Colkegan American Single Malt Whiskey
7000 feet above sea level can’t be that different from Scotland, right?
Well, Colin Keegan is here to prove two things: first, that it’s very different from Scotland, and second, who cares - this single malt holds its own, whether from Scotland or New Mexico.
Santa Fe Spirits, Colin’s baby, is perched on the city’s outskirts in an apple orchard Colin and his wife bought in the late 2000s. He grew up drinking inexpensive blends in Yorkshire, just a few hours from the Scottish border but a long ways away from the single malts he’d later love.
Over several decades as an architect, Colin learned about those single malts one at a time: a gift from a client here, a final celebratory pour there, working his way from Dewar’s and Johnnie Walker Red to Glenmorangie and Macallan. All this time, the couple had created a life in Santa Fe.
The story of how an apple orchard became a single malt distillery is for another review - the Colkegan Single Malt Finished in Apple Brandy Barrels. For Colkegan, the story starts here, with the orange label Single Malt Whiskey.
Being in the US, Colin could easily have gone towards a bourbon or a rye and nobody would have been the wiser. But the man from Yorkshire saw a different path: American Single Malt.
Single malt whisky well-defined in Scotland thanks to the SWA, and other countries have similar regulations taken directly from or modeled after the SWA’s rules. The United States has strict rules about what can and can’t be called bourbon, rye, and other grain whiskies, but as of now there are no formal TTB regulations on American Single Malt (ASM) as a category.
That’s not for the industry and distillers’ lack of trying, and I’ll detail those efforts in an article for Bourbon and Banter in the coming weeks. For now - for this review and the following Colkegan reviews - consider ASM to follow what you know of Scotch whisky’s rules.
The basic rules for Single Malt Scotch: it must be made at a single distillery from 100% barley and water, aged at least three years, and bottled in Scotland. The grains can be treated any number of ways - peat smoking them, for example - but the ingredients must remain the same.
When designing the Colkegan, Colin sought to both recreate the single malts he had grown to love while imbuing this product with the terroir of Santa Fe. There’s smoke on the palate, but no peat. Instead, Santa Fe Spirits smokes 30% of their barley with local mesquite wood for a meaty, barbecue-like smoke. The rest is left unsmoked. They went to great lengths to find that right balance, trying everything from 25% to 50% all the way to 100% smoked barley before finding the right levels.
To be fair, Santa Fe Spirits also didn’t have many options for smoking. The only two native trees to the high desert are piñon (also spelled pinyon) or mesquite. Piñon smells great when in a bonfire - it’s where pine nuts come from, after all - but gave an acrid taste to the malt when used to smoke. Mesquite, on the other hand, fit perfectly.
Mesquite and malt - what a pairing. This is the first of four Colkegan products I’ll be writing up, and while not my favorite of the four (you’ll have to read each to find that out), this is a solid American Single Malt that deftly straddles the line between Scottish tradition and local, American flavor. I will - and have - shared happily with friends, and I think you will, too.
Colkegan American Single Malt Whiskey: Specs
Classification: American Single Malt Whiskey
Origin: Santa Fe Spirits
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley (30% Mesquite Smoked)
Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Age: 3+ Years Old
Location: New Mexico
Colkegan American Single Malt Whiskey Price: $59.99
Colkegan American Single Malt Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Iced green tea, syrupy rims and slow drooping droplets.
Nose: Sweet, slightly funky malt character at first. Mesquite not immediately apparent on the nose, but does grow with air. As the mesquite smoke opens it adds oiliness and rounded smoke. Green apple tartness in the background.
Palate: Fruity, smoked plums in a tangy, oaky sauce. The mesquite is still gentle but more present, giving a nice lacquer on the tongue and underneath. Burnt brown sugar, peaches, and a pretzel crust just turning dark. Mouthfeel is light to medium, astringent on the front palate with growing spice. Smoke remains in the background.
Finish: Medium length, a drier woodsmoke fully coating the mouth. Tart apples take over once again from the sweeter stone fruit. Burnt sugar and pretzel crusts round it out.
Overall: Great balance throughout. The smoke is unique and well-controlled, a background note that ends up as more of a backbone. The malt is funky at first then matures on the chew, fruity without being too sweet, varying between stone fruits and tart apples. Just enough oak to add body and pepper.
Final Rating: 6.9
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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