Tastes

1792 BIB Single Barrel Select (North Carolina 2021) NOSE: Dry Tobacco, Cinnamon, Dry Oak, Brown Sugar, Candy Apple, Grassy Barnyard Funk, and a slight Alcohol Burn. NEAT: Decent Coating/Clingy Mouthfeel, Vanilla, Oak Tannins, Big Hit of Cinnamon Heat, Black Pepper Spice, Dark Heavy Fall Spices, and Orange Peel. There is an underlying taste of Young Dry Corn that throws it off just a bit. Spicy Slightly Drying Finish with a Big KYHug blooming in the chest leaving a coating of Cinnamon on the palate. SPLASH: Improves it a bit. Gains a Tartness and becomes more Fruit Forward. Orange & Lemon Peel, Granny Smith Apple, The coating finish gains a bit of Sweetness. VERDICT: Time open has helped this bottle. One of the better Bartons I've had (and the best 1792). The issue here is that Young Corn Note that I feel would've been blended out had it been a part of the Regular BIB Batching. That lead to a quarter point reduction. A little water did disguise it a bit and gave it an overall Fruity character that I really enjoyed. I think I'll definitely give the standard BIB a shot if I see it. The Barton profile may be growing on me a bit.

END OF DAYS BOURBON-SERIES 1/BATCH 2 110 PROOF MASHBILL: 68% LOCAL NC CORN 22% TWO ROW BARLEY 10% RYE NOSE: Sugar Corn Pops Cereal, Wood Spice, Brown Sugar, Sliced Ripe Red Apple, Peach Preserves and a hint of Young Dried Corn. Very Good. NEAT: Great Coating Mouthfeel. Apricot, Leather, Vanilla and a hint of Young Corn and Peppery Heat. Nice Medium Length Finish with the Effervescent Burn of a highly Carbonated Water remaining on the palate with Vanilla, Leather, and Char. Different, but, again, Very Good. SPLASH: Takes some of the Young Corn notes out of the Nose and Palate. Sweetens the whole experience just a bit, but that great lingering Effervescent Burn is unaffected. VERDICT: This Distillery is about 20 miles from me. They make excellent Gins and Rums. They put some barrels of bourbon down not long after opening and this is the first of them to come of age. I love the unique mashbill (basically the percent of malt and rye are reversed) and the effervescent burn is something I normally only get from Islay Scotches. Looking forward to Series 2.

BLACKENED NOSE: Starts very UN-Metallica like with Light Sweet Corn, Vanilla Coke, and Jelly Beans. BUT give it about 10 minutes and it gets bolder and more dense. Corn Meal (due to the youth?), Pine Sap, Cedar, and Oak. It tries to be very good, but just misses the mark. The Empty glass was Honeysuckle and Leather. NEAT:Sweet and Fruit Forward (again, is this Metallica or Britny Fox?). Cherry, Plum, Vanilla, and Apple. A nice Peppery Oaky Spice emerges that keeps it from being overly sweet. The Brandy Cask Aging really comes through on the Longish Coating Finish with syrupy Amarena Cherry and Oak Spice. That Layering Coating is the best part of the experience. SPLASH: Nose and Palate gets an added note of Unpeeled Peach. Reduced the Oak Spice and the Coating Finish becomes less Syrupy and a little more Tart. Verdict: Price had kept me away from this, but my local ABC started carrying it in 375's. Thought it was worth a gamble. I was surprised by this one. More elegant than a Metallica Whiskey should be. I was expecting gimmicky (and I'm still not sure that the Sonic Aging has any real effect) but I thought it was really good. There is some youthfulness here that they are offsetting with the Brandy finishing, but it's done well. The coating cherry finish is right up there as one of the best I've had in a while. I could see picking up a full bottle of this at some point.

PEERLESS KSB Small Batch (110.1 Proof) APPEARANCE: Packaging and label/logo are one of the best. The liquid it holds is bright new copper. NOSE: Nose is great. Dry Brown Sugar, Fruity (Orange, Peach, Applesauce, Prune), Raw & Cooked Grain, Some Berry Notes if you dive deep into the Glencairn, Cocoa Powder, Cedar, and Dried Flowers. NEAT: A hint of Young Corn, Light Vanilla, Pencil Shavings, Drying Slightly Bitter Oak, Tingly Pepper Spice, with a Building Heat in the Chest. A Clingy Coating of Oak Tannins coat the palate. While nice, it falls short of the nose. SPLASH: A little water brings Charcoal Smoke to the nose. Palate gets Sweeter and the Oak transitions from Bitter to Musty. Some Citrus shows up. The Coating Finish also picks up the Charcoal Smoke note. VERDICT: Don't love it, but really like it. Started out unsure, but it won me over by the last sip. Price is an issue here, but I'd rather pay this than pay what they are now charging for young, barely legal, substandard MGP (oh, I've got a lot to say about that in some upcoming reviews). If they can keep this in the same price range as stocks age, this will be a must have in the near future.

EC Toasted Barrel *NOSE: Starts off with a Powdery Floral Perfume that quickly fades to notes of Sticky Toffee, Streusel Covered Coffee Cake, Cooked Apples with Cinnamon, Toasted Oak and Sandalwood. After 15 minutes or so, it picked up a note of Peppery Sausage Gravy. Weird, but I like it. *NEAT: Falls short of the nose. Sweet Vanilla and Caramel up front. Joined by Cola, Spicy Bitter Oak Tannins, Black Pepper Spice, and Bitter Black Coffee. The Medium Length Finish results in a slowly building glow deep in the chest. A Coating of Drying Pencil Shavings and Vanilla coat and linger on the palate. This gets close to being too spicy and bitter, but never crosses the line. *SPLASH: Some water makes this Dessert In a Glass. The Palate gets Syrupy Sweet. The sweet notes all meld together and become those Root Beer Barrel Shaped Hard Candies. The Oak Becomes Less Tannic and a Little Sweeter, and the Coffee gets Cream and Sugar. Oak Char comes through on the coating finish, joined by a healthy dose of Maple Fudge. *VERDICT: If Woodford Double Oaked and Maker's 46 had a child, they would name him Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel. I was a little disappointed at first, but a splash of water really opens this up and makes a Just Barely Good Bourbon a Very Good Bourbon. The flavors meld to form a more cohesive dessert like sweetness. The price on this one is around the same as the Woodford Double Oaked, but I like this one a lot more. Hard to find, but worth the hunt. 4 Stars

SOUTHERN STAR PARAGON WHEATED STRAIGHT BOURBON (Release No.1 @ 92 Proof) 70/16/14 Mashbill *NOSE: Pleasant. Butterscotch, Vanilla, Dry Dusty Oak, Brown Sugar, KC BBQ Sauce, and a Little Heat. *NEAT: Simple. A Little Youngish and on the Thin Side. Vanilla, Light Citrus, and Musty Oak. Mild Heat builds in the chest with a Light Coating of Vanilla clinging to the palate. *SPLASH: A little water brings Caramel and Light Maple to the palate. I recommend, but only a few drops. *VERDICT: Southern Distilling has been around long enough now that they are beginning to release their own distillate after several years of sourcing from MGP. My understanding is that this is some of the first Bourbon from these folks to be completely made from NC Grains and Distilled, Barreled, and Bottled on-site in Statesville. As a result, the mid-$40's price tag is about $25 less than the Wheated Bourbon it replaces. As they can begin blending in some older stocks, the quality of this one is only going to go up. 3.5 Stars, but they get the "hometown bump" to a 3.75. Worth a try, especially if you're a native of The Old North State.

BUCK 8YR *NOSE: Dense Musty Oak, Citrus, Grilled Pineapple, Brown Sugar, and some Ethanol Heat. A Little Sour note, but not enough to be objectionable. *NEAT: Dense Musty Oak is front & center, joined by Eggnog and Canned Peaches up front. Mid to Back of Palate gets Cocoa Powder and Slightly Bitter Tannins. Mild KYHUG and a wonderful layering clingy coating of that Oaky Funk follow a Medium Length Finish. *SPLASH: Add a little water and a Sweet Pink Bubblegum note joins the nose and palate to compliment the Musty Oak. *VERDICT: This one punches way above its weight class. 8YR KSB for under $30? I figured this had to be sourced from reject barrels and was prepared to regret my purchase. Not the case. I expect this is HH sourced, as I tend to get the Eggnog and Musty Oak from some of their older stuff (especially HMcK10). Keep in mind that YMMV as the Funky Oak/Eggnog vibe is just squarely in my wheelhouse, but I heartily recommend this at $30 as an everyday sipper if you can find it. Very close to 4 Stars, and given the incredible value, I'll round up.

Kirkland TN Whiskey (Age Stated 4 Years) *NOSE: Surprisingly Dense and Bold. Dessert-like with Maple Syrup, Vanilla, Brown Sugar, Cocoa Powder, and Oak Spice. *NEAT: Nose promised Bold, but Palate falls short. Light , almost Floral. Juicy Fruit Gum, Oak Char and Tannins, with a hint of Spice. Finishes with a Mild TN Hug ,leaving Oak Char and Mint Coating the Palate. *SPLASH: Sweetens the Tannins just a bit, but doesn't change much else. *VERDICT: About what I expected from sourced Dickel. Basically just a less refined Dickel No.8. Serviceable Neat or on the Rocks, but definitely more suited for Highballs and Whisky Sours. $26 for a 1.75L bottle makes this serviceable workhorse whisky one to keep around.

JW High Rye *NOSE: Malt, Vanilla, Rye Spice, Light Apple & Melon, with a Hint of Leather & Toasted Oak. There is also an undercurrent of Sour Musty Grain. For lack of a better descriptor, the smell of the inside of your new Tennis Shoe after the first wear. Weird, I know, but that's what came to mind. Luckily after 15 minutes or so, it fades and is replaced by Berries which combine with the Malt for a Berry Kix Cereal vibe. *NEAT: Sweet Vanilla, Leather, Malt, and Apple on the Front of the Palate. Black Pepper Spice, Rye Spice, Oak Spice, and the faintest Whisp of Smoke on the Backend. Smooth Finish with very little heat, but the Tingly Spice notes build and layer very nicely. *SPLASH: With a few drops of water the nose has little if any change. The palate benefits a great deal as it melds together the Sweet at the beginning and the Spicy end. Brings out Honeycomb and Fresh Berries. A hint of Sweet Peat finally make an appearance on the Finish. *VERDICT: I expected to like this, but didn't think I'd like it this much. I generally like JW outside of the basic Red Label (though, I've even come to appreciate it a little more than I did). Not as good as the Green 15 for me, but I preferred it to both Black and Double Black, especially after a few drops of water. This is so well blended with the Rye notes in great balance with the Fruit, Honey, and Malt. If I have a quibble, it's the $40 price tag, but I'm seeing some folks finding it for low to mid- $20's. For that, it's a steal. This is definitely going to be a fixture in my cabinet.

Okay...to start, I'm grading this on its merits as a flavored whiskey and not it's merits as just a whiskey. I'm also giving it bonus points for the enjoyment it seemed to bring our guests. In other words...it was a hit. TWTWIRBM is a bit of a TikTok fanatic. She's constantly texting me cocktail ideas from various folks. Some are very good (ask me about what I dubbed "Jobsite Margaritas" before your next summer cookout and thank me later) and some just have me scratching my head. Either way, she got in her head that our company would enjoy Peanut Butter Cup drinks. We go into the store for Skrewball and I mentioned to the ABC Clerk that I didn't really care for it. He told us about this homegrown product that he preferred. He was right. Less cloying sweetness and more whiskey flavor than Skrewball. I got out the cocktail shaker when the guests arrived and started experimenting with ratios of Peanut Butter Whiskey to Chocolate Creme Liqueur. Now, while I don't do overly sweet cocktails, I was impressed with how they turned out. This got my creative juices going. I asked TWTWIRBM to start a pan of extra crispy bacon while I ran back to the ABC for some Banana Liqeur for a cocktail I dubbed "The Elvis". I entertained, mixed cocktails, sipped Maker's 46, opened Xmas gifts, and generally enjoyed watching everyone have a great time. It all served to remind me that there is a place and time for flavored whiskey. Thanks John A.P. Conoley for helping provide that reminder.