A wheat whiskey, the Death’s Door White Whiskey is a double distilled whiskey with an 80/20 mash that has only ever touched uncharred oak (which essentially does… nothing) and is another entry into the unfathomably still blooming “moonshine” market. I don’t understand why people spend their money in this category but to each their own.
The only reason I bought this was to use as a base spirit to held strip some of the oak out of my 2.5-gallon Infinity Barrel to make it less reactive when I start blending aged whiskeys into it. Anyways… here’s a review.
Death’s Door White Whiskey Review: Details and Tasting Notes
In Death’s Door’s Words: Death’s Door White Whiskey
Death’s Door White Whisky was a pioneer in the whisky category and has an 80:20 mash bill of hard red winter wheat to malted barley. The unique character of this spirit starts back in the process of fermenting the grains- utilizing a champagne yeast rather than a traditional whisky yeast. The spirit is then double-distilled up to 160 proof (80% ABV), rested in stainless steel, proofed down to 80 (40% ABV) and finished in uncharred Minnesota oak barrels to help bring the “white whisky” together and to meld this unique spirits’ flavors.
Death’s Door White Whiskey price, ABV, age and other details
Region: Wisconsin, USA
Distiller: Death’s Door
Mash Bill: 80% Red Winter Wheat, 20% Malted Barley
Cask: None
Age: 0
ABV: 40%
Price: $35
Death’s Door White Whiskey Tasting Notes
EYE
Clear
NOSE
Acrid acetone, imitation vanilla, bile and… sulfur?
PALATE
Rancid fruit, acetone, burnt corn, bile and sulfur.
FINISH
Short -> burnt corn and bile.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
None, thin, watery.
Death’s Door White Whiskey Review: OVERALL
This Death’s Door White Whiskey is among the worst things I have ever drank… yikes. I know white whiskey, moonshine, white dog, whatever-you-want-to-call-it isn’t supposed to be as complex as an aged spirit, but it’s supposed to at least be pleasant. It’s the raw spirit that becomes the aged product and if you don’t start in a good spot then you’re definitely not going to end in one.
Though maybe this is what they’re going for. It is called Death’s Door and being at Death’s Door isn’t going to be a pleasant place to be so maybe it’s actually spot on. It could be right where it needs to be, however, that’s not a place I want to be anytime soon so I’ll just pass it up and include it in the Infinity Barrel Program as a stripping whiskey. And so it goes.
SCORE: 10/100 (F-)
Death's Door White Whiskey Review
Death's Door White Whiskey Review Summary
Death’s Door White Whiskey is something I don’t enjoy at all… at… all…
Overall
- Nose - 10
- Palate - 10
- Finish - 10
- Balance, Body & Feel - 10
User Review
( votes)( reviews)
So I make moonshine and now am venturing into whiskey so I like to try white whiskeys to compare my product. No comparison whatsoever!!!
Mine I like. This I don’t.
I thought the spirits had reacted to the cork when I first opened it because the nose was horrific. The taste is just like the nose. The palate is reminiscent of some bad rubber product gone bad.
Glad to know it wasn’t just my bottle that came off as rancid. Cheers Brian!
I am always amazed at how different people perceive taste and smell so differently.
I really enjoy this whiskey, both neat and in my own twisted cousin version of an old fashioned = whiskey, angostura bitters, elderberry syrup.
What I get from this is “close to the grain.” Like how silver tequila is close to the agave.
For me, this is shockingly smooth. I do not get any of the “bile” or anything else negative. I get smooth grain taste.
I always find that fascinating as well. Thanks for sharing William, cheers!
Better you than me I guess.
Hahaha. I tell myself it’s for science ;)
For $2 less I can buy a Russell’s Reserve 10 year SB.
Josh, why not strip it with a handle of Everclear? When you are done it can go in a kerosene lamp.
I did add a bit of Everclear to top the barrel off and when I move it to the 5-gallon barrel it will be what’s in this barrel + a handle or three of Everclear. I had a ton of “moonshine” laying around and wanted to do something with them so decided to pick up a couple others to “see what happens”… So far it’s as bad as I thought :/
White whiskey? White dog? I suggest: Eau-de-bile LOL!
This is ironic, because this is not unlike a quality vodka – made from wheat with some malt to convert the starches to sugars. But even cheap vodka is not as nasty as you describe. Industrial column distillation has its own merits in terms of achieving neutral smoothness and being safe.
I have to wonder if uncharred oak does more than “essentially… nothing” – I always imagined uncharred/untoasted barrels would impart very unpleasant astringency (like gnawing on a wooden toothpick, but amplified by ethanol extraction). But without smelling those barrels I can only guess.
I always tell myself that I don’t need to try moonshine. A local store has one of those mason jar corn moonshine (unflavored) for $6.99 (discontinued). And I still walked away. I am very interested in trying new make from specific whisky distilleries – to taste the precursor to my favorite whiskies. So that’s more a geeky type of research rather than purely drinking for appreciation. But why on earth would I intentionally drink moonshine from unknown distillers when I only drink sipping spirits? It’s not like it’s cheap, either. I ventured into some clear spirits (were on clearance locally) – cachaça (sugar cane juice distillate), unaged grappa (grape must) and pisco (distilled from grape wine of aromatic grape varieties). Now, those are quite pleasant to sip in their own way, especially pisco. My cachaça was a cheap one, but I can still tell it’s quality made and not harsh like rough grain spirits can be.
Josh, I also appreciated your comment in an earlier post about how new make spirit from big distilleries is so much better than most of this moonshine “craft” stuff. I keep hearing stories of people malting their own barley at home and trying to make “single malt” with a home made still, aging it in table-top barrels and how vile it turns out :) The “art” comes on top of lots of science.
“The “art” comes on top of lots of science.” <- You nailed it Grouchy. The price is the biggest thing I don't understand from these things. It's the cheapest thing to make and they charge as much, or sometimes more, than their aged products for it... makes no damn sense. I've drank more bad plastic jug vodka than I care to admit in my time and it's all been better than this, so something is definitely wrong here. Cheers!
Also, I love Pisco! :D
Wow, a 10 rating! I wonder also about the moonshine/white whiskey craze. Maybe it’s the mason jars their often packaged in or just the ‘allure’ to some of sitting on the front porch with your houndog! Ha
Ha, something like that I guess :)