Tastes

Nose: Vanilla, oak, peanut, light cinnamon, alcohol and a touch of char. With a little time in the glencairn it picks up a citrus note. Neat: Sweet! Vanilla, caramel, underdone sugar cookies, overwhelming Peanut Butter, and cocoa. A little heat, but not excessive for 100 proof. Eventually, much like the nose, the citrus decides to make an appearance and the vanilla increases, but not enough to compensate for the Beam peanut funk. Coats on the finish with peanut and light oak. Splash: A few drop of water adds a healthy dose of cinnamon to both nose and palate. Verdict: At first, I was not a fan of this one. I prefer my Beam with a little extra age (Knob Creek, Distillers Choice) or extra barrel (Double Oak). I find the overwhelming peanut funk too much in younger expressions. Age and oak seem to get rid of it. What redeemed the Bonded in my eyes was its performance on the rocks. The melt and temperature change from one large cube seemed to tame the offending note and actually made it quite good. If you want to move up in the Beam lineup, I think the Double Oak, Distiller's Choice, Black Label, or even the Devil's Cut are better options.

This is my first review of this one since the Age Statement was dropped. Elijah Craig 12 was probably not the best bourbon, but if someone were to ask me 5 years ago to name the most bourbon-ish bourbon, I'd have said EC12 without hesitation. The toffee, butterscotch, vanilla, with a hearty oak backbone was my baseline for all other bourbons. I've had one other bottle of this, but it was a NC ABC single Barrel selection that was just over 8 yrs old if I recall. For that reason I didn't review it, but I remember it being fairly decent for the money. Let's see how the regular NAS Small Batch fares, shall we? Nose: When first poured I get lots of alcohol and oak. Give it a few minutes to open up and a nice sweetness develops on the outer edges. Toffee, butterscotch, Karo Syrup, wrapping around the alcohol and oak in the center. You also get a touch of peanut brittle, orange peel and a little barrel funk. Very pleasant if you spend some time with it and allow it to breath a bit. Neat: Prickly heat and a little on the thin side are my first thoughts. The sweetness from the nose carries over in vanilla and caramel. Dry roast peanut, orange peel and white pepper spice. Initially, a lot of heat for a 94 proofer, but that dissipates after a few sips. Finishes with a medium warmth, coating the palate with a slight bitterness and tingly pepper. A little (not enough for my taste) musty barrel note that I like in my older Heaven Hill stuff. I also remember my single barrel selection having a little creamier mouthfeel. Splash: A few drops of water adds an herbal note to both nose and palate. Adds a little more vanilla, amplifies the barrel funk, and tames the heat. Weirdly, the musty oak note that I love in Henry Mckenna 10yr finally shows up when I nose the empty glass. This makes me think that some interaction with the oxygen in the bottle might make it more prominent in future pours. Verdict: Man, I miss the 12 year old, but there are only a handful of bourbons better than this one in the $25-$30 range. My problem here is at the $29 regular price, it's only $6 less than the newly price increased personal favorite Henry Mckenna 10yr at $35. I got this bottle on sale for $25 which definitely helps. I still might consider this a "baseline" bourbon if someone were to ask (I think the HMcK10 is a little too unique to be a bourbon-ish bourbon) for a recommendation. It's a solid 4 Star choice.

I have achieved Whisky Nirvana... North Carolina ABC's run this on sale every December for $90. I finally decided to pull the trigger. Here goes... Nose: Layer upon layer of depth here. Peat smoke, charred meat, campfire char. The autumny smell of someone miles away burning leaves. Smoky without the medicinal/chemical qualities of Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Delicate notes are floating just below the smoky surface. Sea breeze. A creamy, buttery confectionary sweet with an added citrusy tang. You could spend an hour trying to pick out different notes. So much depth and nuance present. No ethanol burn. You can really explore this one. Quite possibly my favorite nose to date. Neat: Again...Layers. Starts off with charred meat and ash with light salt brine. Then the sweeter notes of sweet cream, honey, apple and pear, and a hint of citrus peel. A tingly finish with a mild warming sensation. Almost effervescent. A peppery tingle coats the palate and lingers with a hint of lemon zest, ash and a touch of menthol. Splash: A couple drops of water bring a little bit of a prickliness to both the nose and palate. Does not mute any of the prevalent palate notes and adds a hint of fire roasted peanut. Verdict: The extra 6 years in the cask really separate this from the Laphroaig and Ardbeg. Those are angry and peat forward. Chemically and aggressive. The Lagavulin takes those notes and tames them and lets the true quality of the malt shine through. I will definitely keep a $100 in the whiskey budget for a bottle of this every year. It shouldn't be difficult as I would be hard pressed to name any of the expensive "chase" bourbons that I enjoy even half as much as this.

NOTE: The blend has changed since the Distiller notes were written. Per High West's website, the MGP 75/21/4 is still listed, but the other bourbon that they list is 84/8/8 which would make it Dickel sourced. They do not divulge the source of the other components due to "contractual obligations". I doubt there is any more 13yo bourbon finding its way in here or it seems they would definitely push that. As a side-note, I appreciate the way that they are as open about their sourcing as they can be. Batch 18019 Nose: Old oak, hay, saddle soap and leather, varnish, some orange peel and just a hint of dill in the background. High West always delivers (for me anyway) on the nose. This is a very interesting combination of notes, but I'm not sure that the combination bodes well for the palate. Neat: Enters with a light honey sweetness followed by rye spice, black pepper and oak. Not overly complex. Bitter drying finish, similar to orange/lemon pith. Limited burn with tingly oak lingering on the palate. Some time in the glass either brings out a little more sweetness, or you palate adjusts and finds more there. I'm not sure which. Splash: A few drops of water really brings the orange peel to the forefront of the nose. Gives the palate a pink bubble gummy sweetness. Tones down the drying astringency on the finish and makes it more pure orange/citrus and less citrus pith. A few drops of water increased my enjoyment of this one immensely and save it from a score in the 2's. Verdict: I'm glad I tried it, but I don't see this being a repeat buy at $40. A bar local to me has ordered in a barrel of this finished in peated scotch casks (the only barrel select available in the entire state). I definitely want to give that a shot, though. I love High West's experimentations, but this on its own was just okay for me.

Picked up a 200ml bottle on impulse when checking out at the ABC the other day. After trying and enjoying the Caskmate IPA Edition this had been on my radar for a while. It was mentioned in another review that there were two different label designs. FWIW, my label looks like the picture featured on this site. *Nose (Glencairn): Unique nose! The Stout is front and center with chocolate, honeycomb, malt, vanilla, wet hay and a floral note. When reviewing the IPA edition, most of my notes were "hints of" or "light". You won't see those much in this review as the notes of this one are bold and heavy. *Neat (Glencairn): Whoah, this is sweet! Like an overly rich dessert. Heavy mouthfeel. Chocolate, honey, mocha coffee, and butterscotch are all present. The Stout barrel really imparts a ton of flavor. It ends with no burn and a bitter beery finish. Bitter dark chocolate and black pepper coat and linger. After a few moments a medicinal note similar to prescription cough syrup began to creep in. Verdict: While I did like this one, it was a little too sweet for me. There is A LOT going on here, and none of it is subtle. I think I might be in the minority here in preferring the IPA version and it's lighter notes, even though I don't really like IPA's and do enjoy the occasional pint of Stout. Go figure...

Just picked up a bottle of this for the first time in a couple of years. Thought it was a good time to re-review since my earlier review was done when I was fairly new to the brown spirit game. Nose: Hay, Leather, Old Oak. Like standing in an old barn or tack room. Keep exploring to pull out notes of Light vanilla and just a hint of dill way in the back. After it sits for a few minutes a custardy note starts to evolve. Neat in a Glencairn: This one is Oakier than I remember. It enters with the Hay and leather. Just a hint of vanilla/caramel sweetness. Dusty and dry. That great musty oak note that I find in a lot of Heaven Hill presents in the mid-palate. It manages to be oaky without being bitter or tannic. No (or very minimal) dill that a lot of people find off-putting in some of the higher rye mash bills. A pleasant warming sensation paired with a peppery tingle on the finish. The musty oak note coats and lingers along with a little pepper spice. Splash: A couple drops of water really enhances both nose and palate. It shoves the rye notes to the back and gives the nose a fall-esque vibe. Butterscotch and nutmeg. It gives it a creamier mouthfeel with the butterscotch, vanilla and nutmeg becoming the predominant notes complimented by the heavy oak. Verdict: I guess I just needed a reminder of how much I liked this one. Of the ryes that I have sampled, this is a solid second place behind the High West Double Rye. The High West has a lot of notes that you don't think would pair well together (think an improv jazz session) while the Rittenhouse hits a few well placed complimentary chords (think a meat and potatoes garage band crunching out an AC/DC cover tune). Both are equally enjoyable depending on your mood.

Caramel, toffee, oak and old leather on the nose. Enters with a nice subtle vanilla sweetness and a wallop of oak. A hint of dry roast peanuts. Of course it's heavy on the oak, but it's more complex than I expected. Nice peppery burn on the finish, leaving an earthy oak on the palate. Where this one earns its keep is on the rocks. With a little ice melt it becomes almost honey butter sweet in both taste and texture. The oak hangs around in the background. Short sweet finish, with limited to no burn. Leaves a nice sweet coating on the palate. For me, this is not a complicated sipper, but...Come home from work hot and tired, fill a small rocks glass with ice and Devils Cut, and relax. It also performed very well in an Old Fashioned. For me this slots above the Standard White Label, equal to the Black Label, and below the Double Oak and Distiller's Cut in the Beam labeled lineup.

Nose: Fall Spices. Cinnamon, Orange Peel, Dried Peaches, Burnt Sugar, Clove and a good dose of Oak. Neat: Thick and Chewy. Nearly all of the notes from the nose carry over with a peanut butter note joining in. A healthy dose of Oak Tannins make this a tick on the astringent side. Lots of heat, but in a good sense. Finish: Goes down with a nice warming in the chest. Leaves bitter spice along the sides of the tongue. Coats the rest of the palate with a hint of lingering musty oak that I really like and find in most older Heaven Hill products (McK 10 year, Evan Williams Single Barrel, Rebel Yell 10 year). Splash: Very beneficial... Brings a little more depth to the palate. You get hints of the traditional butterscotch and toffee. Allows the oak note to rise above the heat as well without killing that peppery spice on the end. Verdict?: I found this very similar to Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. Dare I say, "Poor Man's Elijah Craig BP"? If this can be found at the suggested retail of $40, it's a no-brainer. My fear is that this will follow the model of Rebel Yell 10 year and spike in price after the initial release. I do want to say that whoever is in charge of recent bottle/label design and marketing at LuxCo is doing a great job, especially with the Ezra Brooks line. If they can maintain this level of quality with their own distillate, this will be a company to reckon with moving forward.

If you've ever wondered what White Label Beam would taste like 6 proof points higher and without the chill filtering...Wish Granted. I was unimpressed. Thin and hot with little complexity. The Beam peanut funk is front and center. Ice or a splash does help and it does sport a little more oak than the standard White Label. It also runs the same price as the White Label, so if you must buy entry level Beam, this would be the one.

Batch 17-02 @ 110.7 proof (This is now available in 750ml bottles) Nose: Cherries, Vanilla, Orange Peel, Cinnamon and Straw. Give it a couple minutes in the glass and a Varnished Oak note makes an appearance. Neat: A thicker mouthfeel than the standard expression. Enters slightly spicy with Butterscotch, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Light Orange Peel and Cinnamon. Finish: Coats with Slightly Bitter Oak and Tingly Black Pepper. It warms, but isn't harsh or hot like I tend to get from the 90 proof MM. Splash: Gives the nose and palate a slightly floral note. Amplifies the chocolate note on the palate and takes a little of the astringency out of the finish. I enjoyed it equally neat or with a splash. Verdict?: I really liked this one. It's nice to have a cask strength offering in the 110'ish range (One of my favorite bourbons of all time was the cask strength 108 Rare Breed). It allows you to sample the spirit "as is" without blasting your palate with a super high proof. My store had both a 110 and a 112 version, but I deliberately went with the lower proof in order to do a side by side with Weller 107. My only quibble with this is the price. A $50 purchase is about $10 over my standard bourbon budget (and $10 more than the 46 which I like better) and about $20 more than the Weller 107 (when I can find it) so I don't see this being a regular pour for me. Kudos to MM for making this available. 4 1/2 Stars.