Honey | White peppercorn | Sandalwood | Light grain

Silky honey | Barley | Oak | Earthy yet sweet

Subdued spice | Sticky honey | White peppercorn | Dry oak

Spirit Hounds Distillers is based out of Lyons, Colorado, and has been distilling their own spirits since 2012. The company states that this whiskey is made through a “local collaboration with Lyons', Colorado-based Bee Squared Apiaries is a match made in heaven — our spent whisky barrels age their raw honey for 100 days, with each barrel being carefully rotated once a day. Then, after the honey is removed, they return the empty barrel to us, and we finish our aged whisky for another 90 days.” The company’s website has a barrel search tool that allows consumers to look up very detailed information on the barrel from which their bottle is from, which is a nice nod to transparency.

Whereas I found Spirit Hound Straight Single Malt Whiskey to be lacking the necessary punch needed to stand out, that seems to be slightly corrected with the company’s Honey Aged product. The honey influence is clear throughout the entire sip, yet it’s not overwhelming either. Its presence to start the sip in the nose is clear with honey and sandalwood aromas mingling nicely. The palate is simple yet effective with a silky honey note integrating well with barley and oak. This sticky honey continues into the finish, which rounds things out with a subdued spice that gently lingers. You don’t often see honey finished single malts, and in this case, the honey finish does just enough to allow the company’s malt to stand out at 90 proof versus their standard offering. It’s not an offering that can easily compete with other more bold single malts on the market, but between the company’s Straight Single Malt Whiskey and this, Honey Aged is easily worth the $7 price premium.

The bourbon in review is bottle number 7 from barrel number 38