Tastes

Strong flavors and more depth than the last few EC BPs. The usual flavors are there youd expect from the line, with additional dark fruit notes. Bitter chocolate. Berries. Barrel char. Pepper. Walnut. Noticing a bit of a rum quality as well. Spice throughout. You feel the proof, no question. But its incredibly flavorful. With time, this will open up and will develop incredibly.

This one is a Total Wine exclusive. Batch 225 68% corn 27% rye 5% barley malt Nose has notes similar to a cinnamon roll. Brown sugar as well as caramel. Dark caramel on the palate along with a good amount of spice. Well balanced. Theres a fine amount of oak as well, making itself very noticable. Theres some more brown sugar creeping in. It finishes on burnt oak, making me think of a late night campfire. The spice lingers throughout the finishes and stays on the tongue for some time. A good bottle for a cold night.

Im getting red apple, vanilla and gingerbread on the nose. The palate isnt as sweet, its actually quite oak heavy. That cookie note continues but blends in with the oak, which conflict with each other some. Theres slight vanilla on the palate but it stays in the background. Finishes with some nuttiness, oak and some nice spice. The nose is pretty great, but the palate left much to be desired for me. Its an above average pour that has its place. Darker notes and oak take over. Nutty. Oaky. I think the profile might be really enjoyable for some. I just wanted a bit more.

The nose is actually pretty full on this. Some malt, vanilla, caramel, pear and burnt toast. That might be the most surprising part and clearly what stands out to me. The palate is straight to the point. Nothing flashy here. Its light with caramel and oak. In an old fashioned I noticed grass, probably from the ice watering it down. For a budget bottle its not my favorite. But it still works for what it is.

At first I was going back and forth on this one in some aspects. I know its a good bottle, and I would certainly describe it on sweeter side. But it can be hard to grasp on specifc notes through the sweetness. It may take some time get through it to find some really great notes. But you can find some nuttiness, fig, and cherry. The Port does really add a lot, and its an easy sipper. An incredibly easy sipper. This does not taste like its 100 proof. At all. It has an average mouthfeel. The nose is a bit more interesting than the palate, but I dont want to take anything away from that. Its a delicious pour for what it offers If you want something easy and sweet to drink, I'd suggest this.

Meijer Select Barrel 2023-26 Bottle 207 of 250 Emptied 3/14/23 57.2 proof It has the usual Dragons Milk flavor but turned up with heavy spice notes. Grape, candied apple and berry on the nose along with spice and dark caramel. That unique flavor is that but heavy spice. A really enjoyable pour. Regretting not buying an extra bottle.

Heavy on the oak. Dark caramel on the palate and nose. A good amount of spice. Slight vanilla and cherry. A good pour thats heavy on oak and dark malts with a bit of variety underneath.

The description of the bottle is spot on. Hazelnut. Toffee. Burnt coconut. The coconut appears more on the finish with some graham cracker. Almost has a smores quality. The burnt note is really apparent but delicious. The spice is there, not overpowering to my palate. Begins with heavy dark malts and spice before going into that toffee note. The nose has dark caramel, some chocolate. For a 60 dollar bottle, it's offering a lot. There isn't much comparison at this price point with the really interesting flavors it has. It seems thin at first, but the flavors linger for a good while. This is an easy recommendation if you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary while not too out of left field.