As is tradition I got a bottle of this year’s A Midwinter Nights Dram, specifically Act 7 Scene 4. I liked the new act though it seemed to be getting mixed feedback online with a fair number of folks pining for the older releases. I tend to that it’s about 50-50 when folks complain about how older whiskey was better. Sometimes the whiskey has gotten younger and worse for it but other times I think they are just looking back with rose colored glasses.
Anyways I set out to do a blind tasting of some newer and older MWNDs and was able to scrounge up samples of Acts 2, 5 and 6 to blind taste against Act 7. I recorded it and posted it to Instagram before sitting down the next day(yesterday) to write this version and spend a bit more time with each sample.
Act 2.4 Scene 1048
Age: 6 year MGP and 16 year Barton
Abv: 98.6 proof
Mashbill:
- 95/5 rye/malted barley (MGP)
- 80/10/10 rye/corn/malted barley (Barton)
Neat
Nose: Rye spice, rich herbal and subtler dark fruit notes
Taste: Spicy and herbal with rye spice, herbs including a distinct but not overwhelming dill note and a bit of sweetness. Great mouthfeel for the proof.
Finish: Very long, warm and sweet with a clear port influence and rich dark fruit and holiday spice notes that gets a little too spicy at the end for me.
7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar
Act 5 Scene 8
Age: NAS
Abv: 98.6 proof
Mashbill:
- 95/5 rye/malted barley (MGP)
- 53/37/10 rye/corn/malted barley (Barton)
- 80/10/10 rye/corn/malted barley (Barton)
Neat
Nose: Warm spice, rye bread, cherry and vanilla notes.
Taste: Sweet dark fruit, herbal(no clear dill note but maybe a hint?) and warm spice notes with a hint of something else sweet. The mouthfeel is solid but not as nice as the Act 2.
Finish: Medium to long finish with more cherry and warm spice. Also gets a little too hot right at the end like the Act 2.
8 - an excellent bottle I’d like to have at home
Act 6 Scene 4
Age: NAS years
Abv: 98.6 proof
Mashbill:
- 95/5 rye/malted barley (MGP)
- 80/20 rye/malted rye (High West)
- 53/37/10 rye/corn/malted barley (Barton)
- 80/10/10 rye/corn/malted barley (Barton)
Neat
Nose: Warm and sweet with cherry, vanilla, warm spice and herbal notes
Taste: Herbaceous then sweet with herbal notes, sweet cherry and a touch spice. Great mouthfeel but still not quite Act 2 level though a step up from Act 5.
Finish: Very long, sweet and lightly spicy with more cherry and baking spice notes. No heat flare from 2 or 5.
9 - a favorite I always try to keep on my shelf
Act 7 Scene 4
Age: NAS years
Abv: 98.6 proof
Mashbill:
- 95/5 rye/malted barley (MGP)
- 80/20 rye/malted rye from (High West)
Neat
Nose: Rye spice, dark fruit and vanilla notes
Taste: Warm and fruity with rye spice, cherry and vanilla notes. The mouthfeel is on par with Act 6.
Finish: Warm, sticky and sweet with cherry syrup and warm spice notes.
8 - an excellent bottle I’d like to have at home
Conclusion
These were all great! I feel pretty justified in my old reviews of Act 6 and Act 5 now as well. The older Acts(2 and 5) were much more traditional MGP/Barton ye with a lot of herbal notes and a little more heat. The more recent releases were definitely sweeter and fruitier which was great for me. Overall 6 was the clear winner and 2 was the clear loser with 5 getting a slight nod over 7.
I am going to keep buying these for the foreseeable future since they are trending up on average for me. I do hope they nail down a great ratio of their distillate to sourced stuff instead of radically changing it each year and lean in a little more on the port finishing time to hopefully get closer to replicating my favorite High West of all time.
TL;DR: MWND is good; 6>5>7>2 for me; more port finish is more my style
Scale
Scale
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