Review Note: This tasting was conducted blind, with the bottle identity revealed after our notes were complete.
Dovetail Distillery Cut Throat Oat Whiskey is a funky, cereal-forward whiskey that opens up a lot with time in the glass. At first, the nose almost borders on too funky, with a big sweet cereal note, honey, anise, and a little leather. As it sits, more sweet oak and vanilla start to show, along with light red fruit, especially red cherry. The funk stays present throughout, almost like puffed rice in room-temperature oat milk. There is also a sweet floral note that fights through, with a slight black licorice note near the end.
The palate is better right away. It has a smoother, easier-drinking mouthfeel than expected and feels more layered than the nose. Sweet oak, vanilla, cherry syrup, honey, light caramel, and brown sugar come through first. Then it moves into a minty cherry syrup note with that funky cereal character coming back on the finish. There is even a slight wintergreen note at the very end.
As it opens up, the cherry syrup becomes stronger. The whiskey never feels hot, but more cinnamon starts to show, along with slight cedar and sandalwood. The funk is still strong, with cereal, honey, sweet oak, and cherry syrup hanging on. The texture is oily, and the finish leans medium to long. The mint comes after the funky cereal note, almost like wet hay after it has been rained on and the sun comes back out. Anise, black licorice, and mint round out the cherry syrup nicely.
By the last sip, the whiskey becomes sweeter and more cherry-driven. There is still plenty of funky sweet cereal, but the honey, brown sugar, cherry syrup, vanilla, light tobacco, and leather start to take over. That Vicks cherry syrup hard candy note runs from beginning to end and eventually overtakes some of the funk. The finish lingers with cherry syrup, mint, light tobacco, anise, leather, earthiness, and a little cereal funk.
Overall, this is a good craft whiskey and a much better baseline for what I would consider worth looking at. It opens up nicely, has a more approachable palate, and shows good mouthfeel, but it still requires some experience because there are a lot of craft notes here. The proof feels like 110 at most, and it drinks easy for the amount of flavor it carries.
Unwind Verdict: Selective Buy
Interesting, unique, or specific in style. Not for everyone, but worth tasting if you enjoy the flavor direction.
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Dovetail Distillery Cut Throat Oat Whiskey is available now at Unwind Bottle Shop. Order online for pickup or shipping where available.