Sweet wild grapes | Corn syrup | Fresh grain | Slight oak | White peppercorns

Grain | Rye spice | Peppercorn mix | Watered down vanilla | Light oak | Youthful

Bold rye spice | Sharp peppercorn spice | Vanilla | Oak | Leather | Light grain

Flag Hill Distillery bills itself as New Hampshire’s oldest distillery. The first legal distillery in the state after Prohibition, they produce a number of different spirits and wines. 10 Year Bourbon Batch 2 is the oldest whiskey they’ve released to date. Distilled and aged in-house, this limited release was composed of only two barrels which produced a total of 277 bottles.  

If Flag Hill 10 Year Bourbon Barrel Batch 2 didn’t display its age prominently in its name, you’d have a hard time guessing that this has rested in oak for 10 years. The sip opens with an intriguing note of sweet wild grapes, however, this scent is quickly joined by more youthful aromas. This youth carries through to the sip, which highlights grain along with a spicy mix of both a rye and peppercorn mix variety. Ending on a bold rye spice and sharp peppercorn spice note, the finish continues to highlight light grain and oak.

This is both a surprising and not surprising outcome considering the source. While the winery portion of Flag Hill Distillery opened in 1990, the distillery portion didn’t take flight until the company started distilling vodka in 2004, with whiskey coming later. While 10 years is a noteworthy milestone to celebrate, it also needs to be remembered that the brand has had 10 additional years of experience regarding both distillation and aging since this batch was barreled in September 2013. The end result very much tastes like many craft distillery's early releases of around 2010, which in this case, has it coming across as more youthful and imbalanced for a whiskey of this age.