Tastes

Nose: Sweet oaky caramel, maybe a little nuttininess but mostly just a big sweet caramel bomb. Really good but not complex. After a few sips a really fresh vanilla comes through. Palate: Big sweet caramel and vanilla notes with very sticky mouthfeel. Reminds me of eating vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce. The more you sip the more the vanilla overtakes the caramel. A little oak comes through towards the end of the palate but doesn't come anywhere close to balance out the sweetness. Finish: Sweet vanilla dominates a very long finish. Overall: This one really punched me in the face with sweetness. While it may not have as much going on as other ECBPs, it's still extremely flavorful.

Nose: The nose hits you with the aroma rye bread fresh out of the oven, with side of sweet honey butter. There's a baking spice note that comes out more and more the more you sip, but the initial nose is primarily a balanced rye grain/sweet/and almost savory notes. It's really enjoyable. Palate: A rye grain pops in and quickly vanishes on the top of the tongue. This is followed by a huge rush of apple pie spice on the midpalate. The apple pie spice transitions into a flavor that reminds me of potpourri, but definitely nothing floral, it's remains on the spicy side. This whiskey is sticky, and clings to the roof of your mouth. Finish: The finish begins with the spicy notes from the palate and eventually ends with a honey sweetness and fresh apple. The length is fairly long. By no means did it last forever, but much longer than the average finish. Overall: Much more delicate than I would have guessed. I'm so used to ryes (or at least the good ones) having a really heavy berry syrup flavor. This was a very nice change of pace. I'm not sure that I'd pay for another one, but I have no regrets at all with this one. The combination of sweetness, spice, and mouthfeel makes this seem like a top shelf rye.

Nose: The nose is 100% quintessential Balcones, or the Balcones "funk" as I like to call it. What I like so much about lineage is that at a lower proof, it's a little easier to get into what makes that up. I get a big hit of fresh peaches and cream right up front. There's also a good amount of butterscotch, which almost leans towards just butter. Behind all of that is a musty wet wood that, to me, is the main contributer to the funkiness. As with all Balcones offerings, I could nose this for hours. Palate: The palate offers a mouthfeel that is still the creamy Balcones texture that I know and love, at a very approachable proof. It definitely leans more towards the oaky side, but by no means is it the traditional bourbon oak. This oak is sweet and creamy with the same mustiness as the nose. The palate makes a sharp left turn into coffee towards the middle/ back of the palate, though thankfully this falls just short of the stale coffee I described in my review of the Balcones Rye (thank goodness). Finish: The finish carries on and on, especially considering the proof. It begins with the coffee note from the back of the palate but fades into a sweet fruitiness that reminds me of peach rings candies. Overall: I feel like I've been waiting for this whiskey for years and just didn't know it. This whiskey gives me all the Balcones uniqueness that I want in one of their offerings at not only a very easily sippable proof, BUT THAT PRICE!! This release vastly exceeded any expectation I had for it.

Nose: Root beer up front with peanut behind that, vanilla cake comes through a lot the more after the first nosing. The root beer almost completely disappears after the first sip, leaving vanilla, almost wedding cake aroma Palate: sweet cinnamon sugar and vanilla on the first sip. Very little burn. Really simple on the taste, but enjoyable. Tastes rich Finish: the same flavors from the palate carry on until they eventually fade out for a moderate length finish Overall: This was my second bottle of McKenna BiB. The first was very mediocre, but I've always heard that McKenna has some of the biggest difference when it comes to their single barrels, so I decided to give it another go. I'm extremely glad I did. I won't hesitate to pick one up again in the future (as long as I can find another).

Nose: cinnamon candy, sugary peanut butter, almost like a Molasses/cola note, very balanced. More maple syrup comes through the longer it sits. Palate: sweet corn bread and cinnamon, no nuttiness from the nose Finish: finishes almost salty, almost like a corn tortilla chip. Really interesting, never gotten that before. Really good though Overall: This was one I never really sought out, I thought the whole "returning one year older" thing was kind of gimmicky. This was actually really enjoyable. I don't know if I'll buy another, but not disappointed at all with this one.

Nose: Banana runts all over the place. Goes more towards banana bread the more you nose it Palate: sweet banana split with no chocolate sauce. You get the vanilla and cherry (on top) right away with the banana coming through after that Finish: finished just as it started...you guessed it, with banana. Unlike the single barrel I have, this banana is much more appetizing

Nose: Dominating cinnamon, vanilla, and caramel right up front. A sweet cherry candy note mixed in with oak is behind that if you dig for it. Palate: The vanilla and cinnamon dominate front and middle of the palate as well. Most of the palate is very sweet, but turns pretty bitter entering the finish. Finish: Moderate to long. Heavy bitter oak notes eventually give way to a dusty peanut taste. Not my favorite finish at all. Overall: Honestly a pretty big disappointment. This was my first KC pick after they started blowing up for how amazing they are. I know this one is only 9 years old, but it falls far short of those expectations in my opinion. Traking expectation out of it, this is a good high proof sipper if you're wanting something that you're not going to have to sit down and dissect.

Nose: Dusty, honey roasted peanut followed by a sweet cinnamon sugar. Really reminds me of the candied peanuts you'd get in a box of crunch N munch. Then out of nowhere, after a few sips there's an overwhelming bubble gum note that covers up everything else. Eventually towards the end of the glass, the bubble gum decides to play nicely with everything else. Came back to this and all I could get was peanut butter cookie, which only builds on how much I enjoy the nose. Palate: The initial palate completely transcends the nose. After a few sips, instead of bubble gum, was dominated mostly by red hot cinnamon. The cinnamon does settle down and a slight bubble emerges towards the end of the glass. Finish: My only complaint about this bourbon is it has almost no finish. They're great flavors, they just make a very quick exit. Overall: Wow. For the price this is great! This doesn't give me the creamy peanut butter notes that high end beam does (think Bookers), but it also is far from the stale peanut of bottom shelf beam. This reminds me of an easier drinking version of the new JB SiB and I'm really enjoying it. If it wasn't an LE I could really see this overtaking my current daily, EW BiB. Note - I plan on blinding those two very soon, so this score could go up.

Nose: A lot of dark sweetness, like a brown sugary/Molasses, almost reminds me of cola. More caramel sweetness behind that with roasted peanut and sweet oak Palate: Dominant cracker jack character, the dark brown sugar/cola flavor is right behind that, it's almost effervescent from the alcohol making it even more like cola Finish: Pretty long, starts out with peanut but finishes with bitter Molasses, not a bad bitter though. Overall: One of my favorites for sure! I never had a chance to try the small batch version, but I’d be shocked if this isn’t an upgrade to that. I hope it becomes more readily available in my area so I can continue to enjoy!

Nose: vanilla, bananas, warm baking spice, maybe a little peanut, getting more and more like a banana split the more you nose it. Palate: berries and caramel. Berries turn into just cherry after a while. Completes the banana split from the nose Finish: pretty long, sugary cherry lingers on Overall: Very light and fruity, a really nice change of pace from what I normally enjoy in a bourbon. It’s worth noting that I had this in a blind with other darker bourbons, and the pleasant banana split nose was completely dominated by bananas, which I wasn’t a fan of. That took the score down a little for me. Overall though, this is one I’ll continue to seek out.