Tastes

Belle Meade Bourbon APPEARANCE: I like the classic looking bottle shape and label. It's fairly light in color and clings like glue to the sides of the Glencairn with fat slow moving legs. NOSE: Complex. Shapeshifting. Initial impression is Woody, Dry, Spicy, and Floral. Freshly Peeled Orange, Dried Corn, Cedar, Bubble Gum, and Chocolate all take a turn. This is one of those I could nose all day. The Orange note eventually takes center stage. The empty glass is sweet hay that transitions to milk chocolate. If the palate lives up to the nose, this one is special. NEAT: Drying Oak, Orange Peel, and Tingling Black Pepper Spice dominate the first few sips. Slightly Oily, Coating mouthfeel. There is a Bubble Gum sweetness, mild at first but growing stronger the more time you spend with it. It has a Spicy, Slightly Astringent finish with Orange Peel, Cocoa and Cedar coating the palate. A mild Building KY Hug blooms in the chest. SPLASH: Ups the complexity. The Oak on the palate becomes sweeter, the astringency mostly gone now. There are Floral notes and some Vanilla finally emerges and combines with the citrus to form Orange Creamsicle. The Oak and Black Pepper continue to layer on the palate with each sip. Verdict: I really like this one. Unique profile. It starts dry and spicy, then transitions to a Citrus/Floral sweet if you give it time to develop. I hesitated to spend the $50 on this, but I'm glad I did. This is definitely going into heavy rotation.

Knob Creek Single Barrel 9YR NOSE: An overall Musty Quality. Raw Peanut, Savoriness, Old Oak, Dusty Barnyard, Some Light Vanilla/Caramel in the back that builds the longer it sits. The nose on the empty Glencairn is all Cinnamon. There was an odd overwhelming "mildewy" note on the first pour (think sponge that has soured) that became more of the musty quality that I noted on future pours. I have never gotten bottle of Whiskey that had gone bad (cork taint, etc), but I thought maybe this was the first. Odd. NEAT: Thick and Clingy Mouthfeel. Oak, Cocoa Powder, Sticky Toffee & Peanut Brittle, Black Coffee with Sugar. A little Bitter Oak on the backend. A pleasant Heat/Tingle that builds on the sides of the tongue and cheeks. A respectable Kentucky Hug that blooms in the chest.Peanut, Vanilla, and Musty Oak coats the palate. The oak continues to layer and become more pronounced with each sip. VERY good. SPLASH: A little water doesn't change much. Gives the nose a "burnt" quality. Oddly, makes it a little hotter? Sweetens the palate into Coca Cola. Takes away an of the bitter tannins that were present. Makes the Musty Oak dominant. Almost becomes like a "Double Oaked" whiskey. Verdict: This is my first bottle of KCSiB. I had tried it a couple years ago at a family get together and remember liking it. However, it was a store pick from somewhere in Indiana and I did not have the time/opportunity to evaluate it properly. I really like Beam products that have a little extra age and proof on them. The price used to be a little of a stumbling block for me, but with HMcK10, 4RSiB, and others cresting the $40 mark it is actually becoming a decent buy.

STAGG JR (Spring 2016/132.5 proof) APPEARANCE: Dark Copper. Oily Coating of Glencairn with fat slow moving droplets. NOSE: Dry & Dusty. Cocoa Powder, Wet Coffee Grounds, Toffee, Hay, Leather, Old Oak. After time some Dried Peach/Apricot. Not as much heat as expected. Very Nice. NEAT: Buttery, Coating mouthfeel. Varnished Oak on tip of tongue. Then Hay, Unlit Cigar, and Salted Caramel. A Floral Taste? Lots of Astringent Oak mid to back of palate. A Loooong Drying, Warming finish with a deep in the chest Kentucky Hug. Dark Chocolate, Black Pepper, and Drying Bitter Oak coats the palate. That astringency builds with each sip. SPLASH: After a couple additions of spring water, the nose becomes all Citrus and Floral. Helps with the astringency, but doesn't eliminate it. The palate gets Honey Butter and more Traditional Oak notes. Adds a little Spearmint to the finish. VERDICT: There is no Batch Number listed on the bottle, but it was purchased in August of 2016 (As a sign of how times have changed, I had passed on previous opportunities to purchase this because of its $45 price tag). While doing my #SocialDistancing I've been reaching into the back of the cabinet for some forgotten gems. I sampled about 1/4 of the bottle back in late 2016 and found it to be overly astringent. No matter how much water was added, I could not get the offending astringency to go away. I liked it enough to give it a 4 despite that quibble. Time open hasn't removed the astringent note, but it has tamed is some if my memory serves. The nose is outstanding, and while the palate does still suffer from some bitterness, this is still one of the better bottles in my collection. 4.25

EWSB 2012 VINTAGE* BARREL #: 499 AGE: 8 YEARS & 18 DAYS *Single Barrel Product. Your Mileage May Vary. Nose: Deep Caramel, Vanilla, Juicy Fruit Gum, Barrel Oak, Peanuts, Dried Corn, & Straw. This is the textbook classic bourbon nose. After some time in my Glencairn, a Vegetal note appears and begins to dominate. Neat: The mouthfeel is definitely on the lighter side, but I would in no way consider it thin. The palate is Oak Driven. Vanilla, Caramel, & Dubble Bubble Gum. Very Straightforward. Not complex, but what it does, it does well. A little heat on the sides of the tongue and mouth with a light Kentucky Hug. Vanilla and slightly bitter oak coat the palate. Reminds me of a watered down/muted HMcK10. Splash: The nose and palate both pick up a Maple note. The Heaven Hill Peanut also appears on the palate along with a little more soft oak. Verdict: Several years ago, this was the first Single Barrel product I ever purchased. Back then, the age was running around 10 years. It was without a doubt, one of the best sub-$30 bourbons around. Then as demand increased, the age of each subsequent "vintage" became younger and younger (if memory serves, some vintages were in the 6 year range). That was also about the time that NC ABC's decided to start carrying HMcK10. Same classic Heaven Hill mash bill. 14 proof points higher. Single Barrel as well as boasting a full 10year age statement...for less money! It became a no-brainer. Now that the McKenna has crept up to $40 and is hard to find? This is a damn fine substitute, especially now that supply is starting to catch up and the age on EWSB is starting to slowly creep back toward that magic 9-10 year sweet spot. This is once again becoming one of the better sub-$30 options on the shelf.

THE AGE STATEMENT IS BACK!! Picked up a bottle of the new Age Stated version of KC Small Batch tonight and decided to test it head to head with the NAS version (I was gifted a couple 375s over the holidays). KC 9YR COLOR: New Penny (Identical) NOSE: Spice. Hay. Old Oak. Fall Spice. Peanut Shell. Light Citrus. A general "gooey" Sweetness. NEAT: Medium Mouthfeel. Vanilla. Oak. Caramel. Cola. A building Pleasant Heat. Long'ish Finish with Oak and Vanilla coating the palate. SPLASH: Made this all Oak and Vanilla. RATING: 4 KC NAS COLOR: New Penny (Identical) NOSE: Spice. Hint of Floral. Light Hay, Citrus. Dry Roast Peanut. NEAT: Thin to Medium Mouthfeel. HOT. Vanilla. Peanut. Spicy Oak. An Immediate Heat. Long Spicy Finish with Pepper, Oak, and Peanut Coating. SPLASH: Tamed a lot of the heat. Becomes mostly Peanut and Oak. RATING: 3.5 Verdict: The NAS had an immediate prickly heat, while the 9 year had a pleasant building heat. The extra age obviously helps. Smooths out some of the rough edges and reduces the signature Beam peanut funk as well. Kudos to Beam for bringing the Age Statement back. My final rating is for the 9YR. It is between a 3.75 and 4, but I'll round up.

2016 Booker's Toogie's Invitation: 6Yrs 4Mos 4Days @ 129proof APPEARANCE: The color of Rich Maple Syrup. Poured into my Glencairn thick and clingy. It took forever to form small slow moving legs. NOSE: Sweet. Burnt Brown Sugar, Vanilla, Peanut Brittle, Kellogg's Corn Pops Cereal, Honey. If "sticky" had a smell, this is it. There are hints of Orange Peel, Oak, and some Cinnamon joins the party after some time. Despite the 128 proof, surprisingly there isn't much heat on the nose. NEAT: WOW! This is Rocket Fuel! Syrupy, Clingy, Delicious Rocket Fuel. The Orange Peel is front and center, followed by Vanilla and Honey. The Beam Peanut Funk is there, but sweeter than on the standard Beam. There is a slightly medicinal Cherry note as well. The Oak that is here comes across as slightly astringent. Nice Long Finish with a more than respectable Kentucky Hug. The aftertaste is Burnt Peanut Brittle and it layers with each coating sip. The high proof does start to numb the tongue, so before I lose the tastebuds completely, I add a small capful of spring water. SPLASH: That little bit of water amplifies the Orange note even more. Adds some Cinnamon and Black Pepper tingle to the mix as well. Another small capful of water and the astringency is completely gone. The Brown Sugar takes over, along with Sticky Caramel and Honey. The whole experience has become like the old school McDonald's Caramel Sundae with Crushed Peanuts sprinkled on it, but in liquid form. VERDICT: I'm not the world's biggest Beam fan, but man am I kicking myself for not trying Booker's sooner. This bottle was purchased online from Ace Spirits for $40 right before they announced the price jump. Wishing now that I'd gotten two. If you are in a part of the country where "dusty hunting' is a thing, keep an eye out for this one. One of the best bourbons I've ever had. Being stuck at home for the better part of a week now lead me to open something at the back of the cabinet collecting dust. May do another one soon. There's an Elmer T Lee and a Forged Oak lurking back there as well, though they've got a hard act to follow after the Booker's.

NOSE: Skinny Slow Moving Legs. Seems Thick and Clingy. Rye Spice leads off. No Floral like I get from SiB. There is an odd Savory/Vinegary note. Creamed Corn. Cinnamon Discs. Old Leather and a Hint of Old Oak. There is a good hit of Alcohol. I wasn't enjoying it until I let it breathe. That allowed Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Powder and Burnt Sugar to emerge and start to dominate. It also tamed the alcohol sting quite a bit. With time, it became quite enjoyable. NEAT: Great Thick/Clingy mouthfeel. The first sip is all Oak, Sweet on the front and Astringent on the back. The mid-palate is Cocoa Powder and Black Strap Molasses. After a sip or two the Astringency is replaced with Vanilla, Maple, and Cinnamon. A nice Peppery Tingle coats the tongue after a Medium Length, slightly Warming Finish. Oak and Brown Sugar aftertaste that accumulates/builds with each sip. SPLASH: Palate becomes Pink Bubblegum sweet with a hefty dose of Oak. Any Astringency that remained disappears. VERDICT: I was not sure about putting out the $60 for this one. I like the Single Barrel and Yellow Label version of 4 Roses, but I have always found the Small Batch lacking and a little overpriced. In fact I passed on it Wednesday, but pulled the trigger when they still had some on the shelf Friday. I don't regret the purchase because I don't know of another Bourbon with this profile. Very unique and worth a flier if you see it at retail. I wouldn't pay any crazy secondary for it, but definitely worth $60 for an occasional pour.

NC was one of a few states to get the first run of EC Rye. Saw it for the first time today, so I decided to give it a go. Rittenhouse and Pikesville are 1 and 1A on my rye list, so expectations are high. Here we go... NOSE: Dry and Dusty Rye Spice. Old, Slightly Musty Oak and Old Straw. Fall Spices like Clove, Allspice and Cinnamon. A little Vanilla. NEAT: A lot of Oak. Drying, Slightly Bitter Oak. Seems Thin. A little Toffee Sweetness with light Caramel and Salted Butter. Black Pepper. A slightly Spicy and Warming (bordering on hot) Finish. Oak and Spice Coat after the finish. SPLASH: A little water adds some sweetness to the nose and palate. VERDICT: Of the three Heaven Hill Ryes, this is the most rye-ish. With the same mash bill, what is the difference here? Age? Rickhouse position? Barrels that just don't fit the Rittenouse/Pikesville profile?That being said, I don't really see the need for this whiskey. It may be a little older than Rittenhouse, but it's 6 proof points lower and $5 more. While the Rittenhouse and Pikesville are thick and coating, the EC was thin and hot. It was a real letdown. Had I been tasting this blind, I never would've guessed it was related to Heaven Hill's other ryes. My opinion is buy the Rittenhouse, it's far superior. If you want to upgrade, get the Pikesville. Not in your state yet? You're not missing out.

Thought I'd celebrate St. Patrick's Day with my second pour from my bottle of Redbreast 12. After this review, I went back and read my notes from the first tasting and I don't know if I've ever had two reviews sound so close together. For some reason I enjoyed it a tick more this time, so it earned that extra quarter star. NOSE: Love it. Sweet. Cola, Fruit, Honey, Melon, Oatmeal with Brown Sugar. A little Leather and a Floral note round it out. After some time in the glass, the nose is dominated by warm Sticky Brown Sugar and Butter. NEAT: Decent Clinging Mouthfeel. Sweet. Dessert-Like. Cooked Apples with Brown Sugar and a sprinkle of Cinnamon. Pralines, Sweetened Cream, and Honeycomb. An odd, but not unpleasant note of Pencil Shavings. A Little Bitter or Sour Note on the finish. A slight warming on the way down with Vanilla Sweetness coating. A hint of the Sourness also remains. I get very little Barrel Influence in this. SPLASH: A little water doesn't change much, but it does reduce that sourness a little. However, it does so at the expense of some of the more complex palate notes. VERDICT: Like I said, this whisky must be pretty consistent pour to pour as my notes were very similar from 1st pour to 2nd. This is still my favorite Irish so far.