Corsair Quinoa Whiskey

Corsair Artisanal Distilling is currently one of the distilleries at the leading edge of whiskey innovation and experimentation. Connosr member Darek Bell is Corsair's owner and Master Distiller. Corsair has distilleries in Bowling Green, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee. Many thanks to Darek for having been very helpful and very free in providing information for this review of his Quinoa Whiskey

The first matter to note is that some will question whether Quinoa in a spirit can properly be called a whiskey. Why? Because technically Quinoa is not a true grain, but is a so-called pseudo-cereal, from another plant family. When you taste this Corsair Quinoa Whiskey you will have no doubts that whatever the taxonomy of the quinoa, that this tastes completely like whiskey

Corsair Quinoa Whiskey is made from 80% malted barley and 20% from unmalted red and white quinoa seeds from Bolivia. The malted barley breaks down to 63% untoasted/unroasted 2-row barley, and 17% from kiln-toasted 2-row malted barley which imparts added flavour complexity and a darker colour. The whiskey is pot-distilled with the undiluted spirit at 62.5% abv. The whiskey is aged in new oak barrels, the largest in size being 30 gallons, and using the rather heavy No. 4 char. Length of aging depends on climatic conditions at the time of the year of the aging, and varies between 6 months and 1.5 years. The reviewed bottle, # 41/180 from batch 3, does not declare an age statement. The bottle was opened January 20, 2013, and is 90% full. Corsair also uses quinoa in its 'Insane in the Grain' 12 grain bourbon, and in 'Grainiac', its 9 grain bourbon. Darek also plans to experiment with a 100% quinoa whiskey, using enzymes. This review will be in sequential format

Nose: strong overall intensity, baked apples with cinnamon/cassia and a lot of additional spices reminiscent of rye grain, but very clearly somewhat different from rye grain flavours; this nose is also moderately floral/perfumed, grassy, and nutty, perhaps closest to Brasil nuts, or to a taste of walnuts combined with a bit of cashew. Mild but noticeable wood flavours are also present, including the slight scent of the char. Very nice balance of sweet and dry

Taste: intensely sweet, tart and spicy all at the same time. Initially this is rather hot in the mouth, but it is not from the alcohol. The nose is relatively strongly flavoured, but the palate is much more intensely flavoured still. The spices are intense and delicious. They are similar to most unmalted rye flavours in their pointedness, their intensity, and in the fact that this "grain" quinoa generates several different flavours at once. Cinnamon/cassia shows up on the palate as it does in the nose, but black pepper is very strong here, stronger than it is in most rye whiskies. Grassiness and nuttiness do express on the palate, as they do in the nose. Apple can be observed here too, with a hint of more fruitiness reminiscent of grapes, even though there is no wine cask influence present. Charred wood flavours are strong enough to taste, but are mostly in a supporting role. These are very big flavours for a 45% abv whiskey

Finish: long very strong finish, with all of the sharpness of both the black pepper and the apple/cinnamon intact

Balance: for apparently the first commercial quinoa whiskey, this is quite amazingly good. Those who like very spicy whiskeys, especially US straight rye whiskeys, will find it very easy to like this whiskey. It derives a ton of flavour out of that 20% Quinoa content. Grassiness from the malted barley is also quite evident here, which makes for an interesting combination. The nuttiness may come from either or both of the quinoa and the barley. Quinoa is quite distinctive in its flavours, and the flavours are very strong as expressed in Corsair Quinoa Whiskey, leading me to think that there will within a few years be a whole new family of quinoa whiskeys