Tastes

Nose: Cinnamon apple and sweet spices, pleasant and warm. Unfortunately the nose is the real high-lite for this one, while it keeps the sweet heat going through the middle, and the cinnamon spice carries the day, there just isn't much else going on. The dark caramel sugar notes hold up, but I'm looking for more here and just not finding it. Note wise it's a bit on the bland side and may not even offer the variety that standard 46 is consistently great at delivering. The real question is if it is even better than standard 46 which consistently brings bang for the buck. Expect to pay 50% more over normal 46 in most markets, this just doesn't add up for me and that's sad, I was really hoping it wouldn't disappoint. This one is on the low end of the proof at 108 and while not at all bad, for the distillery known for it's great finishing I can safely say pass on it and try for better luck on another wood finish special. Cheers!

Being shut in(oh not really) isn't all bad, more time to take tasting some great bourbon, and that's exactly what Rare Breed the barrel proof Wild Turkey, is, great bourbon. If you like Wild Turkey, and esp. the 101, then you already know the great things Jimmy Russell is doing here, but if you are a hard core barrel proof aficionado, you won't want to pass this up. The front page notes are accurate, rich sweetness of caramel honey and char wood that remains amazingly smooth all the way down. At 116p you know something was done right just to get this far. This is some marvelous straight drinking that requires no water even if you wouldn't feel like a noob for adding some just to tune it down a bit. The nose may be a bit understated but who really cares when the loads of richness and sweet heat are so well balanced with some red hots and rye spices just to round it all out. I could go on all day about why this is a real treat but just know if you are a bourbonir you are going to NEED to try this. With the bourbon boom pushing a lot of noise and half baked product to the front of the market it's reassuring that there are some master craftsman still plying the trade at the old venerable institutes that are responsible for the existence of one of our favorite things. Cheers!

In honor of staying out of the rain and society, NO I AM NOT actively isolating myself from the huflue, just enjoying life, I've dusted off this bottle of David Nicholson setting on my shelf. It's a low dollar bottle so expectations are fairly low, this is a Luxco product and reputedly sourced from various distilleries, so as much as always YOUR mileage may vary. If you handed me a snifter of this my first inclination would be "oh this from Barton" it's a load of musty dusty barn wood with a faint hint of sweet honey and corn. On the nose, nothing wrong with it but nothing special either. Taking a taste I would say THIS IS Very Old Barton, one of the higher proof offerings and I would probably bet a good stack of dollar bills on it. Really nothing like Weller or Makers so these are NOT all a "wheated" mash and that suggestion is way off the mark. I would give this a strong corn with the average 25% of rye and barley. Another possibility would be a HH's Evan 1783 in this style of mash. So is that bad? No of course not, but it's not a "hidden gem" bottle either, you certainly wouldn't want to overpay for this juice. Adding a snit of water takes away some of the after burn and mellows it just a bit making it a nice 100 proof standard corn bourbon. In a few years, we'll see what the rebooted Lux Row distillery does with this, assuming they keep the label active, but right now in no way is this a "must try", I would say much more it's for the average curious enthusiast like myself, and of course those on a serious budget. At the worst a bottle of this will keep you warm on a cold night and help chase the flu bugs away! Cheers and be well!

Ok it's the review I said I wouldn't do. Tin Cup Rye is the Colorado startups venture into the world of Rye and wouldn't you know, it comes from OF ALL PLACES, Indiana. Let me think now, what Rye do we all know about that comes from the only large scale Indiana producer... hmm oh yea,,, MGP. Of course it's just YET another, rebottling of the standard MGP juice we likely have all drank in our sleep by now. Marketed at 90 proof,, (just like Dickel and Bulleit Rye, imagine that) and the standard 3 years which is almost certainly the minimum to get a drinkable rye product. So what does it taste like, have you ever had Bulleit or Dickel or the many other sourced MGP ryes? Yep then you know what it tastes like. Actually I get a bit of a metallic bitterness that I don't normally notice in Bulleit, perhaps it's my pallet or maybe some left over Stranahans from a barreling run, who knows, but the main thing is you will get a slightly dill and saw grassy with hints of pungenty citrus, Indiana rye. Like the folks at Heaven Hill who decided we needed an Elijah Craig Rye, apparently the world was ready for and needed a Tin Cup rye also. Is standard Bulleit or Dickel rye great? No but they are at least drinkable., and that's exactly what Tin Cup Rye is, not great but drinkable. At least they aren't asking a break the bank price for yet another sourced MGP rye, small favors I guess.

I picked up a couple of these(shots) at the local TW for the seasonal review and WOW, this IS NOT your ordinary bland Irish sauce! The notes are pleasant warm and sweet spices and the rich red Olorosa speaks up a bit. Only hints of the standard malts and some nice brown sugars as well are present on the nose. Off the front the green malt is near and lets you know it's an Irish whiskey after all. The spicy presence continues through to the end with enough warm bread and spice to actually give it a rye character on the finish. I like what Slane has done here, it's a traditional base of Irish malt with a goodly amount of interesting variant notes. The added sweetness makes for a nice spin on a traditional formula and I would give this a recommend for a belated St Paddy's apertife or desert. May your pockets be heavy, your hearts be light here's mud n yer eye be eir mornin or night!

For 100th review, (whose counting), the bottle of "prohibition" style whiskey jumped out at me. There are certain bottles you can open and get a feeling of stepping into the past, maybe something your great granddad would have sampled. Bottles like Jim Beam Repeal Batch, or just Gold Label(BiB), Old Granddad hi-test, a few others and now Old Forester enters the fray with an advertised "antique" style whiskey. No pun intended, this one is full of spirit. A formidable body of aromas rise in the nose, perhaps a citrus punch, hints of marzipan and certainly musty barn wood. Sweet corn spirits in caramel and cinnamon spice make this a promising venture. This one front loads on the palate with a powerful punch of heat and spice, probably thanks to the substantial proof, the flavors swim and dance before the shear alcohol content breaks it all down. A leather graininess and some sort of bitters, cherry bark maybe. Not much of a finish as it evaporates right out of your throat but while it lasts you have a delicious sample of all those nose notes to behold. The alcohol flash and bitter finish keep the palate dry and ready for subsequent sips, proving the adage "old" whiskey's are for sipping. The 1920 has gotten its fair share of press and blather from the whiskey channels lately along with enough paper-gold medals and certainly some of that is warranted while some is just hype. There is definitely something for a whiskey drinker to like here as this one may fall into the classification of a "whiskey drinkers" whiskey. Either way Morris certainly is on to something with his Prohibition style offering. Cheers!

The Basil Hayden dark rye is a treat so lets see if the bourbon entry can keep up. Like the rye, this bottle comes at you with a blingey metal band around a fold over loose paper label, a style pretty much all it's own, but does the books cover yield a hint of what's inside? In this case gladly yes, yes it does! The distinct honey rye nose with sour mash and spice notes are a real treat and of course that wouldn't mean much if it wasn't also in the proof, in this case which is only 80, but it's an 80 proofer that carries much more weight and complexity than many of it's proofier rivals. Yes honey and leather, yes spices but not hot spices, the kind that really open up without over powering the sweeter and more subtle notes, some caramels brown sugar cinnamon and vanillas peak through. It finishes like a smooth and tasty treat. In spite of the gaudy marketing, Basils brings a nice array of flavor and is another worthy entrant of the Beam upper shelf contenders. I'm keeping this one around specifically to have a quality straight drink when I need to keep a clear head. There's no way a shot of this will muddle your wits and you can enjoy knocking back a snit or two and keep right on working. Wither it's a top shelf fav or just another nice go to bottle the high rye drinker should find something to like here. Cheers!

If there's a hidden gem in your local store it may well be dressed in a white gunny sack looking bag bearing a tiny crown logo. Because it's Crown or because it's Rye or because it's Crown Rye, this one get's overlooked far more often than not, and that's probably a bigger shame than just about anything being passed over in liquor stores these days. That especially holds true since the Rye offering from CR is often one of the better deals going. So why is Crown Rye really all that? First it's just a great rye taste with a nice sweet bouquet that forebodes the juicy flavors contained there in. Juicy Fruit gum? Well maybe, it is a sweet taster for a rye and that alone is worthy of some interest. While not everyone may enjoy their rye with such attributes, Crowns offering not only brings the sweet flavors but as I always say, it's also as much about what isn't present in your liquor. There is nothing young, green or otherwise inferior about Northern Harvest, it starts smooth yet spicy, remains juicy sweet through the middle and ends just as pleasantly. Northern Harvest Rye was reputedly over produced up front and wound up being found at discount prices, that glut is probably well passed in many areas but just the same the "good deal" awaiting may not be the one you wanted but is still waiting patiently, just the same. If you like rye and haven't tried it yet, do yourself a solid and slosh down some Northern Harvest. Highly drinkable and easy on the wallet. We call that a win win.

B519 122.2 proof. Nose: honey sweet pastry, chocolate vanilla cherry, yep, dead smack center of my sweet tooth bourbon wheel house. Front: oily honey and rye bread spice, the middle "bite" brings out the fresh bakery aspect of the bread notes, the cherry is a bit subdued by all the other flavor factory spillage as vanilla coke comes in near the middle rear along with some nice fruit notes. This is probably the 3rd or 5th EC BP I've undertaken and none bring back a recollection of this much of a sugary bonanza as the B519. The proof heat finishes with some leftover spice rack and candy reminders. While very sweet this addition isn't lacking in some nice variation to prevent boredom. As I note my previous tastes include no EC BP that would indicate its been awhile and I gladly say "hello old friend" to this standard classic. A fitting holiday treat. Cheers all and happy holler days and merry Xmas!

Decided on a pour tasting of this Oriental treat to keep my horizons expanding. (10 dollar pour) Nose: arrives with sweet florals and a small bit of pungent citrus, extremely promising. Front: the pungent citrus becomes a smooth flow of fruits and sweet corn whiskey notes are more subdued, evening out over the finish. Incredibly smooth for a cask weight dram. THIS CAN'T BE pure malt, I won't believe it, it's too incredibly rich and balanced in its sugar notes to be "just barley". If so then chalk another one up for the far East masters, the blending is substantial and very well done. Kaiyo is bringing the absolute precision craftsmanship of Japanese whiskey with their Mizunara Oak CS and if that's something you both like and respect as I do, you won't be disappointed, I'm now going to be looking for this bottle as I hear it can be found without breaking the bank. Domo arigato, cheers!