Whiskey Review: Stillman’s Sonder 10-Year American Single Malt

Introduction

Today, we’re checking out Stillman’s Sonder 10-Year American Single Malt from Dancing Goat Distillery.

Last week, we reviewed the Stillman’s Sonder 10-Year Bourbon and spent an unreasonable amount of time learning what the word “sonder” means. This week, we’re turning to the American single malt—and the story behind this bottle might be even more interesting.

The whiskey originated with MGP, which had begun experimenting with American single malt before the category became what it is today. Those barrels never really found a home in the market, so Dancing Goat acquired them, blended them together, and ultimately released a 10-year age-stated American single malt.

That age statement alone makes this unusual. American single malt is still a relatively young category, and finding a bottle with a full decade behind it isn’t exactly common.

It’s also a category we tend to get excited about. American single malt starts with the same basic grain that gives us single malt Scotch, but the end result can be dramatically different. Different climates, different wood, different production choices—it’s become a spirit with its own identity.

So after coming away fairly positive on the Stillman’s Sonder Bourbon, we were excited to see what Dancing Goat could do with these unusual old MGP barrels.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t land quite the same way.

Nose

Brad: I have to say, it is very perfume-heavy, incredibly delicate, very floral. I got some hints of peach and barley underneath, but it’s kind of like when you get a teenager who put on a little bit too much Axe body spray and comes in and you’re like, “You’re coming a little strong with the perfumes there, my dude.”

That’s kind of how I felt about this. It’s not bad. It’s just interesting in a way that I’m not pumped about. 6.5/10

Bob: I think I’m right there with you. The word that keeps coming to mind for me is just “raw.” Not raw grain, exactly. It’s more like vanilla extract in cooking. Vanilla extract doesn’t smell like the finished thing that has vanilla in it. It smells like taking a whiff straight out of the bottle.

To me, this is overripe peach and straight vanilla extract. There’s an almost sour note going along with that sickly sweetness. Something is just a little bit off that I can’t quite put my finger on. I’m hoping that with the 10-year age statement, some of these weird rough edges are going to get rounded out once we get into the palate. 6.5/10

Taste

Brad: On the palate, my score came up. It has a really strong cereal vibe—not any specific cereal, just grain cereal. It remains floral, which I enjoyed. There’s a lot of honey, and the peach comes through more fully. It isn’t my favorite American single malt I’ve ever had, but I do think this is a decent palate. 7/10

Bob:  There’s this note that isn’t quite vegetal and isn’t quite herbal. It reminds me of a really bitter weed from the backyard—those thick, woody weeds that have a very distinct, pungent smell.

It starts with that overripe fruit and vanilla. Then it gets this really prickly, almost cinnamon-candy vibe. And on the back end, it turns into that woody, vegetal note. This one’s just not for me, man. 5.5/10

Finish

Brad: The finish is where I started moving into the territory Bob was talking about. It turns herbal, and then into this really sickly rose kind of aftertaste that sat on my palate for a while. The grains come through a little more strongly at the end. I was starting to struggle by the finish. 6/10

Bob: I’m going to be at a 5.5/10 again. It’s just not a very well-rounded tasting experience.

The strange thing is that it tastes like young grain. It does not drink like something that’s been sitting in a barrel for 10 years. There’s that perfume-heavy, guzzling-Chanel-No.-5 kind of note, and then this super bitter quality that almost tips medicinal for me on the finish.

Balance

Bob: I think I’ll be generous and give it a 6/10 here. Needless to say, even at this point in the review, I much prefer the bourbon from Stillman’s Sonder to the American single malt.

It’s not that there aren’t interesting things happening here. There clearly are. They just never quite come together into a cohesive experience for me.

Brad: I also gave it a 6/10 on balance. There are individual things I like—the grain, the honey, some of the peach—but the perfume, floral character, and that strange herbal finish keep everything from really clicking.

Value

Stillman’s Sonder American Single Malt is priced at $70, the same territory as the bourbon we reviewed previously. And this is where the unusual origin of the whiskey makes the value conversation a little complicated.

Brad: At $70, this is where I’m going to draw the line. I think this is an interesting American single malt, but at this price point you can get a lot of really great American single malts out there. 4/10

Bob: They refer to barrels like this that don’t really go anywhere in the market as orphaned barrels. And I genuinely don’t know whether orphaned barrels become more expensive because they’re unusual one-offs, or less expensive because the distillery has nothing to do with them and wants to move them.

But I do think it’s interesting that we have a 10-year age-stated American single malt. That’s really rare because people simply haven’t been making American single malt at scale for very long. So I commend them for that. I commend them for the blending. I don’t think this is overpriced given what it is.

The problem is that I just don’t think it tastes very good.

If you’re asking whether the product itself is worth this amount of money, I can’t quite say that it is. If this whiskey tasted great, $70 for a 10-year American single malt could be a phenomenal value. This particular juice just isn’t quite up to snuff for me. 6/10

Final Scores

Bob: 29.5/50

Brad: 29.5/50

Average Score: 29.5/50

At Film & Whiskey, 35/50 is typically the point where we start recommending that you try a pour at a bar or consider buying a bottle. A whiskey that reaches 40/50 is great, while 45/50 is excellent territory.

At 29.5/50, Stillman’s Sonder 10-Year American Single Malt falls clearly below that recommendation line. And that’s particularly disappointing because, on paper, there’s a lot here to be excited about. A 10-year-old American single malt sourced from some of MGP’s early experimentation in the category is exactly the sort of oddball whiskey we want to discover.

But age alone doesn’t guarantee maturity. The perfume-heavy nose, overripe fruit, vegetal bitterness, floral character, and medicinal finish never quite come together for us. Brad found more to like on the palate, while Bob struggled with the profile almost from the beginning, but ultimately we arrived at exactly the same score.

If anything, this bottle made us appreciate the Stillman’s Sonder Bourbon even more. And if Dancing Goat eventually gets another crack at a mature American single malt under this label, we’ll absolutely be curious to see where they take it.