Hotel Tango Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Hotel Tango · Hotel Tango Distillery
Hotel Tango proves Indiana can produce bourbon with genuine character. It's approachable without being simple, carrying a grain-forward honesty that rewards attention. A solid daily pour that punches above its price point.
Kit Aromas
Nose
Immediate corn sweetness gives way to toasted oak and a faint nuttiness. Underneath, there's a mineral-like quality — almost chalky — with caramel and dried apple rounding things out.
Palate
Medium-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel. Butterscotch and vanilla dominate the mid-palate, supported by a distinct grain character and brown spices. A whisper of leather appears as it develops.
Finish
Moderate length with lingering oak and a pleasant sweetness that fades into dry cereal grain.
- Mash Bill
- Corn-heavy with rye and malted barley
- Barrel Type
- New charred American oak
- Bottled in Bond
- No
- Single Barrel
- No
- Wheated
- No
Cocktail Suggestion
Limestone Mule — 2 oz Hotel Tango Bourbon · 0.75 oz fresh lime juice · 3 oz ginger beer · Build over ice in a copper mug, garnish with a lime wheel and candied ginger.
Food Pairing
Smoked pork belly sliders with apple slaw
Founded by combat veteran Travis Barnes in Indianapolis, Hotel Tango became Indiana's first combat-veteran-owned distillery, drawing its water from the limestone-rich aquifers beneath the city's old industrial core.
Be the first to comment.
Leave a comment
Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Madeira Cask Finish
Tyrconnell
The Madeira finish gives this Tyrconnell an extra dimension that its standard expressions don't reach. Ten years of maturation provides enough malt structure to stand up to the wine cask influence, and the result is an Irish whiskey with genuine layering. An underrated gem in the single malt category.
Clairin Communal Vaval
Clairin
Clairin Communal Vaval is rum stripped to its most honest expression — no aging, no blending across distilleries, no additives. Fritz Vaval's small operation in Cavaillon uses native yeast fermentation and direct-fire distillation to produce a spirit that tastes of exactly where it comes from. It's a masterclass in terroir-driven rum.
David Nicholson Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
David Nicholson
David Nicholson Reserve punches well above its modest price, offering layered complexity that rewards patient sipping. The 100-proof backbone gives it cocktail versatility without sacrificing neat-pour nuance. A workhorse bourbon that deserves more shelf attention.
Inverroche Classic Gin
Inverroche
Inverroche Classic demonstrates that terroir is not limited to wine. The wild fynbos botanicals hand-foraged from the Cape coastline give this gin a genuinely unique aromatic fingerprint. It is simultaneously familiar enough for a juniper-focused gin drinker and distinctive enough to reward close attention.
David Nicholson Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
David Nicholson
David Nicholson Reserve punches well above its modest price, offering layered complexity that rewards patient sipping. The 100-proof backbone gives it cocktail versatility without sacrificing neat-pour nuance. A workhorse bourbon that deserves more shelf attention.
Rebel Cask Strength Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Rebel
Lux Row's wheated mash bill gets a proper showcase at cask strength, where the grain's inherent softness meets the barrel's intensity head-on. This is a bourbon that rewards patience — a splash of water opens honeyed wheat notes that the proof initially conceals. A serious sipper that punches well above its price point.
Barrell Craft Spirits Gray Label Bourbon Release 4
Barrell Craft Spirits
Barrell's blending program remains one of the most quietly excellent operations in bourbon. This release rewards patience — give it ten minutes in the glass and secondary aromas of maple and carnation emerge. A cask-strength pour that earns every decimal of its proof.
Ezra Brooks 99 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Ezra Brooks
Ezra Brooks 99 punches well above its price point, delivering a balanced pour with enough proof to stand up in cocktails while remaining comfortable neat. It's a workhorse bourbon that rewards attention without demanding it.