Gingerbread cookie | Brown sugar | Tequila | Citrus zest | White pepper

Vanilla custard | Tobacco | Gingerbread cookie | Apricot | Rye spice

Rye spice | Slight dill | Dried orange | Gingerbread cookie | Brown sugar | Long

For this release, High West Distillery partnered with Casa Noble Tequila, a spirit built on seven generations of leadership. The company states that the intention behind this release was to create a product that appealed to “both whiskey and tequila connoisseurs.” The dichotomy between the brands and their respective regions is featured on the label, which is simple but quite stunning.

High West built its brand on blending whiskeys from various distilleries, and that concept forms the base of Casa Noble, which is a blend of high rye whiskey distilled at High West and high rye whiskey distilled at MGP’s Ross & Squibb Distillery. Percentages are undisclosed, but High West does state that the MGP rye used in the blend ranged from 4-10 years old. The age of the High West distilled rye is undisclosed.

Añejo is a type of tequila, specifically one that has been aged in oak barrels for 1-3 years. Combining a tequila finish with an Amburana finish is an interesting choice, as Amburana can easily overpower the other flavors of a whiskey. But despite the clear Amburana influence throughout, the tequila finishing comes through nonetheless. In fact, you get all the individual parts with this finished whiskey: Rye spice and even dill from the base rye blend, gingerbread cookie and brown sugar from the Amburana finish, and tequila, citrus, and dried fruits from the añejo tequila finish. These are three very unique categories of flavor, and it’s difficult to fully wrap your head around all of them coming together in the same pour.

As a result, it takes a few sittings with this whiskey to dial it in. It’s unique and interesting and has a lot going for it. Identifying each component as a separate flavor element as opposed to a cohesive union is my main criticism. And the inclusion of Amburana seems like it is there purely to smooth out the rye and tequila-driven flavors. But to be fair, I’m not sure what the end result “should be” when attempting to bring all of these flavors together. The label illustrates the dichotomy between whiskey and tequila, and ultimately the flavor profile delivers on that in spades, clearly showcasing both of the spirits’ flavors.