Colkegan Cask Strength American Single Malt Whiskey
Brief recap: Colkegan is the American Single Malt line from Santa Fe Spirits in New Mexico. They use 30% mesquite-smoked malt and age it on-site at their high desert location 7000’ above sea level with zero humidity. Their current stock is averaging just shy of four years old, with a consistent four years on the near horizon.
Yesterday, I reviewed their core product, the Colkegan American Single Malt, aka the Orange Label.
Today I’ll be reviewing the Colkegan American Single Malt Whiskey Cask Strength, also called the Green Label.
It’ll be a short review but a long story.
In the Colkegan American Single Malt review, I was talking about a product proofed down to 92º. Santa Fe Spirits uses only Sangre de Cristo Mountain water to lower their proof, keeping the water source as local as the mesquite wood.
I know you must be thinking something like, “why is he talking about proofing down in a cask strength review?” and you’d be right to ask that. Two reasons:
First, at the moment, the Colkegan Cask Strength isn’t fully cask strength - it’s at 118º. To Santa Fe Spirits’ credit, this had nothing to do with them and everything to do with changing TTB regulations. When the Cask Strength label was first submitted, producers couldn’t hand-write proofs on the labels, meaning they had to choose a number they were happy with and then proof all bottles in that label accordingly. Santa Fe Spirits chose 118º and ordered thousands of labels.
Shortly thereafter, the TTB changed the rules, allowing hand-written proofs. This has since been changed, but in a sign of where Santa Fe Spirits is in their growth, they still have plenty of these labels left over. Colin has promised that once those labels run out, the barrel proofs will be actual barrel proofs (the new label has already been submitted), which tend to be between 124-126 proof and as high as 130 proof. I can’t wait to try those.
The second reason to talk about proofing down here is kind of the same as the first. For now, Colkegan Cask Strength is locked in at 118, meaning a certain volume of water has to be added to each barrel to achieve that proof (for the Orange Label, this occurs in batches of up to 15 barrels at a time). Colin takes great pride in the extra-slow-proofing done at Santa Fe Spirits.
Seriously—this proofing process takes weeks to months for each batch. Using local water, the whiskey is brought down from a barrel proof of between 124-126 proof (more rarely as high as 130 proof) to the standard 92 proof.
Slow proofing isn’t new, though few lean into the slow aspect as long as Santa Fe Spirits does. When asked why, Keegan introduced a new word into my whiskey lexicon: saponification.
When one adds water all at once to achieve the desired proof, the influx shocks the whiskey, causing the oils and non-water-soluble compounds to clump together in unappealing blobs. This glob-forming is called saponification. If you’ve ever put an ice cube into a non-chill-filtered whiskey, you’ve seen a similar process in action called flocculation or flocculating, where the sudden cold causes similar compounds to drop out of solution and cloud the liquid.
To avoid this, the team adds just a half-gallon of water a day per 15-barrel batch (for the core Orange Label), an insanely slow rate. Dropping from around 125 proof to 92 proof means adding approximately 62 gallons of water per batch, just over four gallons per barrel in the batch. The distillery is now on batch 22 of the Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey, and every sign points to this extra-slow process being the right move to create the whiskey they want.
Occasionally, though, Keegan and his team come across a barrel that is already at the perfect balance of oak, smoke, and caramel. These lucky casks become the Colkegan Single Barrel Barrel Proof. Granted, there’s still some water added, but the process is the same - above all else, don’t shock the whiskey. And the volumes of water are so small for the single casks that they’re hardly proofed at all.
And we, as lucky consumers, get to have them as close to cask strength as we can get at the moment. So do yourself and all of us a favor and go out and buy the current Colkegan Cask Strength so they can use up those labels. IDK about you, but I want a 130º.
Colkegan Cask Strength American Single Malt Whiskey: Specs
Classification: American Single Malt Whiskey
Origin: Santa Fe Spirits
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley (30% Mesquite Smoked)
Proof: 118 (59% ABV)
Age: 3+ Years Old
Location: New Mexico
Colkegan Cask Strength American Single Malt Whiskey Price: $79.99
Colkegan Cask Strength American Single Malt Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Golden straw. Barely-there rims and small teardrops.
Nose: The single malt is a bit stronger, with zero proof or oak power. Fermenting apples, like cider. Sweet with a gentle baking spice backbone. Just-turning caramel.
Palate: The mesquite joins the party after being mostly absent on the nose. Proof, pepper, and oak all hit at once, too, exploding on the palate. It’s note smoky, it’s spicy and woody and stone fruit heavy. Candied ginger opens up alongside licorice spice drops. Mouthfeel is creamy, like a peppery apple custard that cuts across the tongue. Cinnamon spice drops also pop in.
Finish: Medium-length and coating, returning to the fruity character with a hint of the woodsmoke on the end.
Overall: It’s not a Scottish single malt, that’s for sure, and it doesn’t try to be. The mesquite is more powerful than in the apple brandy finished version, but stronger than in the Orange Label. Fruity and custardy, barely a hint of proof until the palate explodes.
Final Rating: 7.3
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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