Tastes

Nose: Dusty peanut shells, sweet burnt toffee/peanut brittle, brown-vanilla sugars. Bits of sweet ripe fruits. Very much a "Beam" nose and really, what I want and expect from an average Jim Beam product. This 86 proofer leaves a nice oily film on the glencairn. Front: Bursting dank sugars and wood immediately present following with the sweet fruit, ginger spices and nuts, the higher cut proof flavor carries forward and separates itself from mild, white label Beam. Finish: light and quick fading with hints of the sugared woods holding on to the end, not a ton of variety of flavor notes but certainly what it takes to signal "this is real Kentucky bourbon". Much like the Distillers Cut and the Bonded Beams', this one has the "guts" of what I want in a bourbon, and unlike the watered down standards of 80 proof from the usual distilleries including Beam, this much nicer offering gives me the satisfaction of actually "tying into" a nice drink. Like walking into any average bar, asking for a bourbon and being surprised you actually got something satisfying without making a label call, the Double Oak just offers up more . While you would never confuse this with a Woodford extra barrelled offering or a Makers special oak stave project, this is a clear upgrade to white and black label Beam and at a price that may go sub 20$ in some regions, you won't find many bottles to compete with it. This is a great bourbon to have on hand if you just want to have a quick decent straight belt and if your buddy has to slosh a barrel of coke in it for himself, won't cause you to grimace(too much). A nice bottle from Beam that flys under the radar just waiting for you to pick it up.

White label Beam, we all know what it is, where it comes from and why it exists, the product that for some started it all. Pretty sure this was my first sippy cup taste of the real thing grammy slipped me when the folks weren't watching. After all bourbon is the universal cure for what ails us. Maybe best viewed in comparison to older brother Black Label Beam or rivals equivalent, green label Evan, or white label heaven hill, the White label means a relatively thin, watery bourbon that just manages to deliver a few of the sweet and oak notes on which the breed of basic bourbon subsists. These base level products are often as well recognized for what they don't contain, that being something awful that will ruin even the most experienced bar tenders hot toddy. Maybe not all that good, but not all that bad, either. Certainly not what everyone is shooting for but perhaps what we all agree is required to simply call yourself "acceptable bourbon". It's there, it's in a bottle, and you can buy it. For many that first swig of Jack, Jim or Old Granddad will etch a memory in our heart, making it a part of our heritage, the Americana that is bourbon.

As the signature series bottles tend to be a bit pricey I hope to acquire the set before they all disappear. Nose, sweet sherry wine is accurate, some red fruits and brown sugars and warm cinnamons. Palate, the first wash of wine sugars hit followed by thin bourbon sugars and wood notes, unfortunately this has too much of the thin white label Beam character in body of the bourbon and the richness advertised in the nose never really develop in the body of the taste. The thinness carry's through in the finish with little but mild spice heat and some weak sugars. My intrigue in this bottle simply didn't pay off as it doesn't come close to living up to the advertised qualities. While it has some interesting properties, at the price point it just doesn't earn a "buy recommend". Try out a friends bottle or find one at a bar instead. This one simply doesn't have what it takes to be a upper shelf Beam product, I would call it a swing and a miss on a "finish" style bourbon that can't really compare with even some of the better lower end Beam stuff like the Double Oak or Distillers Cut. Always hate to downvote a Beam product, but there you have it. Cheers!

Cask no 4917 Bottle no 130 @ 116.5 proof Nose, doesn't jump like oloroso sherry finish but the cognac is an oh so sweet and nice addition on top of this already well thought out bourbon. This one isn't as in your face as the sherry nose, it's more balanced and complex, but a much nicer overall character. The front loads up nicely with cognac sweet grape then proceeds into some beautiful rye and bourbon notes, spicy yes but with a number of caramel candy and red fruits to go with the bourbon brown sugars and vanilla. Just a great texture, perhaps the higher proofed barreling than the sherry finish is what does the trick along with the high rye expression but this one stands out nicely as a well perceived and executed product. The fantastic tradeoff of a slightly less robust nose for a much bigger and bolder bourbon-rye body on the palate is easily a big win. Finishes like a nice barrel rye and bourbon with sweet heat, really I couldn't wait for the follow up sip, this was nearly the antithesis of the sherry Belle Meade that just gets you excited only to disappoint you in the end. For the bourbon and rye fans this is a definite recommend, the cognac is a 'just right' addition in the flavor spectrum and provides just the positive boost of sweet character that you would hope for from such an experiment. Count me as somewhat surprised after the sherry attempt, but a big thumbs up on this Belle Meade expression as a winner.

Batch 18-11 Bottle 1502 90.4 proof Hitting the bars, decided to do a Belle Meade discovery tour with this along with the cognac finish. First off this has a huge wham of sherry to the nose, I'm not sure I've had sherry that had as much sherry bouquet of spiced red sweetness. The nose was fairly exceptional in that regard offering up only feint bourbon qualities mostly overshadowed by the wine cask influence. On the palate the oloroso sherry again takes over and jumps out in front, I was impressed since I've never been a huge fan of "sherry finishes" and this was indeed a better quality than some of the sherry finished scotch I've sampled. Unfortunately after the strong sherry notes dissipate there really isn't that much of a stout bourbon to take over. The sweet bourbon notes are there just weakly holding on in the wake of the blitzkrieg of wine and red fruity opening. If you had to make me guess I could as easily imagine it was Jim Beam finished in sherry casks as standard Belle Meade, so the overall disappointment of the big blast early on yields a fairly harsh letdown. The finish was almost lifeless and made me wonder if I had really taken a sip or just imagined it. Maybe I was just sipping wine as the sherry was the only notable thing about the experience. This bottle barks loud but it's a mostly toothless hound doing the barking. Given the pricing I've seen on these bottles I really can't say it's a recommend. Anyone who likes the sherry style would do well to get a sample before dropping a large chunk of change on this as it can be pricey. While it's certainly not bad, I wouldn't go out of my way to try let alone buy this one.

Batch 19-01 108.8 proof Completing my Makers triumvirate run I opened this bottle a couple of weeks earlier, and I'm still putting out the curtains, this one reminds of a rookie taking the mound and spraying the plate with triple digit fast balls or as Glen Frey would say, the heat is on. This is one of those "needs a splash" bourbons that doesn't let you forget "cask strength" is more than just a marketing ploy. Not that it's bad heat, on the contrary there's something satisfying about a look inside the oven and still having a few eye lashes left, but a splash of water will easily open up some flavors in this fairly tight high proofer. Nose: heat, the smell of heat, also nice sweet bread spices and hints of clove and cinnamon with a small ethyl ting Front: Without water, loads of heat, more heat and then some heat, with water, a very warm cinnamon spice caramel red hot and brown sugar dram, it's a satisfying sugar profile though lacking in some of the vanilla and chocolates you would get with a Bookers or Stagg. Even with the notable high heat, it comes away as a smooth drink, which is something of a nice trick in itself. Finish: not as hot as you might expect after experiencing all of those earlier brow sweating moments, still plenty of warmth in the red spices range along with a leather and bitter nut follow through. Overall, pretty good, really a fine effort in fact maybe worthy of higher marks had the folks at Makers not already out done themselves with their seared stave creation in the 46, something I really couldn't recommend this over, but then there are plenty of cask proof, more expensive bottles I also wouldn't recommend over the 46, so that's not really the mark of shame that it might appear. Some of the higher proof batches of the wheated profile would be interesting to compare with, though they just don't seem to carry the rich sweet full sugar profile of the average Beam and BT mash at such strengths. The strong wheats bring some really nice notes but not the plethora you get with old standard rye in it's place. End of the day, there isn't any question, this is a major upgrade over the standard Makers Mark. Cheers!

The last of my 1792 limited run to try, just a tad stronger than the single barrel, the BiB so far seems like a more "interesting" addition. As I found the bottle at a pretty reasonable price, decided to include it in the run. Extremely oily beads form on the glass, the characteristic old Barton wood notes waft off the top, and yes the ripe banana, more distinct here than in the other Barton offerings. Some sour apple, acetate and vanilla sugars also make a showing in the nose. On the tongue I like this a lot, probably because the palate offers up some deep sugars and fruit blends that largely out battle the barton barn wood so prevalent in this distillery's product. While the amber sugar is perceptible, it gets overshadowed by the fructose and again hints of the barn wood. Lot's of warmth and sweet heat finish with just a touch of the rye spice 1792 is known for, the well aged aspect is clear in the overall smooth finish and lack of any green bitters. I can understand why this may well be too sweet for some palates and tastes as it just seems to be less cut of the 1792 high proof offerings. Not going to lie I like this one better than the single barrel and about as well as the high rye, considering how much bourbon got lost in the great rick house collapse of '18, we might be lucky to see these bottles making a repeat appearance. In the 40 dollar range I would call this one a winner.

I've tried the Blair Athol 7 year Signatory and found it to be fantastically good, like a top Glenmorangie bottle in flavors with an unpeated and low char, clean finish. The kind of Scotch I actually enjoy without putting on my "scotch drinker" shoes. Edit: my mistake this the actual 11 year 2007 as described .

The King is dead, all hail the new King. Nose: Spices, cinnamon, clove, pumpkin, all cover the underlying brown and dank corn and wheat sugars. Front: Big sweet honey bread sugars mix into the kitchen of baking spices, apples nutmegs and nibs tapering into a hearty caramel pecan pie slice with toffee and vanilla sugars. Finishes with more oily cinnamon apple spices and heat, a reminder this is a 94 proof treat being sampled yet still incredibly smooth and nearly absent of any "burn" from such a stout dram. Purely delicious, seared french oak staves FTW! Recently the interwebs have turned up a spate of whiskey channels all offering up sampled opinions, one of the more prevalent themes of the day is the Best Bourbon Under 40$ contests. For good reason Makers 46 has been nailing this contest and hard. It's continually found on the shelf at 40 or below and almost nothing in that range really compares, now the real question, what if anything outside of that range compares? I've often touted the 107 Weller Antique as "the real Weller" that's worth going after and much like standard Makers can go toe to toe with the green label Weller, the 46 may be the "new" king killer in it's ability to stand up to "the good Weller". Makers 46 is just a fantastic sampling of a top notch wheated bourbon and the kicker is you can walk into any liquor store and find it on the shelf and at a moderate price. rating: Just being included in the mix of top Weller products would automatically throw you into the plus 4 star category, but being an entirely acquirable product for a really modest price, that's worthy of some status as well. Most of us are value conscious when it comes to price and even those excluded from us "rabble" would do well to note the quality of this bottle. For many of us, this is in range of an every day drinker and from now on will get much more respect from myself for being a bottle that won't cause me a headache just to acquire it. For being a relatively young(less than a century old) distillery, the folks in Loretta have not only figured it out, they've gotten it right and are keeping it coming, that's worthy of some serious kudos too. You GO Makers Mark! Cheers

For far too long I've avoided coming to this bottle, as it is a namesake legendary bourbon that has earned a venerable spot in history and must be respected for it's position as one of the "building blocks" of American whiskey. Those long in the tooth, grey in the beard or both might recall the pre-Campari days of Wild Turkey, the prominent "Austin Nichols" printed on the large brown labels featuring the famed American fowl. In those days one had a clear choice, the entry 86.8 proof version or the 101. No "Masters Keeps", no barrel proofs or any such specialty, just the plain jane low and high proof offering was it and for over 2 decades that was enough. It's hard to rate such things as tradition and being a part of the best of American traditions of quality bourbon is even more of a spectre but at the end of the day there is no denying that Wild Turkey and especially the 101 is part of the best of that tradition. Even ZZ Top has memorialized the label in their classic song. So 101 Turkey, what is it, well good bourbon that has hardly been cut from the barrel, and that already should have you interested if you are still one of the WT virgins out there. A nose of sweet corn brown sugar caramel and vanilla with just a hint of pungent acetate. On the tongue, smooth sweet bourbon notes from proper aging are recognizable and as important, no bitter effect or funk of peculiar barreling. The smooth sugar stays through the end combining with rye spice and just a hint of oak and tobacco bitters trailing off in the finish. Perhaps not enough complexity for the hard core enthusiast to get excited about, but a great deal of pure bourbon features packed into a modestly priced bottle. In this day and age of designer bottles and celebrity branding which of course is found now in the Wild Turkey house as well, it's good to know that a real standard like the famous 101 is still delivering quality that represents what bourbon is about. With it's place already cemented in history, lets hope Campari will honor tradition and avoid tampering with this venerable spirit. enjoyed with a Punch Classico maduro