Tastes

NAS version. Nose: Sweet, with brown sugar and Vanilla Coke with some oak in the background. Neat it starts off cloyingly sweet. Almost liquer-like. Vanilla, peanut butter, and oak. Spicy tingle on the mid-palate with a surprisingly smooth finish considering its higher proof. Despite a relatively thin mouthfeel, it leaves a nice coating of vanilla, mild cinnamon and oak. This was WAY too sweet for me. A splash did help some, but there are just too many other good choices in this price range for this to be a repeat buy. My dilemma is that this is so sweet, I don't know what to mix it with to make it palatable.

Neat in a Glencairn. Nose: Cinnamon, vanilla, citrus peel, tobacco and a light floral note. The famous WT barnyard funk is there, way in the background, but only if you know to look for it. Palate: Big honey vanilla sweetness on entry that transitions quickly to a peppery mid-palate. Short, slightly drying astringent wood heavy finish. Leaves a tingly coating of citrus, mint and wood. Despite loving the Rare Breed from the get-go, WT101 was an acquired taste for me. It took several cracks at it and varying levels of dilution. Now it's one of my favorites. This I liked right from the start. Perhaps this bourbon is intended to be a gateway to WT's other bourbons for those new to whiskey. If so, I think they've hit the right notes. Where this one may struggle is price point. There is a glut of $30-$40 bourbons. When this bottle is gone, it's going to be hard for me to buy another one with curiosity no longer being a factor.

High West Campfire. NOSE: Smoked meat, dill, savory. Weirdly similar to a Pastrami sandwich with mustard. After a few minutes the bourbon notes start to come to the forefront with a touch of caramelized brown sugar and the deli notes fade. A little ethanol, but not enough to detract from the experience. NEAT: Certain days the Peat announces itself first, other days the rye is a little more assertive. The bourbon seems to always hang out in the back. Several of the notes from the nose are present. The smoked meat and the dill, salt brine, backed by the the bourbon vanilla notes. Weird combinations, but they manage to work. It is just the right amount of hot. The finish coats with smoke and black pepper and fades to a clingy bourbon-y sweetness. A splash brings out some mint and enhances the sweet notes. This is a very interesting whiskey. Chameleon-like. It changed for me pour to pour. I waited about 3/4's of the way through the bottle before reviewing. I just couldn't decide if I really liked it, but the last few pours have really hit a sweet spot for me.

Pours from the fancy bottle a nice reddish gold color. Fragrant nose. Almost perfume-ish (maybe subliminal due to the shape of the bottle?). Grainy with dried fruit and heavy sherry notes. Neat it starts sweet and grainy. Then the sherry takes over. I think this is where the problem lies. I suspect that the sherry previously housed in these barrels may not have been of the highest quality. Finishes slightly hot for an 80 proof and leaves a lingering jumble of flavors on the palate. Metallic, fruity, perfumey (again, maybe subliminal from the shape of the bottle?), bitter. This is a muddled mess. I do feel that there are some potentially good notes here, they are just overwhelmed by cheap sherry. This will not be a repeat buy for me.

Surprised by this one. I'll start by saying that I am not an IPA fan. Too much bitter grapefruit for me, but this delivers that note in just the right amount. Nose is hoppy grain/malt, buttered fresh bread, apple/pear, and hints of citrus. Neat it starts light and sweet with vanilla, cereal grain, citrus, and just a hint of milk chocolate. The finish is where you get the hoppy drying grapefruity bitter note of an IPA but, for me anyway, in just the right amount. Definitely not overpowering. Absolutely no burn. A splash doesn't change much, simply adding a bit more of the chocolate note and slightly muting the finish. I can see how a hophead might be disappointed in this one, but I really enjoyed it. This also makes me wonder if maybe I was mistaken in hooking my Irish Whiskey Wagon to the Bushmill train. I might have to explore the Jameson line.