Cut Spike Nebraska Single Malt Whiskey (750ml)

Staff Reviews

AH

Aaron Hughes

Aaron Hughes

A complex nose with barrel spice and vanilla and an outdoorsy cedar woods aroma complimented by sweet stewed apples and pears. The palate is sweet at first with bright fruits, but this quickly gives way to caramel and vanilla with a backbone of pie spices on the lingering finish. All in all, an interesting and worthy bottle of American Single Malt Whiskey.

RW

Ryan Woodhouse

Ryan Woodhouse

I have to say my palate wasn't quite sure where to place this flavor profile Scotch or Bourbon...Bourbon or Scotch...? But the one thing my taste buds certainly weren't confused about was how delicious it is! There is plenty of the detail and delicacy of single malt but everything is lacquered with the exotic wood spice and richness of American oak. The two flavor bases (the malt and the wood) have married together really well making this a fascinating drop that I really think will please both types of whisk(e)y drinkers.

GW

Gary Westby

Gary Westby

This rich, layered whisky shows just how good young craft malt can be. I am not a believer in paying a high price for young stuff just because it comes from a small hands-on distillery. It has to be in the bottle, and the Cut Spike has the stuffing to justify the price. It is rich and textural without being over the top, and has layers of complexity that caught me by surprise. If you are interested in seeing how good a new distiller can be, check it out!

Notes

At first we couldn't believe our mouths. We knew that Cut Spike single malt had just taken Double Gold honors at the 2014 San Francisco Spirits competition (the highest possible honor), so obviously other people thought it was good, too. But after tasting so many mediocre American attempts at single-malt whiskey, we had become accustomed to the idea that the Scottish style of distillation would never be recreated here at home. There would be spin-offs, and experimental grasps at greatness, but that supple, malty profile would simply be something we needed to import from abroad. Then the folks at Cut Spike sent us a sample of their two-year-old Nebraskan single-malt whisky made from 100% malted barley on a pot still crafted in Rothes, Scotland. Fermented at the brewery next door to Cut Spike in La Vista, the malt was matured for two years in new American oak with varying levels of char. The result is an incredible hybrid: soft, barley and vanilla-laden whiskey that tastes somewhat like your standard Scottish single malt, but has its own unique character at the same time. It's the kind of whiskey you taste once and enjoy, but then the next day suddenly crave intensely. It impresses you instantly, yet doesn't really reveal its full character until weeks later. The new oak blurs seamlessly into the malty mouthfeel, adding a richness on the finish normally not tasted in standard Scottish selections. Cut Spike is a major accomplishment for American distillation, pure and simple.