Corn | Carmel | Bubble gum | Hint of mint | Lightly herbal

Caramel | Honey | Apple | Light oak

Light smoke | Rye spice | White pepper | Light charred oak

Whiskey Del Bac has made a name for itself as an early producer and supporter of American single malts. Their whiskeys stand out for their unique spin on the category. Often employing mesquite finishing casks and mesquite charcoal filtering, many of their whiskeys encapsulate what you’d think a malt whiskey would taste like coming from Arizona.

With the company’s Sentinel brand line, they step away from American single malts and into sourced ryes and bourbons. To not leave their heritage behind, they finish their Sentinel releases with used Mesquite-smoked barrel staves from their American single malt releases and then filter the whiskey across mesquite charcoal from their mesquite malting process, in a custom process they call the “Pima County Process.” One constant with the Sentinel releases is that they seem purposefully designed to be approachable above all else.

Given that this was sourced from Ohio and features pumpernickel rye in its mashbill, it’s likely from Middle West Spirits. The bourbon’s age is surprising, but that might have more to do with keeping the price of the sourced barrels down and a light, approachable flavor profile. Many will see Mesquite and be instantly turned off by fear of a campfire-like taste, but that is the farthest thing from the truth. Sentinel of the Desert Bourbon features a hint of smoke and does more to add a small bit of complexity to the bourbon than to act as a major flavoring agent. But that is also the bourbon’s major flaw: it’s too light. In trying to be approachable, the release lacks sufficient substance.