Stranahan's, one of American single malt whiskey's pivotal distilleries, has just released a new bottle with an age statement more akin to Scotch than American whiskey.
The Colorado-based distillery has been in business since 2004 and released its first bottle in 2006. Since then, Stranahan's has become somewhat synonymous with American single malt. No other bottle exemplifies it more than Mountain Angel, a 10-year expression that earned Double Gold at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
But Stranahan's didn't stop there. The brand tacked two years onto that age statement to make Stranahan's Mountain Angel 12-Year, now available for purchase at Stranahan’s Distillery and Whiskey Lodge, as well as in select states. However, master blender Justin Aden was pleased to share that in 2025, the whiskey will see national distribution.
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"It represents a seminal moment in American craft whiskey: coming into its own and putting out a nationwide 12-year age statement," Aden told Men's Journal.
And what a whiskey with which to do so. Mountain Angel 12-Year is a flex in texture and complexity. On the nose, it smells of Welch's white grape juice and bread-like maltiness. The palate is multi-layered, starting with light and fluffy notes of unsweetened peach tea and vibrant fruits that transforms into ashy cigar flavors before drying out, spurring salivation. The finish leaves vanilla, oak, and lemon meringue on the tongue.
Chris Hatler
Stranahan's achieved this particular round of Mountain Angel 12-Year by using only two barrel types. First, the liquid entered virgin American oak at 110 proof for nine years. Then, it was placed in ruby port casks made of European oak for three more years. It's non-chill filtered and cut with Rocky Mountain water to 94.6 proof. Just enough heat to keep things complex, but not enough to wreck the palate.
When making such whiskey, Stranahan's has a unique challenge. Because the distillery is based in Denver, it has to account for altitude and massive weather swings, meaning barrels lose a lot to the Angel's share. But Aden says that turns out to be a boon, not a detraction.
"We don't really lose alcohol," he says. "The content we lose out of the barrel is water, and the proof goes up very steadily the whole time." In other words, the water loss concentrates the alcohol flavors.
For $100 per bottle, it's a pretty good value for a high-quality whiskey. And as mentioned, it'll be available in all 50 states next year, albeit with a slightly different flavor profile.
"This inaugural year was [finished in] 100 percent ruby port. Going forward, I have lots and lots of barrels laid down of ruby port, tawny port, and even some white port," Aden says. "As the years go by, it'll be a first fill, a second fill, or maybe even a third fill of those port barrels. So, that will add a level of complexity as the years go on that was not necessarily in the first release."
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