Tastes

Finished off my current bottle last night. Sweet Tea, Oak, Cigar, Vanilla and Chocolate Malt. How they make something this good with so little aging is a mystery that I wish other craft places would solve. It has to start with an awesome mash (provided by Olde Mecklenburg Brewery) and some Distilling/Barrel wizardry from Ollie at Great Wagon Road. Now, If I could only get my hands on some of the Cask Strength or Sherry Cask Finished...

Blanton's (Dump Date of 09/21/2016)-Single Barrel, your mileage may vary. A few ounces of this has become a Thanksgiving tradition for me. My current bottle was down to the last couple pours and I enjoyed it so much, I had to review. Nose: A group of smells (brown sugar, melted butter, coconut oil) that has the cumulative effect of fresh out of the oven Pecan Pie. Old Oak and Leather as well. Neat: All the notes from the nose transfer. A rather dry experience with the sweeter notes playing a supporting role to the Leather and Wood. Medium Length slightly Warm/Tingly Finish with Drying Oak coating the palate and layering with each sip. Splash: A little water sweetens it some (think Sugary Pink Bubblegum) and adds a healthy dose of Black Pepper to the finish. Verdict: There are folks who will tell you that this bourbon is overrated. I'm not one of them. If you told me I had to pick one bourbon to drink for the rest of my days, this is the one. Do I think it's worth the overinflated secondary prices? No way, but it is worth every penny of the $60-$70 suggested retail price. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a bottle here in NC in over two years. Hopefully I'll find one before next Thanksgiving.

Redbreast 12 pours Oily and Clingy into the Glencairn. Nose: The nose is mild, but complex. Malt and Fruit forward. Apple, Pear, Grape. A hint of Citrus (think Icebox Lemon Pie). Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Sherry, Pencil Shavings, Fresh Paint, and Oak. Lots of great smells that I can't quite pin down. The longer it stays in the glass the more the Brown Sugar Sweetness dominates. I could nose this for hours. Neat: Nice Heavy Oily Coating Mouthfeel. A little Black Pepper tingle at first, fading to Grape, Milk Chocolate, Marshmallow, Coconut, and Pencil Shavings. There is a little Bitterness. Just the mildest heat on the finish. Mild Malty Sweetness coats and lingers. Much like the nose, the palate gets sweeter with time. Splash: Really makes the Brown Sugar prominent on the nose. Vanilla and Brown Sugar take center stage on the palate. Verdict: Really Good, but not Great. Just can't quite bring myself to give it that quarter star, but it's oh so close. I'd love to try this in cask strength as I think it would make some of the more subtle notes bolder. I do not regret the $65 price tag, but I will make this bottle last a while at that price.

Better after some time open. Less bitterness. More floral. The finish has picked up an interesting peach/cantaloupe vibe.

Lip Service Rye Nose: The first time you pop the glass cork you are met with the strong smell of fermented grapes. Pours into the Glencairn the color of a new penny. "Dry" applies to most of the nosing notes. You get the Red Wine and Dried Fruit, Leather, Citrus, and Black Pepper. Some Dried Corn? A hint of Dill? Dry Spices and hints of Dry Wood. Think an old weathered untreated plank of Barn Wood. The nose is very promising. Neat: A general overall Sweetness, but also Peppery and Tingly. Again, a general "Dryness". There is so much going on that it is hard to pin down. Red Wine from the secondary barreling is prominent. Toasted Marshmallow, Dark Berries, Drying Oak, all precede a smooth tingling finish that leaves a coating of Drying Oak and a sweetness reminiscent of Honey & Beeswax. Splash: A little water really accentuates the "wine-y" character of the nose. The overall character becomes Less Dry. The fruit notes transition from dried to fresh. It picks up a gingerbread note on nose and palate. Very Unique. I could nose this one all day. On the finish, the coating starts to remind me of the hard pink Bubblegum that was always stuck in your pack of Topps Baseball Cards. Verdict: I went in knowing it was gimmicky, but still expected to like it. I was wrong...I LOVED it! This may be the best example of barrel finishing an American Whisky that I've had...And at a great price of $32.

Early Times BIB $26 NOSE: Sweet. Caramel, Oak, Straw, Rye. A good bit of Dried Spices like Clove and Cinnamon. A Hint of Orange Peel. Maybe some Dried Cherry and Dark Chocolate. There is a hint of the Latex Paint note I find in Brown-Foreman, but not as pronounced as OldFo or Woodford. There is a hefty note of Ethanol in the background, but not enough to be unpleasant. NEAT: This is Super Sweet. Nice Heavy, Clingy and Syrupy Mouthfeel. There is a nice jolt of Spicy Tingle. You get Vanilla, Oak, Cherry Cough Syrup, Black Coffee along with a pretty prominent Bitterness. Bitter Oak and Cherry linger and coat after a nice warming medium length finish. I'm betting this bitter note would help offset the sweetness of an Old Fashioned. SPLASH: Gets rid of the alcohol on the nose and reduces the bitterness on the palate. VERDICT: A new product for us here in NC. It's roughly the same cost and proof as the Signature OldFo, but it has a clingy characteristic I really like that the OldFo is missing. I can definitely see this being a repeat buy.

Let me start this review by complimenting the appearance of this Whiskey. A beautiful retro bottle (and cork) contains a lovely mahogany colored Rye. Now on to the tasting notes... NOSE: Big and Bold. Dry and Dusty. Fall/Mulling Spices including Cinnamon, Clove and Orange Peel. Hay and Old Oak. The Orange Oil becomes dominant after time in the glass. A Floral Note also makes an appearance, but it flits around the edges, coming and going. There is some heat from the 110 proof. NEAT: Oily, Dense and Heavy. Spicy, but it enters a little sweeter than the nose would suggest with light Vanilla. Orange, Rye and Oak dominate the mid-palate. On my first pour I noted some astringency, but I get none from the second pour a couple months later. However, the Orange Oil note is much more prominent on my second tasting. Goes down with a nice warming sensation leaving a lasting coating tingly finish of White Pepper and Dry Dusty/Musty Oak. Damn this finish lasts forever, layering flavor on top of flavor with each sip. That's the hallmark of a great whiskey for me. SPLASH: A few drops of water makes the Orange Peel even more prominent and brings some added Brown Sugar Sweetness as well. A few more drops and the sweetness hints at Gooey Caramel. VERDICT: I'm glad I finally tried this one. It may be my favorite rye now that the High West Double Rye extra-aged stocks are gone. I picked this one up on sale for around $40, but it is usually closer to $50. It may not be a frequent buy for me as it is almost twice the price of Rittenhouse, but it has definitely earned a spot on my top shelf.

Peg Leg Porker is Dickel sourced and, according to the founder of the company, does not get the Lincoln County Process before barreling. After batching, it is filtered through Hickory Charcoal produced at Carey Bringle's Nashville based BBQ restaurant of the same name. As a NC native, there are few things I like more than good smoked pork BBQ. Let's see how it is. NOSE: When popping the cork, the Dickel nose jumps right out of the bottle, but with the welcome addition of Hickory Smoke. It's like enjoying a pour of Dickel 12 while outside tending the smoker. Pours into my Glencairn the color of lightly stained Cherry Wood. The nose begins as Corn and Hickory Smoked Meat. If you're a cigar smoker, it's reminiscent of a Kentucky Fire Cured Cigar. There are hints of Fresh Mint Leaves and Vanilla. There is a mystery note that I couldn't place. I read another review (thanks, @Ian-Young) and they nailed it. The smell you get when you open one of those movie theater boxes of Sweet Tarts. This one starts out one dimensional, but opens up with time. THIS is what I was expecting from Longbranch. NEAT: Light and Thin, but also Oily and Buttery. It's all Sweet Mint and Vanilla on the front. Mid-palate gets the wood-driven notes of charred Oak and Hickory. The Smoked Pork shows up on the backend. It has a slight Black Peppery Taste and Tingle with a touch of Astringency. There is little to no burn on the finish. It leaves a coating of Light Vanilla and Ash. SPLASH: A little water accentuates the Vanilla and the Hickory Smoke on the palate but has little effect on the nose. VERDICT: I loved this! As both a Cascade Hollow Fanboy and a lover of good BBQ, this was the best of both worlds for me. It was interesting to experience Dickel sans the LCP, and the Hickory Charcoal filtering really shows up in the finished product. It's like 'MURICAN PEAT. The Hickory did for this, what I had hoped the Mesquite filtering would've done for Longbranch. If I were to nitpick here, I would maybe ask for a slightly higher proof? Otherwise, it's an enthusiastic 4!

CEHT Single Barrel-Fall 2019 Just realized I'm at my 200th Tasting (can't believe it was almost Skrewball), so I thought I'd review something good. This is a Single Barrel so Your Mileage May Vary. NOSE: Grape is what jumps out of the bottle on the first cork pop. It is also present in the glencairn as well but fades rather quickly to Dusty Oak, Leather, Varnish, Dried Spices like Black Pepper Cardamom and Allspice. After that initial fruitiness, there is not much sweetness until Marshmallow, Barrel Char, and light Orange Peel show up about midway through. This is a complex shapeshifter if you're patient. NEAT: Sweet Clingy Fruit. Apples, Grapes, Pear. "Jammy". Not notes I typically get from Bourbon. Some Black Pepper Spice. A Coca-Cola note that is just hinted at. Medium Length Slightly Warming Finish. Nice coating mouthfeel that leaves Vanilla and Slightly Astringent Musty Oak. Each sip adds a layer, leading to a cumulative layering that is one of my favorite characteristics of a great whiskey. SPLASH: The Orange Peel is now front and center on the nose. The palate gains more typical bourbony Caramel and Butterscotch notes. That Cola note that was almost there before? There it is. Oddly makes the finish a little more peppery and spicy. VERDICT: If memory serves, this is the most I've spent on a bottle of Bourbon ($72). It's either this or Forged Oak which was also 70'ish. Despite my love of the Small Batch version (if not my favorite Bourbon, it's top 5), I could just never make myself pay an almost 75% premium for the Single Barrel. Now?? I could definitely see myself picking up another bottle the next time I get the opportunity.

No surprise here! Nose of Peanut Butter, Buttercream Icing, and Movie Theater Popcorn Butter. Palate is super sweet. And when I say super sweet, I think I can feel Type II coming on after a couple sips. Chocolate and Peanut. Like a Reese Cup, but without the hint of saltiness to tie it all together. I was hoping for a saltier profile more akin to real Peanut Butter. I picked this one up strictly for Sh*** & Giggles to experiment with in some cocktails. My fear is that it may be hard to find something that will cut the cloying sweetness. As far as odd combinations go, this one works much better than the Dickel Tabasco Fiasco.