McLaughlin Distillery Review and Whiskey Tasting

Today I was lucky to try a sample whiskey-tasting sampler kit from McLaughlin Distillery.

McLaughlin Distillery is a local distillery near my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I have had their fruit moonshine offerings which are quite good, so I was excited when I got the opportunity to take place in a private virtual tasting through Pittsburgh Whiskey Friends.

Since this was a virtual tasting, the founder of Pittsburgh Whiskey Friends packed up all of our mini-taster bottles and distributed them to everyone participating.

Getting right into it, we were each given 5 samplings of McLaughlin Distilleries bourbon whiskey.

• McLaughlin Distillery – 3799 Bourbon Whiskey (90 Proof)
• McLaughlin Distillery – 3799 Single Barrel Select Bourbon Whiskey (104 Proof)
• McLaughlin Distillery – Baby Barrel Bourbon Whiskey (90 Proof)
• McLaughlin Distillery – Baby Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey (121 Proof)
• McLaughlin Distillery – Devil’s Juice #5 (120 Proof)

On our call, a representative named Jim from McLaughlin led us through all the information we needed to know about the whiskey as well as the McLaughlin distillery.

So throughout the tasting, I got to learn a lot about how a relatively new startup whiskey distillery in Pennsylvania has started to grow and get a bit of a following here in PA.

A few bits of information about McLaughlin Distillery’s whiskey:

• All their whiskey is 100% Corn
• The largest barrel used to age is a 10-gallon barrel
• They use local well water before distillation – distilled water after distillation
• They experiment all the time with different combinations and experimental flavor profiles

Since I am a big fan of cask strength and higher-proof whiskey, I can say that my two favorites were the 3799 Single Barrel Select and the Baby Barrel Cask Strength.

If I had to just choose one, I would go with the 3799 Single Barrel Select.

Both the 3799 Single Barrel Select and the Baby Barrel Cask Strength had a nice oily mouthfeel that I enjoyed and even though they had a bit of heat on them, I really enjoyed the flavors that came along with it.

If you’re looking for a smoother pour that may go down a little more smoothly, I would recommend trying the regular 3799 Bourbon Whiskey or the Baby Barrel.

3799 Bourbon Whiskey VS. 3799 Single Barrel Select

The 3799 Bourbon Whiskey options were aged for 4 years in 10-gallon American White Oak Barrels with a char level 4.

They both have a 100% Corn mash bill and have a 125 Entry Proof.

On the nose, I got corn, pepper, spice, mint, charred oak, and a bit of mineral flavors.

However, on the 3799 Single Barrel Select, I got a lot more brown sugar and buttery cinnamon sugar toast on the nose.

The flavors kind of reminded me of honey cornbread that is lightly toasted on the outside and still offered a bit of pepper and spice.

The biggest difference between the two would be the finish on the 3799 Single Barrel Select.

Since it is a 57% ABV versus the 45% ABV on the standard 3799 it really carried through a much more oily and buttery mouthfeel. This also came with a bit of extra heat, but it was a nice balance that improved the tasting experience.

Baby Barrel Bourbon VS. Baby Barrel Cask Strength

The next two samplings were the Baby Barrel bourbon whiskey versus the Baby Barrel Cask Strength.

These samplings are aged in a 2.5 Gallon barrel. Hence, the name “Baby Barrel”.

The benefit of being aged in a smaller barrel is that it doesn’t need to be aged as long to get a lot of the barrel flavors.

Also, since they are a newer distillery, this allows them to experiment and offer bottles more often.

With these two options, I definitely got a bit more brown sugar and toasted oak flavors, but they still offered the 100% corn profile with a bit of minerality and iron notes (likely from the well water).

Again, I’m a fan of the higher-proof whiskeys, so the Cask Strength was my clear favorite between these two.

The Baby Barrel Cask Strength had a 60.5% ABV and you could feel it. It had a bit of heat on it, but it was the kind of heat you enjoy when drinking a cask-strength whiskey. It just coats your entire mouth with flavor and feels so much more full of flavor to me.

As mentioned above, my favorite between the Baby Barrel Cask Strength and the 3799 Single Barrel Select, would have to be the 3799 Single Barrel Select.

While it is a close call, I think the extra aging in the 10-gallon barrel may have given this one a bit more refinement and it still offered a nice mouthfeel with each sip.

McLaughlin Distillery – Devil’s Juice #5

Last but not least is the real dark horse of the tasting pack.

I was warned at the beginning of the event that I would not want to pour the Devil’s Juice #5 into my glass until it was time to drink it. After taking my first taste, I now knew why.

Devil’s Juice #5 is the fifth experiment that they have done to get this rare combination of flavors which is where it gets its name.

The Devil’s Juice #5 is distilled from grain and aged for 6 months using a previously used 3799 10-Gallon barrel.

It enters the barrel at 125 Proof where they add burnt hickory wood.

The result is an extremely interesting and VERY smokey whiskey unlike any I have tasted before.

One of the other members of the tasting mentioned a flavor note and it is 100% accurate: Toasted Marshmallow which is also in the description on the back of the bottle.

With every sniff of this whiskey, I got an extremely specific nose as if I were smelling a heavily toasted/charred marshmallow like you would have sitting around a campfire.

On top of that, when you take your first sip you are hit with smokey flavors that immediately made me think of smoke meats and pepper-seasoned beef jerky.

Clearly, this bottle was designed to give you the ashy, smokey, and campfire notes that you would get from infusing bourbon whiskey with heavily burnt hickory wood.

Now, I am a pretty big fan of smokey, peaty whiskeys.

So while I enjoyed the 3799 Single Barrel Select most and the Baby Barrel Cask Strength was second best… the Devil’s Juice #5 wins the tasting for being one of the more unique whiskeys I have tasted.

But again, this will be a whiskey you either love or you hate since smokey whiskeys are generally one or the other with people.

But to be honest, I sometimes judge a fellow whiskey drinker just a tiny bit based on whether they enjoy peaty Scotches or not.

The Devil’s Juice #5 is a whiskey that I would pour sitting around a campfire with friends or when someone wants to really try a smokey whiskey experience.

McLaughlin Distillery Review and Bourbon Whiskey Tasting Conclusion

I was extremely grateful to be able to try these whiskeys today thanks to Pittsburgh Whiskey Friends and McLaughlin Distillery.

Let Us Know What You Think

I hope you enjoyed reading about this tasting experience with me.

If you decide to buy yourself a pour of this, please let me know what you think of it on social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Thanks for reading and cheers!