Review #134: A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 12

COST: $180 for 750mL bottle

AGE: NAS

MASH BILL: A blend of straight rye whiskeys (MGP 95% rye/5% malted barley and High West 80% rye/20% malted barley) at an undisclosed ratio

PROOF: 98.6

A Midwinter Night’s Dram is one of my favorite expressions each year. While the whiskey is always great, what really makes it one of my favorites is how it makes me feel. It’s always released just before the holiday season, and on a cold winter night with Christmas lights dancing around the room, the scent of pine and cinnamon wafting through the house, and a roaring fire in the fireplace, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a pour of A Midwinter Night’s Dram to complete the mood. Let’s check out the 2024 batch of MWND Act 12!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: A warm, red, walnut color (1.7), slow legs, oily looking.

NOSE: This hits right away with rich, jammy red wine notes: stewed plum and fig, berry and brown sugar reduction, allspice, and vanillin rich oak. MWND always has a sweet, delicious nose that makes you want to quickly dive in – Act 12 is no different.

PALATE: A mild mouthfeel that brings a little proof heat with it right away at the tip of the tongue, but quickly is replaced with notes of a stewed fruit mixture of figs, plums, pears, and cherries. Tannic oak shows up after the sweetness and persists, then spice enters in the form of red hots and candied ginger. While there is a nice mix of fruit on the palate, it’s not nearly as bold as on the nose.

FINISH: The finish is dry, tannic, and medium length. Clove and cinnamon spice dominate along with some sweet notes of vanilla and plum. Spicy oak brings this one to a close outlasting the rest of the notes.

RATING: 7.4/10

VALUE: 2.4/10 (This is an attempt to take into account price, tasting rating, age, and proof. See my spreadsheet for more details. I try to minimize the personal aspect of value in this score i.e. how it makes me feel, what I think of the story, etc.)

OVERALL: It’s still completes that cozy, winter night feeling I talked about in the intro! The port barrel finish is still on full display giving off notes of plum and figgy pudding, but it marries so well with the rye whiskey allowing warming winter spices to make an appearance. While I don’t have any past batches on hand to compare it to directly, I feel like Act 12 is a bit thinner on the palate and not quite as full as Act 11. The nose is about exactly as I remember though.

I’ll make one comment on the value of this: I paid $180 for this bottle (MSRP is $150). If you are strictly looking for good whiskey at the best price and you don’t care about anything else, this isn’t the bottle for you. There’s plenty of pours you can get that would be in the 7.5/10 range for less than $50 a bottle. But, MWND, at least to me, I’m more than willing to pay for the experience. High West has such an amazing port finish on this annual release, and the timing with the holiday season just adds a charm when I’m sipping it. So, while objectively the “value” is only a 2.4 based on how I calculate it, the personal value to me is significantly higher.

So, if you happen to be like me and enjoy a sip of this on Christmas Eve, may you have a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and I hope you’re enjoying the same cheer I am. Cheers!

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, Eagle Rare

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