Tastes

Calumet Farm 8YR (by all accounts, sourced from Barton) *APP: Pours into my Glencairn surprisingly light in color. I'm almost ashamed to say I purchased this mostly for the new packaging. It looks like the bottle you'd receive if you ordered "Pappy" from Wish. It's going in an easy to spot space in my cabinet. *NOSE: The Nose gets my hopes up! Oak, Cinnamon Discs, Fall Mulling Spice, Cedar, Leather, Pipe Tobacco, and a Hint of New Carpet. *NEAT: ...and the Palate brings my hopes crashing back to Earth. Disappointingly Thin Mouthfeel delivers Leather, Cedar, Salted Butter, Slightly Bitter Tannins, and Cracked Black Pepper. A Warming Finish with a decent KYHug with Cedar and Light Tannins coating the Palate. Somehow this one manages to seem Underproofed and Too Hot at the same time. Also, the Flavors are there, but they seem Thin and Muted. Just not good. *SPLASH: A little water helps some. The Fall Spice note is amplified on both Nose and Palate. The Tannins become a little sweeter. *VERDICT: I knew I was taking a gamble with this one as the Barton Profile is hit or miss (mostly miss) for me. This was probably the most "Fall-like" Barton I've had. I usually get Cinnamon, Apricot/Peach/Prune, and Cherry while this one was more Leather, Tobacco, and Spices. The nose was so bold and promising, but the palate was muted and thin. When will I learn that sometimes you should trust your instincts and leave the pretty bottle where it sits and walk over and get that last $30 bottle of Buck 8 Year. In the battle of the 8's, it's a clear victor.

STELLUM *NOSE: Cinnamon, Youthful Corn, Oak, Burnt Sugar Cookie, Cherry, Orange Peel, and a Little Heat. *NEAT: Coconut, Cherry, Cedar, Cinnamon, and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper. Some Drying Bitter Tannins on the finish with a Blooming Heat in the Chest reminding you it's almost 115 Proof. Pepper Spice, Drying Oak, and Cinnamon Coat and Layer the Palate. *SPLASH: A little water accentuates the Cherry & Orange on the Nose. On the Palate, it Sweetens the Oak Tannins and gives the Coating Finish a little bit of Barnyard Funk. *VERDICT: This has really improved with some time open. When sampling it back in March I got a lot more "greenness" and youth from what I suspect are less than Ready for Primetime MGP Barrels, but time open has allowed the older KY and TN stocks that were blended in to have more of an influence. I no longer regret the purchase and find it quite enjoyable. However, I feel the $55 (and climbing) asking price will probably make this a one off, but I did enjoy it and can recommend it.

JJ Bowman Single Barrel *NOSE: Quite Good. Leather, Cedar, Jelly Donut, Oak, Granny Smith Apple, Cinnamon, and Clove. *NEAT: Tart Cherry & Granny Smith Apple, some Oak & Leather, Brown Sugar, and Cinnamon Discs. Mild Finish with Oak & Clove coating and layering on the palate. Slow Building KYHug. *SPLASH: A few drops of water don't change much on the nose, but Leather and Cedar become prominent notes on the palate. *VERDICT: A decent enough pour (and the Bowman line is one of the only BT/Sazerac products with decent availability here in NC), but I kept asking myself if it was worth the $20 upcharge over their standard Small Batch. You definitely get the Leathery character and Jammy Fruit I enjoy in BT Mashbill #1. Not something I'll hunt, but will probably pick up another bottle once this one is emptied. This is a Single Barrel, so keep in mind that YMMV.

4RSB (Revisited) *NOSE: Not as delicate as I remember. Oak, Vanilla, Fresh Cut Hay, Some Light Floral Notes, Pink Bubblegum, and Black Pepper. *NEAT: Simple. Sweet & Oaky. Vanilla, Bubblegum, and lots of Oak (but no bitter tannins). With time Caramel Apple & Tingly Pepper Spice emerge. A little on the Thin Side with a tick of Bitterness on the End. Not much heat on the finish with a coating of Vanilla & Oak clinging to the palate. *SPLASH: Adds Brown Sugar to the nose and the Palate picks up more Fruit (Peach/Green Apple), Rye Spice, Cola, and Citrus Peel. *VERDICT: Better than I recall. Even with the price now around $40 out the door, still a solid, always available option with great VFM.

Not sure what’s going on here, but I haven’t bought a bottle in a while and picked up a 1.5L the other night. Overwhelming peanut butter note. I’m talking Beam level Peanut note. I don’t think they’ve been up and running long enough (but I’m terrible with dates and years), but perhaps some of their own distillate is coming of age and being blended in? Whatever it is, I get none of the cherry and cinnamon and big oak that I used to. Huge downgrade and no longer recommended as one of my favorite sub-$20 bottles.

DAVID NICHOLSON RESERVE *NOSE: Oak, Peanut Shell, Orange Creme, Vanilla, Hay, and Light Fall Spice. Simple, but nice. *NEAT: Vanilla, Orange Oil, Light Oak, Slightly Bitter Tannins, all served up with a Peppery Tingle. A mild, building KYHug with a thin coating of Bitter Oak, Orange Oils and Peanut Shell coating the palate. Classic Heaven Hill. *SPLASH: A little water makes this All Vanilla Creme. *VERDICT: I keep seeing this referred to as "High Rye". If this, as my palate and all other information I can find, is truly Heaven Hill then that would make it 10% Rye. Hardly what I'd consider "high rye" unless you're comparing it to Nicholson's other release (1843) which has NO Rye. There is a certain spiciness here, but I suspect that's more a byproduct of the proof and barrel placement than rye content. It is quite good and perfectly serviceable neat, rocks, or mixed. Where this one loses me is price. It's Mid-$30's price tag takes it out of consideration for me based on the availability of so much equal or better whiskey in that same range. Knob Creek (9year and also 100 Proof), WT101 ($10 less), OGD114 (Actually "High Rye"), Dickel Bourbon (8year age statement), Jack Daniel's BIB (100 Proof and my early leader for best new whisky this year) all immediately come to mind as better options, and I'm sure there are more. It was worth a try to satisfy my curiosity, but nothing special enough to warrant a repeat buy.

GD BIB Release #3 ((Spring '07) *APPEARANCE: Great Mahogany Color that clings to the glass with Slow, Fat Legs. *NOSE: Fabulous. Bold & Layered. Brown Sugar, Old Dry Wood, Pipe Tobacco, Canned Fruit Cocktail, Orange Peel, Spearmint, Spice Rack. *NEAT: Thick & Clingy. Cedar Shavings, Tobacco, Fall Spice (Nutmeg, Cardamom, Clove), Syrupy Canned Fruit, Cherry Pie Filling, White Pepper. Slightly Warming Long-ish Finish with Oak Tannins, Maple, and Vanilla coating and layering on the palate. *SPLASH: Nose and Palate get more Fruit and a bit of the Traditional Vanilla along with Lemon Pudding. Oak gets a little less spice. *Verdict: When I saw the new 4th Release on shelves today (Distilled in Fall of '08, it appears to be the same as Release 2 with a couple more years in the barrel), I realized I'd never given the 3rd Release a proper review. It is another fine product from Cascade Hollow. All the BIB's have been excellent, and though the VFM is not as great as it used to be with it's price jump from $34 to $50, it is still worthy of a purchase whenever you can find it. I definitely won't wait as long to give the new batch a thorough tasting.

Peach, Leather, Cinnamon, Oak Spice, Malt-o-Meal on both nose and palate. This has really improved since I first opened it. Worthy of a repeat buy? I think so.

Barrel 7533588/Barreled Nov. 2016/Approx. 5yr "Get a Piece of the Rock" (Rockingham NC ABC) NOSE: Honeycomb, Straw, Cinnamon Stick, Orange Peel, Sticky Toffee, Orange Peel, Musty Oak. NEAT: Fruit Forward. At times it was almost like popping a random handful of Jelly Belly beans in your mouth. Just an assortment of tart fruit. Orange Peel, Bitter Tart Cherry, Crabapple, Not Quite Ready Peach, Cinnamon Discs, Black Pepper, Drying Oak Tannins, Light Toffee, and some Barnyard Funk. Fairly Warm Finish with a growing KYHug. Tart Cherry, Oak, and Unlit Cigar Tobacco coat and layer the palate. This has a great clingy, coating mouthfeel. There was a note on both the nose and palate that just eludes description. It has a "powdery" quality and I just can't quite place it. SPLASH: Not much change to the nose, but the palate gets a floral note and a little increase in the sweetness. Oak also becomes a bit more dominant. VERDICT: I was surprised by the Tart Fruit Character of this barrel. I was tempted to use the descriptor "Fruity Pebbles", but I believe that all Flintstone references are to be reserved strictly for George Dickel releases. It definitely had what you want in a Single Barrel, a unique sipping experience. These Rebel releases (the Cask Strength included) have all been pretty solid, with deep flavors and a wonderful coating mouthfeel. I wish they were just a tad older, but at 113 proof and around $40, it is still decent VFM. It's a solid 3.75, but gets bumped up to a 4 by the unique flavor profile.