit manifests as overripe apples, pears, and persimmons; there’s little in the way of tart hard candy. Instead, we’ve got what tastes more like a synthesis of malt and rhum agricole. It’s lightly nutty, with a dark cereal undertone. Those flavors are further paired with earthen, herbal, and citrus elements, which lends a nearly rye-like midpalate to the whiskey. The finishing casks do quite a bit to temper the base spirit, all while adding a roundedness that does a lot of heavy lifting at the sides and back of the palate. Agave syrup lingers on the back of the tongue, along with oak and wine tannins that create an almost unexpected mouthwatering sensation.
A medium length finish wraps things up and brings final bursts of sugarcane juice, overripe fruit, and sour grape straw candy. Oak influence hits right in line with a balanced reposado.
At its surface, Windom Peak shows well even among its siblings. It’s perhaps less adventurous than 2023 and more restrained than 2024, while ultimately showcasing more balance than either. For Snowflake fans, it’s likely to be an undeniable hit: intriguing and inimitable, yet recognizably Stranahan’s.
94 proof.
A- / $120
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