New Dawn 6 Year Cask Strength Bourbon Review [In Depth]
New Dawn 6 Year Cask Strength Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
New Dawn 6 Year Cask Strength Bourbon Details
Distillery: New Dawn Distilling (sourced from Alton Distillery)
Type & Region: Bourbon, New York, USA
Alcohol: 58.8%
Composition: 70% New York corn, 15% New York Red Winter Rye, 15% New York Malted Barley
Aged: At least 6 years
Color: 1.6/2.0 on the color scale (mahogany, henna notes)
Price: $80
From the company website:
Distilled, aged and bottled at Alton Distillery, located in Bethel, Upstate New York.
New Dawn 6 Year Cask Strength Bourbon overview
Ever heard of New Dawn Distilling? I haven’t, but being asked to try 6 year old cask strength New York bourbon got my attention. Alton Distillery…what is that? There’s a lot to uncover here because it’s all new to me.
First off, New Dawn Distilling was founded by Dawn O’Neal in 2023. New Dawn sources and blends whiskey from distilleries across the US, with an emphasis on sustainability and renewability. Per the website, 1% of proceeds are allocated to climate, sustainable agriculture, and clean water initiatives. I can dig it.
To the bourbon. Again, New Dawn Cask Strength is a 6 year old cask strength New York bourbon sourced from Alton distillery, out in Bethel, NY. Alton distillery uses local grains, and distills and ages everything themselves. That all sounds great, but in my experience there is no guarantee that the result is good…although I hope that it is. I always prefer to be complimentary than critical.
I appreciate that New Dawn is very open about the fact that they source the bourbon from Alton Distillery. I’ve never had anything from them before, as I’m guessing most have not, so I don’t have any opinion on the distillery.
I noticed some interesting information while reading Alton distillery’s website – they clearly provide details on their barrel program, including price based on year of barreling and guaranteed bottle count.
The story behind the bourbon is also intriguing for a bourbon nerd like myself. Check out what Dawn, the CEO, wrote about the journey, and it’s full of interesting facts. First off, she worked with MHW, an Alcohol consulting firm, on where to source the whiskey. In this case, she ended up picking a bourbon from Alton distillery based on how it drank and the distillery’s values. She did not necessarily have that distillery in mind at the start.
Those are all great bits of information. I learned of another place where brands can source New York bourbon, and I learned about a company that works with people who want to establish whiskey brands. So if you ever want to start your own whiskey company, you have somewhere to start.
Let’s give this a try and taste if they’re off to a great start in this New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon review.
Thank you to New Dawn Distilling for providing this sample. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
New Dawn 6 Year Cask Strength Bourbon smell
I get dark caramel, heavily baked red apple, a lot of oak (although not super burnt), wood varnish, cinnamon, dried cherry and strawberry, and a little bit of earthy pumpernickel. Within everything, I get extra hints of underlying dark fruitiness, which is a nice touch.
New Dawn Cask Strength bourbon is surprisingly dark, which I guess makes sense given how dark the color is. Plus, there’s no weird funk, graininess, or earthiness. It already feels well made, so that’s a relief. You never know what you’re going to get from an unknown craft distillery.
There’s nice richness and fullness, although the layers and nuance aren’t all there. In some ways it feels fragrant, in other ways still closed off. Because this is a sample bottle that I freshly opened and poured, it’s hard to say if this feels more closed off because it hasn’t had any time to air out in the bottle, which I do for full size bottles. To immediately contradict myself, it seems to be slowly opening up in the glass.
New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon has a lot to like already, but more layers would make a big difference, but all the components feel like they’re already there
After swirling and rest I smell sticky caramel, wood varnish, mix of dried cherry and preserved orange with a slight syrupy and jammy quality, vanilla, cinnamon, a hint of brighter fennel and earthy caraway seed. This is woody, but not overly woody, and The fruitiness pops a little bit here and there, adding to the experience.
New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon still leans in on the bold sweetness and woodiness that lends to an enjoyable experience, but at the same time it still feels less complex, nuanced, and layered than I’d like. I might say that the scents are compressed so there’s some missing details and lack of separation, although the core character still comes out.
Overall though, this smells great and I’m happy with what there already is, which is a lot.
New Dawn 6 Year Cask Strength Bourbon taste and aftertaste
The flavors start with caramel, oily oak, dried cherry and baked red apple, vanilla, roasted oak, cinnamon, wood varnish, orange peel, and a little fennel and earthy caraway seed. It kicks a little more in the flavors than it does in the scents, but it’s still very manageable.
New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon has bold flavors, which I definitely appreciate, but it feels like it comes at the expense of nuance and complexity that could make it even better. That said, there is absolutely nothing off or craft about this bourbon – no weird funk, overdone woodiness, or unpleasant graininess + earthiness. I don’t know anything about Alton Distillery, but I like what they’re making already.
With “chewing” I taste dense dark caramel, dried cherry, orange peel, roasted oak, vanilla, cinnamon, wood varnish, fennel, caramel nougat, coconut, and nutmeg. It feels very oily, so I expect that this is also non-chill filtered.
The finish initially leaves caramel, a lot of oily and roasted oak, wood varnish, and cinnamon. It’s an oak-driven finish that reinforces that it’s more of a brute that needs some refinement. And after “chewing”, it leaves caramel, oily wood and wood varnish, dried cherry and red apple peel, and nutmeg.
New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon is a dark, bold, and flavorful bourbon with a lot of sweetness and woodiness. As loud and bold as it is, which is great, it does drown out the more nuanced flavors and layers that might be in there somewhere. And for better or worse, nothing feels that unique. Again, a spirit is not required to be unique, but it always helps to have some memorable twist.
I enjoy what’s here, but it’s also a bit too much of a blunt hammer for its own good. With some tweaking, potentially through barrel selection, this could be a great Stagg Jr. alternative…well I guess it’s just called Stagg now. My point is that New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon is at the cusp of excellence but is held back by a few monitor things.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon Rating
Oh this is a tough one to rate, not because it’s bad but because I think that this is pretty close to “Top Shelf”. I feel like I can’t wholly get to that point, although it crossed my mind a few times. While there are some great moments throughout the scents and flavors, it doesn’t quite all add up for me
New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon is big and bold, but the nuance, fruity pop, and other layers don’t quite emerge enough to fully seal the deal. That definitely means that the bourbon smells and tastes very nice, but could use some tuning to unlock more layers. I know that sounds vague, which it is because these things are always subjective. It’s absolutely not a problem with the heat.
While it’s not necessarily the best value bourbon out there (but still decent value), New Dawn Cask Strength Bourbon is still a well made bourbon from a promising new brand (it’s new at least as of this review) that is already in a very good place. I hope that they can keep progressing and fine tune their bourbon to be a little more nuanced. Oh…and good job to Alton Distilling too.
I know that my tone has been all over the place, but I am genuinely pleased with this bourbon. I’m not quite going to write that it’s a must buy, but it is worth trying. On that note, New Dawn sells and ships their bourbon online, and it’s worth considering for your next purchase.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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