Obtanium Light Whiskey Single Barrel Review

Cat’s Eye Distillery is a tiny distillery located in the tiny town of Bettingdorf, Iowa which is right next to the Quad Cities area where Illinois and Iowa meet along the Mississippi River. While Cat’s Eye Distillery produces their own distillate and sells it as a non-age stated, 80 proof bourbon, they also jointly produce another line of products that use sourced barrels that they purchase from whiskey barons around the US.  They call it the “Obtanium” line of whiskies because they’re barrels that never really see single barrel releases, yet are actually bottled, released and priced affordably to allow everyone to “obtain” this whiskey. 

MGP-Sourced Light Whiskey

Lately, they’ve been able to get their hands on quite a few barrels of MGP-sourced Light Whiskey. MGP has a fairly large stock of Light Whiskey that was left over from their years of being owned by Seagrams whereby Seagrams would blend in this 99% corn, 1% malted barley mashbill distillate that was aged in used barrels, into their blended whiskey (and Canadian Whiskey) as a means of cutting costs and stretching stocks. After MGP was sold off, a lot of these barrels sat and aged for much longer than was expected with the end result being a whiskey that took on its own unique characteristic that was much like a bourbon.  

Cat’s Eye decided that they were going to bottle each barrel as a single barrel to show off just how tasty and unique these Light Whiskey’s were. By doing so, you realize some of the impressive stats that they have, such as usually being above 12.5 years old and having an alcohol content above the 135 proof mark. But being aged in used barrels, they’re not over-oaked and the age takes a lot of the sharp ethanol edges off.

So how does this one bottle stack up?  The quick stats show that it’s aged for 12.5 years (even though the label erroneously says “13 years”) and is bottled at a smoldering 137.2 proof.  I sampled it neat and from a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Deep and inviting butterscotch blankets your nose as you pull the glass up to your face.  I haven’t smelled this much butterscotch since my last EH Taylor Barrel Proof bourbon! There are other sweet characteristics like caramel cream candies, vanilla custard and buttercream frosting.  There’s even a good dose of sliced red apples that bounce around a bit. Overall, the nose is rich and deep with no indication of the high ethanol content it should have or a ton of tannins.  

Palate: The butterscotch from the nose translates into butterscotch pudding on the tongue.  There’s also some Kellogg’s Corn Pops cereal and vanilla cake that keep adding more sweetness. I do detect my first bit of tannins in the form of a very light, wet tobacco.  As for the heat, there is moderate amounts of heat surges here and there, but overall, it doesn’t get in the way of reveling in the other notes.  

Finish: The finish is unfortunately a very brief affair compared to other whiskies and bourbons I’ve had.  I partly think this is due to the second-use barrel it was aged in and also the mashbill that is devoid of a more complex rye or better-aging wheat. What is odd, is that even though this mashbill has no rye, there is a small rye spice note I’m picking up on that I’m realizing is probably a flavor note from the wood that rye naturally extracts more of when it is used in a bourbon.  There’s pepper flakes and chili powder for heat and as it fades away, a beautiful toffee note is quickly enjoyed and then vanishes.   

Score: 7.8/10

I’m giving this Light Whiskey a high score simply because the strength and intensity of the distillate is so awesome for the session. The dings against it is that the finish does not last long and the complexity is not really there, probably because of the almost 100% corn mashbill offers very little else to taste and smell. But the flavors and scents that are there are deep and powerful and make for an otherwise satisfying pour. 

Final Thoughts

One of the most intriguing parts that one of the owners openly talks about with this Light Whiskey is how great it blends into other bourbons (MGPs in particular) to raise the proof and offer a great new take on a glass of whiskey. This is something that I tried and it’s actually very shocking at how well it works.  Think of it as a sort of DIY Murray Hill Club with a higher proof.  Cheers to your own experiments!

Ratings Breakdown

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Example: Jeffers Creek)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it

3 | Bad | Flawed (AD Laws 4 Grain BiB, Clyde Mays anything)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (Tincup 10 year)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Larceny, Sazerac Rye)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Buffalo Trace, OGD BiB)

7 | Great | Well above average (Old Ezra Barrel Proof, Old Weller Antique)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Michter’s Barrel Proof Rye, Four Roses Barrel Strength)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, 13 Year MGP or Canadian Rye)

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (William Larue Weller)