Tastes

This was my go-to value rye until my local ABC started stocking Rittenhouse. Butterscotch sweet backed by dusty rye nose transfers to the palate. Pleasant earthy oak on the finish. Good neat or on the rocks, but shines in all your rye cocktails.

Good looking bottle and labeling with heavy wooden stopper. Great nose, heavy with dried apricot, vanilla and old leather. Neat it enters butterscotch sweet with hints of dried fruit. Cinnamon with a peppery kick to the finish. Sounds great, right? Then the odd aftertaste hits. Hard to describe, but very unpleasant. This taste then hangs around long enough to ruin the next sip, and the next, and the next... Water or ice helps some, but the finish is just "off". I really wanted to like this one, and have tried letting it sit to open up. Tried water and/or ice, but it's just not getting there for me.

My new favorite wheated bourbon! Great color and a nose that's heavy sweet with a hint of tangerine. Enters thick, chewy and sweet. Cinnamon candy with a short, hot, tingly finish. No char or barrel funk. A few cubes of ice does bring some oak into the mix and tones down the finish a notch. This whiskey seems made to handle ice melt. It's nitpicking, but the bottle and labeling are hella' ugly. Be careful with this one. The 107 proof sneaks up on you.

I love that this is less than 50 miles grain to glass. However this could use some extra time in the barrel and I hope they are leaving some in reserve for that reason. Enters sweet with Oak and Leather in the mid palate. Pleasant burn. This has an almost "tequila-ish" note on the finish. Try the Troy & Sons Blonde Whiskey which adds a local heirloom wheat to the mash bill and gets some extra time in what I believe are used Woodford Reserve Barrels. It is miles ahead of the Reserve.

I like this one, especially for the price. It brings the oak char with the traditional vanilla and toffee, but also has an incredible soft pink bubble gum sweet note that I really like. This one borders on a 5 star for me. Hard to find at times, so I always pick up a bottle when I see it.

Love the bottle and tin cup (and yes I realize it's not actually distilled in CO). Looks great on the bar. The nose is heavy rye spice with hints of caramel and charred oak. Neat, this whiskey is all pepper and rye spice. Earthy and dusty. Nice mouth feel. Mild burn with a slight lingering sweetness on the tongue. On the rocks, this whiskey comes to life. All the spice is still there, but mellowed. It develops a creamier mouth feel. More sweetness comes forward. Brown sugar with hints of cinnamon. I've read several reviews that mention LDI's/MGP's spirits having a dill note. This is the first one I've been able to detect that in. Shined in an old fashioned. I really enjoy this whiskey!

Surprised by the light color since this is an 8 Year Bourbon. Nose is not complex, but nice. Toasted marshmallow. Enters mildly sweet. Slight citrus with a pleasant oaky aftertaste with a little tingling peppery spice. Hints of tobacco and dried apricot. Mild and smooth. Easy drinking. Would be a great beginners bourbon. Ice smooths it out way too much. Goes from a sipper to a gulper (which could be dangerous). I definitely recommend this one Neat.

THIN. Slight maple syrup sweetness and then it's gone. Nothing objectionable here, but then again there's nothing much here at all.

Worst bourbon I've ever had. Sour, funky oak on entry and finish. I know it's about $10, but for that price or less, you can get Henry McKenna or Heaven Hills Old Style (both from the same distillery) and get a much better pour.

Great value. Sweet with a tingly note of cinnamon candy. A hint of dry roasted peanuts and citrus on the finish. I like the new packaging upgrade with the fake cork, but not the price increase that came with it. Still a lot of bang for the buck in a bonded whiskey.