Veteran Whiskey Review: 10th Mountain American Single Malt

Official Product Website

History – This distillery is located in Vail, CO. As many skiers and snowboarders whether bringing family or coming on their own they have a quinte little distillery right under their noses. This distillery pays tribute to the 10th Mountain Army Division. “Camp Hale, the legendary home of the 10th Mountain Division, was constructed in 1942, located 22 miles west of Vail between Leadville and Minturn in the Pando Valley. The initial population of Camp Hale included 15,000 soldiers, 3,000 administrative, medical, and other non-skiing staff, 5,000 mules, and 200 dogs.

In January of 1945, the 10th deployed to Italy’s Apennines Mountains, where they would battle the German army for the next two and a half months. On May 2, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies in Florence, Italy, ending the 10th’s Italian Campaign.

After World War 2, many of the 10th Mountain Division warriors came home to the USA and continued skiing. The 10th Mountain Division veterans started many of the US ski areas we now love. At least 62 ski resorts have been founded and managed by former 10th Mountain Division veterans.

The tradition of excellence established by the original 10th Mountain Division continues with today’s 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry (LI). Now based at Ft. Drum in Watertown, New York, the 10th Mountain Division LI has the distinction of being the most deployed military unit when a humanitarian, natural disaster, or conflict arises in the world.” – 10thwhisky.com

Being a Veteran Owned Bourbon Review company we were very excited not to only learn so much about this company but to taste their bourbon. Let’s dig in!

Value – Fair for an in-house purchase only bottle. Product provided at no cost from the affiliate.

Appearance – Caramel. Beautiful bottle in a classic style wine shape.

Nose – Dark Chocolate / Old Wood / Fall Leaves / Port Wine. The nose is very light and gives you a good smell but does keep you guessing on what this whiskey is really like.

Palate – Prune / Walnut / Smooth and Creamy / Light Custard. This is very nice as it does really bring out a lot of flavors that you would not expect to get from a single malt whiskey. I will note that this whiskey is aged in a #4 Char. I can see how this really helps the flavor profile. 

Finish – Red Wine / Mint / Nutty / Medium Heat. It is cooling on the end and really leaves a big flavor boost to send you off. I keep tasting this whiskey just so I can get to this finish as I truly believe that it is the best part here. 

Summary – Summary – This was a really great experience. This is the first single malt that the Embrace The Bourbon team has had the pleasure of reviewing. Tasting this traditional style whiskey and staying true to reviewing only American Whiskeys it was an honor to critique this one. This bottle as of right now is only available in store but I can say that if it were available online then you should rush to purchase this. It really is a good whiskey and as it states a limited edition right now as 10th mountain continues to make a future decision on whether to mass market this or not. The bottling is beautiful, the finish is amazing and the company is applaudable. It is no wonder they made “2021 Craft Distillery of the Year”.

“This whiskey is smooth and the finish is full of BIG FLAVOR! Mass market this product now!”

–Andrew Workman

Uniqueness- 1-10 – 7

Appearance- 1-10 – 8

Nose- 1-20 – 9

Palate- 1-20 – 15

Finish- 1-20 – 17

Value- 1-20 – 14