Tastes

A fantastic pour from the Piglet mix pack. Nose: Caramel, green tea, black tea, cardamom, pie spice, nilla wafers, and port wine in the nose. Flavor: subtly spicy with rye that becomes clear in the late palate and finish upon swallowing. While you hold it in your mouth, it is light, nectar like, and reminiscent of southern sweet tea. This is a really enjoyable pour, and you should not pass it up if you have a chance to pick up a Whistlepig variety piglet pack.

120 proof "SJBD Pick" Butterscotch butterscotch butterscotch. Butterscotch and smoke. A hint of ash. A touch of brine, burnt brown sugar, espresso crema with sweet cream sugar. And did I mention butterscotch. Long finish with a soft hug and creamy lingering caramel. And butterscotch.

South Jersey Bourbon Drinkers "2020 Survivor" pick (This isn't my first $1792 Full Proof Single Barrel pick, but it's vastly different) The idea that this is 125 proof is just silly. Overall, really well-balanced Nose: Sugary grape and strawberry jelly aromas, with an undercurrent of melon and green apple jolly rancher. Taste: deeper than I expected, with a thicker mouthfeel. The silky texture makes it smoother and drink warmer. There is a perfume-like quality, rich milk chocolate, and faded dark fruit, Belgian sugar. In the finish, there's spice that punches through. Beautiful finish, kind of dry, that is high, cool, and minty. The longer I continue to sip this, the more I like it. It's a really enjoyable pour that you can savor for a long time

This is my second pour from this bottle, and I learned from the first that this takes a good bit of time to open up in the glass. After 5 minutes, I am getting the most delicate, sweet, berry-like nose off of this, like berry fruit-by-the-foot mixed with a hint of woodsy cologne. There's also a touch of cinnamon gum, like Big Red? The taste is light, drinking below its proof, which is admittedly not very high. There is an initial woodsy, cologne, and maple syrup quality to this. What follows is cinnamon, anise, bazooka Joe bubble gum, and sweet cream sugar like in coffee creamer. There's a nice hug and a really long finish that ever so slowly dissipates. It reminds me a bit of a pancake and maple syrup breakfast. I said the "pancake and maple syrup" part out loud (using voice to text) and my wife said "yup!" in the background. So, we both think so.

I want to start by saying that I love Barrell Craft Spirits. Dovetail is a top 10 pour for me, bar none. Which is why I'm especially sad to report that my second taste of this was far worse than my first. I offered it blind to two others at the same time and none of us could finish our 1-oz pours. This honestly tastes like a mad scientist/bartender's cocktail experiment gone wrong, and the only thing that could salvage this is to use it in a cocktail to temper the wayward, angular notes of Flintstone vitamins, pear candy, and bitter cherries. But at $90 MSRP, it's not a bottle you buy to use in a cocktail. This might be the worst whiskey in my collection.

Not much going on here. Drinks the slightest but hot but otherwise even with proof. Nose: light ethanol/mail polish first and foremost. A touch of strawberry and old school bubblicious or bubble gum; also maybe grape soda. Taste: drinks cold and minty on the front with a heavily herbal, tobacco-like finish. Medium long finish; surprisingly longer than I would expect considering the lack of nose. Second sip is more caramel-like after the mid-palate turn, but still spicy and minty in the front. Drinks hot.

Fine but boring, and there are definitely better things to be had for the same price. Can't complain about anything being offensive though. Clean taste and classic bourbon profile. A touch of cinnamon, brown sugar and honey.