Tastes

Garrison Brothers "Giddy Up" Single Barrel Cask Strength - Canals Mt Ephraim Store Pick, 4.5 year, 125.1 Proof Bottom line: I loved this from the neck pour; squarely in the full-powered, flavor-bomb camp of whiskeys. Don't let price be the reason you miss out on this fantastic bottle. Review based on the second pour from my bottle a day after opening. Nose: Honey and Port! Despite being unfinished, it carries more of those notes than many finished whiskeys I've had. I want this in a candle. Also, subtly, dark chocolate, raisin, burnt orange, and pine. Taste: Sampled after sitting in the glass for 2-3 minutes. Medium bodied bourbon with notes of fruity port wine and rich butterscotch with low-burning spices and char. The wheat lends it a characteristic soft, creaminess. I remember getting more caramel and yellow cake from the neck pour. Today, the vanilla has subsided a good deal. I also get chocolate and licorice in the finish that lingers medium long. It drinks below proof, dangerously so. I keep reaching for more. Everyone has different preferences, but this is right up my alley.

Nose: starts with some brown sugar that quickly opens up into bazooka joe bubble gum, which quickly becomes the only thing I can smell. As part of the gum, there is an undercurrent of strawberry and banana and a whiff of black pepper. The longer this sits in the glass, the more banana I get from the nose. Taste: mirrors the nose but develops into banana cream pie with a spicy finish full of clove and a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Something about this evokes a German hefeweizen. It shares similarities with IW Harper, but better without a doubt. At the end of the day, it's not my favorite flavor profile, but it's certainly interesting and admirable for such a young bourbon from a craft distillery

Revisiting this after not having it in a while, and I think it deserves a lot of credit for being a really nice, bright, Kentucky style rye whiskey at a good price. It's not spicy like Maryland or Pennsylvania rye whiskeys, if that's what you're looking for, but, as a straight sipper, it drinks really cleanly. I'm not going to sit here and dwell on this from a glencairn, but I wouldn't be disappointed if all I had was a bottle of this, a tall glass, and something fun to watch on TV

This bottle is being revisited after having sat about 3/4's full for over a year. In that time, I've accumulated a good bit more experience with Rye whiskey, as well as Cognac and Armagnac. With that new insight in hand, I am finding this to be a much more enjoyable pour than I remember. Drinking from a brandy snifter: The nose is all cognac now, with a barely perceptible hint of rye grassiness. Stone fruits dominate the overall mild nose, with little ethanol burn despite the young age. A lot of strawberry and a touch of raspberry also come through. Underneath, I think I get a bit of corn/ bourbon/ caramel, but that might be my imagination, because I know this is ex-bourbon. I wonder if I would have noticed that without having that knowledge. Taste/mouthfeel: this is smooth and creamy, with sweet cream sweetness (a bit like tres leches but minus much of the sugar) in the front that turns into a slight rye spice burn if you hold it in your mouth. The cognac comes through, but it tastes well-integrated into the rye, rather than a flavor on top of the rye, creating a perception of stone fruit juice baked into cake, rather than layers of alternating flavors. All-in-all, I am really enjoying this, and I'm ready to go back for more.

Single Barrel pick from Niemuth's Southside Market - all around classic bourbon profile (and I mean that in the best way) with caramel, brown sugar and just a touch of anise or licorice to set it apart. It won't disappoint. Somewhat not memorable