I have been sitting on this draft for a while simply because I forgot about it, so here it is.

After a long night of running around the streets of Chicago with brother in arms Mike Ryan (Head Bartender for Sable Kitchen and Bar), it was time to make our way back to his place and settle down with a night cap. That night cap happened to be Buffalo Trace’s White Dog. I am a fan of their Bourbon, so I was curious to see how the unaged spirit would stack up to its matured counter part.

I will simply say that first it is potent and packs a punch, and rightfully it should it is after all 125 proof, but this is not some swill that you slam back, and pray that you don’t you go blind, but rather something much more. At least that is what I told myself when I went back for seconds.

The aroma of the white dog is surprisingly sweet, almost like sugar cane, there were also notes of corn, grain, and of course alcohol. I found it to be sweeter in taste than I expected, there were of course no notes of caramel and vanilla due to the fact that it was never aged in a charred oak barrel, like Bourbon. The rye certainly helped to give a little bite towards the back of the palate and leave an after taste that somewhat resembled whisky.

Is White Dog something that you want pour in a glass and sip on after a long day of work? Maybe if you had one hell of a day. I prefer it’s more mature sibling; it is simply more balanced and well rounded after the aging process. However this was a great experience and exercise in further pursuing the understanding and appreciation of whisky.

I would suspect now that it is becoming more available we will start seeing more bartenders/ mixologists incorporating this in to their craft cocktails, or maybe you will see them sneaking shots and claim that it is only vodka! Who knows, but if you are interested in checking this out for yourself you can pick a bottle up for just under $20.00.