Tastes

Finally found a bottle from a store that doesn't think everything from Frankfort is a gold mine of profit just waiting to happen. Anyway...whisky politics aside: The nose is alcohol burn, with an undercurrent of simple syrup and vanilla...not much happening here. The palate is better, with a big hit of sharp spices (black pepper, clove, ginger, cinnamon) that quickly moves to a much smoother, sweeter profile with caramel, molasses and vanilla. The hot spice never really reappears, and the finish is like a well-used stick of Big Red; you can tell it wants to be cinnamon, but it's not quite getting you there. Overall, I was a bit surprised, and had hoped for more. It's better than Old Overholt (and at double the price, I should hope so), but it's not nearly as complex and interesting as the Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition Rye. I'm glad I tried it, but in this case I feel the limited availability and the Buffalo Trace allure have created a drama that tires quickly once a glass is actually in-hand.

Nose shows a lot of wood and spice, with just a bit of heat and a hint of vanilla. After a few minutes in the glass it takes on just the very slightest bit of mint. On the palate, it's fairly rich and creamy, but surprisingly hot for the ABV. My notes are almost a carbon-copy of Jake's pro review; Spice (nutmeg, clove, anisette, cinnamon) followed by brown sugar and vanilla, then just the faintest hint of dark cherries. Wood is present from beginning to end, but it's more of a background that ties things together rather than its own distinct flavor experience. Finish is medium, with a bit of heat giving way to caramel and vanilla before leaving a clean, just swished with Listerine feeling, that lingers for a minute or two. I liked my first bottle of CR Hand Selected better than I like this, but it's close. I prefer this to my second bottle of Hand Selected, and I'd imagine with it being a blend that it will be far more consistent than an individual barrel bottling. Whether that guaranteed flavor profile is enough to sway you from the potential for an incredible experience is completely up to you. As for me, I'm going to find more batches of Hand Selected. And when I find another winner that matches my first, I'm going to buy a case.

From a full 750ml bottle; Batch #15-04 @ 55.2% ABV. Nose is all spice and wood, and if you dip too deep, you'll discover the alcohol hangs just below the lip of the Glencairn. Given a good swirl to push the alcohol aside, I can find a bit of sugarcane and hay. The palate is a fairly thin, fairly hot mouth-coating blast of spice; mostly cardamom, anisette, nutmeg, and a hint of rosemary before turning slightly sweet heading to the finish. The finish as exclusively barrel; and is almost enough to drive this down another star. If it had a creamier texture and wasn't so damn woody, it'd be a solid 5. The rest of this batch will go into a rocks glass with a cube of ice to mute the wood and highlight the little sweet that exists, and I'll continue to save $25 by buying Maker's 46, which is significantly better all around.

This was a tough rating...it's good, but it's not all that. Anyway...the review: Nose is very hot; if you're not careful the alcohol will wipe everything out and you'll be nose-blind for a few minutes. A little time to breath (and judicious distance from the glass) and I can discern butter toffee, caramel, vanilla and the faintest whiff of molasses under the predominant aroma of wood. The palate is much the same; a mouth-coating wave of heat interspersed with vanilla, brown sugar, black tea tannin, and a big hit of spice (a high-rye formulation?). The spice carries over into the finish, where it smoothly gives way to honeysuckle and then more barrel to close things out. A decent drink, all in all, but a little rough, as though it could have spent another few years in the cask and knocked down the rough edges at the beginning and end. I almost went 3-stars on this, but then didn't because I'm trying very hard to not let price influence a rating. This would be a great drink at $25, but as it's almost double that, there are better options to spend your money on. Give it a go once so you can collect and display the gorgeous bottle, then spend your money on others that are every bit as tasty for less (Jim Beam 8yr, Evan Williams Single Barrel, Jim Beam Bottled in Bond) or better for the same (Jim Beam 12yr, Stagg Jr, Crown Royal Cornerstone/Hand Selected).

The nose is like sitting in an antique wood chair that's been heavily polished with lemon Pledge, on a beach, in the fall, next to a smoldering campfire. Got that image, and more importantly, the attending aromas, in mind? Now take a sip and prepare to taste that, because it's how the palate opens; rich with lemon, seaweed, a bit of wood, brine, smoke and maybe just a hint of kippers. These exceptional flavors give way to a LOT of eucalyptus before the smoke shows up to close things out with just a lingering hint of astringency. It's been a long time since I've had a bottle (almost impossible to find here), and I don't remember it being this exceptional. Definitely one to keep on-hand.