Santa Fe Spirits 5 Year Old / Batch 1 / That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Clara Johansson — Interesting but pricey for what it is

7/10

I wanted to love this more than I did. The nose is great — brown sugar, light smoke, something almost like roasted corn — but the palate at full strength is just so hot that it's hard to pick out the nuances. With water it settles into a nice spiced vanilla finish. At £93 for a 5 year old I'd have to think twice before buying another bottle though.

Priya Sharma — Interesting but pricey for what it is

7/10

I wanted to love this more than I did. The nose is great — brown sugar, light smoke, something almost like roasted corn — but the palate at full strength is just so hot that it's hard to pick out the nuances. With water it settles into a nice spiced vanilla finish. At £93 for a 5 year old I'd have to think twice before buying another bottle though.

Liam Anderson — Interesting but pricey for what it is

7/10

I wanted to love this more than I did. The nose is great — brown sugar, light smoke, something almost like roasted corn — but the palate at full strength is just so hot that it's hard to pick out the nuances. With water it settles into a nice spiced vanilla finish. At £93 for a 5 year old I'd have to think twice before buying another bottle though.

Suki Patel — Cask strength beast from New Mexico

8/10

At 65.7% this thing is a firecracker straight from the bottle, but add a few drops of water and it opens up into honey, baked apple, and a dry cereal note that I really enjoyed. Five years is young for a single malt but Santa Fe clearly knows what they're doing with their barrels. Genuinely surprised by how much complexity is packed in here.

Mei-Lin Wu — Cask strength beast from New Mexico

8/10

At 65.7% this thing is a firecracker straight from the bottle, but add a few drops of water and it opens up into honey, baked apple, and a dry cereal note that I really enjoyed. Five years is young for a single malt but Santa Fe clearly knows what they're doing with their barrels. Genuinely surprised by how much complexity is packed in here.

Natasha Volkov — Cask strength beast from New Mexico

8/10

At 65.7% this thing is a firecracker straight from the bottle, but add a few drops of water and it opens up into honey, baked apple, and a dry cereal note that I really enjoyed. Five years is young for a single malt but Santa Fe clearly knows what they're doing with their barrels. Genuinely surprised by how much complexity is packed in here.

Jorge Castillo — Not quite there yet

6/10

Look, I appreciate what Santa Fe is doing and the Boutique-y bottling is cool, but five years just isn't enough time in my opinion. There's a raw grainy quality underneath the caramel and spice that I couldn't shake. The high ABV doesn't help — even with a good splash of water it still drinks young. I'd love to try this at 10 or 12 years.

Freya Lindqvist — Not quite there yet

6/10

Look, I appreciate what Santa Fe is doing and the Boutique-y bottling is cool, but five years just isn't enough time in my opinion. There's a raw grainy quality underneath the caramel and spice that I couldn't shake. The high ABV doesn't help — even with a good splash of water it still drinks young. I'd love to try this at 10 or 12 years.

Olivia Park — Not quite there yet

6/10

Look, I appreciate what Santa Fe is doing and the Boutique-y bottling is cool, but five years just isn't enough time in my opinion. There's a raw grainy quality underneath the caramel and spice that I couldn't shake. The high ABV doesn't help — even with a good splash of water it still drinks young. I'd love to try this at 10 or 12 years.

Benjamin Ross — TBWC delivers again

8/10

Boutique-y always finds the weird and wonderful stuff and this Santa Fe single malt is no exception. American single malt at cask strength is such a fun category right now. I get dried fruit, a bit of leather, and a long peppery finish that just keeps going. Had it neat over the course of an evening and every pour revealed something new.

Yasmine Najjar — TBWC delivers again

8/10

Boutique-y always finds the weird and wonderful stuff and this Santa Fe single malt is no exception. American single malt at cask strength is such a fun category right now. I get dried fruit, a bit of leather, and a long peppery finish that just keeps going. Had it neat over the course of an evening and every pour revealed something new.

Oscar Delgado — TBWC delivers again

8/10

Boutique-y always finds the weird and wonderful stuff and this Santa Fe single malt is no exception. American single malt at cask strength is such a fun category right now. I get dried fruit, a bit of leather, and a long peppery finish that just keeps going. Had it neat over the course of an evening and every pour revealed something new.

Sara Lindstrom — Great with a big ice cube

7/10

Poured this over a single large ice cube and it was a completely different whisky compared to neat. The dilution tamed that 65.7% heat and brought out toffee, orange peel, and a lovely biscuity sweetness. As a Batch 1 from a smaller American distillery it's a nice piece of history to have on the shelf too. Would recommend trying it chilled if you find the proof intimidating.

Nils Bergman — Great with a big ice cube

7/10

Poured this over a single large ice cube and it was a completely different whisky compared to neat. The dilution tamed that 65.7% heat and brought out toffee, orange peel, and a lovely biscuity sweetness. As a Batch 1 from a smaller American distillery it's a nice piece of history to have on the shelf too. Would recommend trying it chilled if you find the proof intimidating.

Jackson Wu — Great with a big ice cube

7/10

Poured this over a single large ice cube and it was a completely different whisky compared to neat. The dilution tamed that 65.7% heat and brought out toffee, orange peel, and a lovely biscuity sweetness. As a Batch 1 from a smaller American distillery it's a nice piece of history to have on the shelf too. Would recommend trying it chilled if you find the proof intimidating.