Sometimes you don’t have anything clever to say. Sometimes, you’re uninspired. Sometimes, that’s your own fault. And sometimes, it’s the fault of whatever you’re experiencing.
Discretion in your choices can help you avoid such experiences devoid of inspiration. Discretion can cause you to say, “Nah, I just don’t think I’ll enjoy that all that much.”
Discretion would be right. Discretion is the better part of not buying mediocre whiskey. Discretion…can be put aside when something is 50% off.
On a visit to one of the area Virginia ABC stores, they had a number of bottles reduced to half price. This included some fantastic deals, like Old Forester Rye for $12. And it also included Tarnished Truth Distillery’s recent new bottle, Discretion. So a bottle I had passed on at $45 now became interesting at half that. If I wasn’t going to try it for that, I was never going to.
So the store’s discretion in reducing prices caused me to put my better discretion aside and purchase a bottle of Discretion. Yes, I’m doing this on purpose. I don’t know why. It’s just who I am. You could stop reading, but you’re not. You know why? It’s either because that’s who you are, or you’ve put YOUR better discretion aside in your curiosity to find out more about Discretion. Either way, you’ve been sucked into my narrative like a dying galaxy being pulled into a black hole.
Do I regret putting my discretion aside as much as you are regretting jettisoning yours? Probably not. My poor decision making at least led to drinking whiskey, while yours somehow has you trapped in some banal expository purgatory. However, as I said before, this is mediocre whiskey. My regret might rival yours had I paid full price.
What I got for half off is not sourced. It’s 90 proof, with a mash bill of 70% corn, 18% wheat, and 12% malted barley. It’s a straight Virginia Bourbon whiskey, so at least two years old. And it has some story on the bottle that I guess hearkens back to prohibition era bootleggers.
So it could be good to have around if you’re throwing an Untouchables watch party. I’ve just dated myself, haven’t I? Fine! How about a Boardwalk Empire watch party, better? Still dated? Fine, screw the pop culture reference, I’m going full history nerd and we’ll say you can have it at your Repeal Day celebration honoring the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Get your bottle before December 5th rolls around.
In terms of what it actually offers, it has a young craft, forced oak, medicinal quality that also has a rubbery element as it progresses. It doesn’t boast any of the standard bourbon flavors really. It’s got some decent oomph for it’s 90 proof, but the fact that it’s wheated does stand out as it also lacks a firm backbone to the palate, which is kind of jarring given the abrupt flavors it opens with. Despite those extremely negative words, it’s actually not terrible. I’ve had much worse and it’s got more character than most 80 proof mediocre bottles. It’s acceptable as something to sip if you’re not paying a lot of attention. It’s probably fine in a cocktail. I rarely drink cocktails, so I didn’t put it in one, so I can’t really confirm this, but it’s what people seem to say when they want to be nice to a mediocre whiskey.
All in all, if you find a bottle of this in the $25 range, and you don’t mind some crafty flavors, by all means, cast your discretion aside and go for it (and, if you’re still reading at this point, I know you know how to). If you’re paying full price, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really enjoy craft whiskies or that hurried oak character.
Final verdict: use discretion when buying Discretion.
Final Score: 49 of 100
Cost per 50ml: $3.00 (not on sale)
Whiskey Repartee 