Six & Twenty Avena (Oat Whiskey)

Cost: $56 for 750mL bottle at local liquor store (South Carolina)

Age: NAS

Proof: 80

Mash Bill: I’m assuming it’s ≥51% oat in the mash bill since it’s called an “oat whiskey,” but otherwise the mash bill is not disclosed.

Six & Twenty Distillery is a local to me in the upstate of South Carolina. They have been around for probably as long as I’ve been living around a decade. While other distilleries have opened and closed, Six & Twenty has remained stead fast and continues to grow. Over the past few years, I have started to see more limited releases from them, however, I’ve only tried one of them previously (Carolina Roja – a PX Sherry Cask finished wheat whiskey). This expression from them, Avena, is also a limited release and it will be the first one that I’ve reviewed from them (with certainly more to come in the future).

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

Appearance: A caramelly amber in color (0.9) with a the slightest amount of haze; thin legs that are very slow on the side of the glass. This looks rather syrupy for only 80 proof.

Nose: Right away I’m getting a caramel note. There’s a sweet earthiness that’s hard to pinpoint, but knowing that this is an oat whiskey, I hone in on that and would describe it as dried oats. I’m picking up a faint burnt, cherry note - almost as if you were caramelizing Luxardo cherry syrup and it started having that mix of burnt sugar and sweet cherry smell. There’s a definite citrus profile in the background. This is a rather robust nose for only 80 proof!

Palate: Brown sugar oatmeal is a dominant note. I was very hesitant on describing it as this because it seems so cliché for an oat whiskey, right? But that really is what it’s best described as. The brown sugar note may lean a little more towards caramel to me though. This has a semi-thick mouthfeel, kinda like the the feel of simple syrup.

Finish: I’m picking up a cherry syrup sweetness at first and quickly transitioning into a sweet oak note, and ending with an earthiness and a softness left on the palate. The finish is short and really no hug to speak of.

Rating: 5.9/10

Overall: The brown sugar and oatmeal note is pretty fun! I also don’t commonly find an “oatmeal” note in whiskey (maybe because I’m not drinking oat whiskey much) so that made it a unique. The nose was very impressive for an 80 proof whiskey with depth and complexity. The finish was really quite short and didn’t have a lot of character though. Overall, this was a really fun sip! While it was a bottle that belonged to a friend, I wound up helping myself to 3 glasses of this stuff before the night was over! Not overly complex, and the 80 proof makes it very easy to sip.

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Widow Jane Decadence

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, WhistlePig PiggyBack SiB, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, JD SiB BiB, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Barrel Bourbon Batch T8ke, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08