Stranahan's Diamond Peak 2022 Release

Stranahan’s Diamond Peak (2022) – ASM Finished in Bushmills Irish Whiskey Casks

COST: $75 for 750 mL bottle (I’m reviewing a sample)

AGE: 7 years (4 years in new American oak barrels, 3 years in Bushmills Irish single malt barrels)

MASH BILL: 100% malted barley

PROOF: 90

Stranahan’s has been on my radar having gotten into American Single Malts more this year. However, I still haven’t picked up a bottle yet. I’ve heard a lot of positives about their cask finished expressions, and from my understanding, their Diamond Peak expression is kinda their premier cask finished annual release. So, when a fellow whiskey enthusiast offered to swap a sample of the 2022 Diamond Peak, I wasn’t going to pass it up. Let’s see if it holds up to my expectations!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Burnt caramel or mahogany in color (1.6), very oily looking.

NOSE: There’s a lot of layers to sift through here. I immediately pick up what I consider classic Irish whiskey notes – bright and light with notes of cereal, honey, and crisp apple. Past the Irish whiskey notes, I’m getting that nice, rich, malty grain note typical of ASMs along with a little milk chocolate (chocolate malt maybe?). Going in for another wiff and focusing on the sweeter notes I find a good bit of caramel, sweet oak, and dark cherries. There is a lot going on here and it’s quite complex. I noticed that if I hold my nose above the glass I can pick up on the brighter and lighter notes of the Irish whiskey, but putting my nose down below the rim of the Glencairn I’m picking up the darker, deeper notes.

PALATE: This has a cooling effect as it rolls over the palate. Normally whiskies normally have a warming effect on my palate unless they have a heavy mint note, and I’m not getting any mint. It has a very soft and silky mouthfeel. In the flavor department, I’m initially greeted with a decent amount of chocolate malt, closely followed by a mix of burnt brown sugar and English toffee. There’s a light oak note that accompanies that chocolate malt as it transitions into the finish.

FINISH: The finish is surprisingly long for 90 proof. A mix of oak and malt really dominate. The nutty, earthy note of the English toffee on the palate lingers a bit as well. There’s a very light vegetal note that I can’t quite put my finger on that’s slightly grassy/mossy/florally.

RATING: 7.6/10

VALUE: 8.4/10 (this value is based on a ratio of the $/mL to the rating above compared to this same ratio for all other r/Bourbon reviews I’ve made and normalized to 10)

OVERALL: This lived up to what I was expecting and some! The nose was incredible! I was astounded by how complex it was, how defined every note was, and how nicely layered it was. The palate wasn’t as complex as the nose, but that little cooling thing that was going on was really different and I liked it. The notes in the finish were a little too heavy on the earthy side and I think a little sweetness in the finish would have really helped balance it out and left a little more lasting impression on me personally. I was really happy with this pour and appreciative to have gotten to try it 2 years after it was released.

Behind the Bottle

Stranahan’s Diamond Peak has been an annual release for quite some time, however, from everything I can find the first year they started cask finishing their Diamond Peak releases was 2022 (this one). Since then, the 2023 Diamond Peak spent 2 years in tequila casks, and the 2024 expression spent some time in rum casks.

One thing I find really interesting about this 2022 expression spending time in Bushmills casks is that Bushmills is known for using Oloroso Sherry casks and bourbon casks to age all their whiskey in. So, part of me wonders if some of those deeper notes of cherries, burnt brown sugar, etc. could be hold-over from the Oloroso and Bourbon casks that the Bushmills was in. At any rate, think about everything these barrels have seen. We’re talking wine/bourbon, Irish single malt whiskey, and now American single malt whiskey. Quite a journey for these staves! I wonder where they make their way to next.

I like how long they did the finishing (3 years). I don’t like when distilleries call something barrel finished but you find out it only spent 3 months in the barrel. I just have serious doubts that 3 months is doing much of anything as far as imparting flavors of that finishing barrel. But 3 years! Now we’re talking! And to me, it shows. The Irish whiskey notes were a no-doubter on the nose. While I didn’t pickup anything uniquely Irish whiskey on the palate and finish, I think that was due to the fact the barrels held Bushmills Irish single malt in them. While there are differences, the fact this is an American single malt, I think the notes of the Irish single malt blended in seamlessly for the most part.

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

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

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

See more of my Whiskey Reviews