Four copper kettles from another century, an old mining town in Colorado, and a bottle with a gunslinger's calm about it. Golden Moon Distillery still distills the way it was done back when craftsmanship was everything and the pace was slower. Here, the rye whiskey has taken one last trip through Jamaican rum casks, and the result tastes of cane sugar, spice, and a little bit of the Wild West.
Expert's Description
Gun Fighter Rye Double Cask Rum Finish American Whiskey is an American Rye Whiskey, aged in new American oak and finished in rum casks, bottled at 50%.
Behind the bottle stands Golden Moon Distillery in Golden, Colorado – a small distillery founded in 2008 by Stephen Gould and Karen Knight, who insisted on taking the slow road: plenty of experimentation before anything was ever bottled. The distillery still runs on four antique pot stills from the early to mid-1900s, giving the spirit a rawness rarely found at modern, industrial-scale plants.
Rye makes up 60 percent of the mash bill, backed by 34 percent corn and 6 percent malted barley – a solid rye backbone that sets up the whiskey's spicy core. After a minimum of six months in new, charred American oak, it's transferred to casks that previously held Jamaican rum. Gun Fighter comes in several Double Cask releases, including one finished in port casks, but it's the rum that leaves its clearest mark here: cane sugar and dark molasses woven through the rye's spiced center.
Tasting Notes
Nose
The nose opens with cane sugar and dark molasses from the rum casks, quickly followed by rye's signature peppery spice. Underneath sits a touch of vanilla and toasted oak, rounding the whole thing out with a warm, easy feel.
Palate
The palate carries a clear sweetness of caramelized sugar and light tropical fruit, carried by rye's sharp spice. Cinnamon and a touch of oak tannin push back, so the sweetness never turns cloying, while a tart fruit note keeps everything in check.
Finish
The finish runs medium in length. Molasses and spiced rye slowly give way to a dry, lightly tannic close.
Specifications
Name: Gun Fighter Rye Double Cask Rum Finish American Whiskey
Distillery: Golden Moon Distillery
Region/Country: Colorado, USA
Type: American Rye Whiskey
Age: Minimum 6 months
ABV: 50%
Size: 70 CL
Cask Type: New American oak, finished in rum casks
Distillation Method: Pot still
Edition: Double Cask – Rum Finish
Flavor Profile
Spicy · Sweet · Rum-finished · Rye-forward · Full-bodied
Did you know?
Founder Stephen Gould once crossed paths with Iraqi date-spirit distillers still running a hundred-year-old French cognac still, a meeting during his time with the US Marine Corps that cemented his fascination with old-fashioned distillation and followed him home to Colorado, where he now runs four antique pot stills of his own.
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