Austin 121 Cask Strength Light Whiskey
66.9% ABV
$94
Website
We would like to thank Austin Craft Spirits Company and The Whiskey Bard for sending us a sample to review.
What the Distillery Says
AUSTIN 121 CASK STRENGTH LIGHT WHISKEY
Welcome to the family! Austin 121 shares the same crafting principles as Austin 101 Light Whiskey, the most-awarded Light Whiskey ever. Austin 121 starts its life as a barrel of Austin 101. We sample and select a few exceptional barrels with unique character and excellent flavor. When the whiskey achieves perfection, after aging longer, it is bottled at full cask strength. Currently, Austin 121 is available as a single barrel program with select top retailers in Texas.
A Unique Light Whiskey Experience
Austin 121 Cask Strength Light Whiskey has a more intense nose with mineral, butterscotch, and vanilla aromas and is darker and spicier than Austin 101. It also exhibits unique barrel characteristics such as spiciness or buttery sweetness and a long, shockingly smooth finish. Each bottle has its barrel number and the specific cask strength, varying from 121 to 136 proof.
How can it be over 125 proof? Austin 101 enters the barrel at 125, but while aging, a small portion evaporates through the oak. This loss is called Angel’s Share. The extreme heat and dry hill country air can cause the “Angel’s” to take more water than alcohol. So, it is normal for the proof to vary and increase with age.
Precision Crafting
The whiskey is column distilled to a higher proof to create less byproducts and congeners while preserving the natural sweetness and taste of the original grain. It is delicious the moment it comes off the still, and only the finest hand-selected barrels qualify to hold it.
The Ultimate Light Whiskey Experience
Austin 121 has the intensity and purity of a wheated bourbon mash made from 100% Texas grains. Bottled right from the barrel, you will enjoy the ferocious, darker spice flavor of a unique light whiskey at full cask strength. This spirit is easiest to enjoy over one large, cold cube where it stands up well to a little ice.
What Gary Says
Nose: Vanilla, honey buttered bread roll, butterscotch, hint of fruit and oak.
Palate: Thich with a creamy mouthfeel, raw saw palmetto honey, cast iron corn bread, butterscotch, dark fruit notes with cinnamon and pepper spice.
Finish: Short in length with dark honey and pepper.
Comments: As we don’t see a lot of ‘light whiskey’, added a short excerpt below*. This returns to the same mashbill as the Austin 101 Light Whiskey (so moving from 101 to 111 to 121 – not a progression of the same spirit). Definitely get the familial relation to the 101, but this one has the volume turned up. Of the three Austin Light Whiskies, this one I could sip and enjoy – which is faint praise. For the money (nearly double the cost of the 101 at nearly a hundred dollars), I’d be pretty disappointed. The sample here also notes it is aged “at least 1 year”, and given the used casks I think they aren’t providing the spirit many option to develop flavor unfortunately.
Rating: Probably Pass/Average
*Light whiskey is an entirely different category, so important that when approaching it you’re not expecting it to be ‘bourbon’ or ‘rye’ or ‘corn’, because if you do – you’re likely to be disappointed. Where bourbon can’t come off the still any higher than 160 proof (80% ABV), light whiskey has to be higher than that (but less than 190 proof or 95% ABV, since then you’re classified as a grain neutral spirits). There are other legal requirements, but most light whiskey is used for blending into flavored products.