It’s unclear if the brand is dropping its old Five Trail and Barmen 1873 monikers, but Golden, Colorado’s iconic Coors beer brand continues to ramp up its distilling arm, now releasing products under what seems like a wholly obvious name: Coors Whiskey Co.
Coors Whiskey Co. Blended American Malt Whiskey is an 8 year old malt whiskey — not an American Single Malt but rather a blend, as it’s made with whiskey produced with Coors’ own proprietary malt as well as other Colorado malt whiskeys.
“Most whiskey stories begin in the barrel. Ours begins with the grain,” said Susie McInerney, Sr. Marketing Manager, Coors Spirits Co. “Malt has been part of the Coors story since the earliest days of the company, rooted in long-standing malting tradition. This release represents a natural evolution for Coors Whiskey Co. and is proof that what goes into our whiskey—down to the grain—makes all the difference, and creates something truly differentiated in the category.”
Let’s put down the bottle of Banquet and give it a whirl.
Coors Whiskey Blended American Malt 8 Years Old Review
The nose is a huge surprise — boldly malty, to be sure, but also smoky and quite sharp, far rougher around the edges than the typical malt whiskey (no matter what country it’s from). While quite buttery and heavy with spice, particularly cinnamon, the apparently aggressive char level is what threatens to overwhelm things from the jump.
The palate comes across as old and austere, surprisingly past its prime with its combination of torched citrus peel, sooty creosote, and a lightly industrial quality atop it all. Is this a sherried whiskey? If so, the influence has gone a bit off the rails, washing out the delicacy of the malt and leaving behind a pungency that simply never quits. I suppose some drinkers may gravitate to this level of face bashing, but I found it mostly off-putting, save for some more pleasant moments of milder orange and apricot that eventually peek out on the finish.
I spent two days tasting this whiskey, trying to coax out some of the (many) tasting notes that Coors outlines in its press material, and while there’s fruit (pear, namely) somewhere in the mix, it’s buried so deeply by all the char and smoke as to be largely inscrutable.
110.5 proof.
B- / $80
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