🥃Whiskey Frankenstein - Rebel River Styx (Dread River + Rebel Cask Strength)

This edition of Whiskey Frankenstein (home whiskey blending) brings together two bottles that just didn't "Wow" me. Dread River's Birmingham Bourbon is lovely distillate, very well balanced, but really needed more time in the oak. Rebel Cask Strength, in this case a store pick single barrel, delivered thick flavor but no nuance and more heat than I'd prefer. Can these two misfits from my shelf be better together? Let's find out.

Vámonos!

For the uninitiated, Whiskey Frankenstein is the practice of whiskey blending at home to create improved or interesting combos.

🧪Preparation

I made three 45-50 ml samples for a total of just under two shots of each whiskey consumed.

Samples & Ratios:

A: 50/50 "Half and Half" - 105 proof - Average Age ~4.12 years
B: 75/25 Majority Dread River Bourbon - 97.5 proof - Average Age ~3.43 years
C: 75/25 Majority Rebel Cask Strength - 112.5 proof - Average Age ~4.8 years

Whiskies are measured using a 100ml lab-quality graduated cylinder wielded with questionable skill. Mechanical agitation (stirring/shaking) is applied at the time of blending and prior to consumption. The blends married for six days before tasting and have been rested in an open mini Glencairn for 15 minutes.

👅The Tasting

No discernable difference in color across the three.

Half and Half - The nose is a little funky, definitely a fight between the two. I get a lot of the Dread River in this one, more than I expected. The palate is thickened a bit but the initial flavor is all young sweet-wheat ethanol, rough around the edges. The Rebel does make itself known towards the finish with a blush of baking spices. I would score it a 3 - Neutral, around what I would expect but probably a waste of the Rebel.
Majority Dread River - Actually an improvement to the nose! I get a variety of sweet baking flavors. Alas on the palate I would be hard pressed to tell you it is much different than the original Dread River bottling. There is the tiniest fart of cinnamon and brown sugar in the finish but other than that, there is no rebel spirit to be found. 2 - Inferior
Majority Rebel - We might be on to something here. The nose is boozy but the mouthfeel is full and tempered by the lower proof. I do get the young honey sweetness on the fore palate but there is a nice clean three phases of flavor with oaky vanilla in the middle and a strong spice finish. There is enough strength to get the nutmeg back and a little bit of marshmallow. 4 - Superior -Enough of an improvement that I'll probably consume the rest of the Rebel this way.

🏆Verdict

The 75/25 Rebel version is a keeper! I dub thee "Rebel River Styx" since this mix is forming the boundary between the world of the living and a bottle kill. I had high hopes for the 50/50 blend but the Dread River having an age of less than 3 years old was just too much to overcome.

Now that the hard work is over, time for a real quality PHD (pretty huge drink). Thanks for reading!

💀Scoring Reference

1 - Abysmal - Maybe I'm the monster? This is a war crime.

2 - Inferior - So preoccupied with the knowledge that we could, we didn't stop to think if we should.

3 - Neutral - A simple average of its parts. At least we did no real harm.

4 - Superior - "Jinkies Gang", we might be on to something here. Target whiskey is improved.

5 - Genius - Mad Science does have it's perks; this is a breakthrough. Better than all inputs.

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