TN: Charbay - "R5" Whiskey

Charbay – “R5” Whiskey
– tasted neat, non-blind, from a single malt glass –
– made from distilled Bear Republic – “Racer 5” IPA –

NOSE: strong sweetish tequila/agave/salinic thing going on; does have a rather pronounced sweet hop note; spicy — oddly, almost like Choloua hot sauce; there’s an interesting and somewhat off-putting underlying note of bitter wood.

TASTE: some oak; alc. can be tasted a bit (49.5%); I’m actually liking this now more than I did the first time I tried it a few weeks ago; on the sweet side; does not taste anything like a traditional Bourbon; bitter wood note carries-through from Nose to Palate. Undeniably interesting … I’m just not sure yet how much I actually like it; for the record, I’m not someone who really likes Bourbon very much, and the single malts I drink I prefer to be on the smoky/peaty end of the spectrum; this Charbay whisky is, quite decidedly, not that.

P.S.: a huge Thank You to Joe H. for going out of his way to procure this bottle for me upon my request. You’re a good man, Joe!

Just finishing another pour of this right now. It has grown on me since my first tasting.

Some of my whisky drinking friends are into these and have visited Charbay to taste their spirits. They brought some samples to our annual gathering three years ago, as well as a bottle of Whiskey Release II. Interesting for what they are, but not my cup of tea.

Thanks for the review. We will soon start distributing Charbay in Puerto Rico and your comments are encouraging.

Carlos