Tastes

Elmer's glue, heavy corn syrup, mild burn. Peppers, like cayenne heat.

The new owner was kind enough to let me sample this. I swear it has BBQ sauce in the juice. Lots of brown sugar and a tanginess that I've never experienced in a bourbon before. It may be a gimmick but it's a hell of an experience.

Neat pour at my local townie bar: no burn whatsoever at the front, only at the mid-palate and back end. Soft flavors: honey, toffee, vanilla, marzipan, marshmallow, cotton candy. I can see why they call it "Gentleman." It's almost like Bourbon Lite.

Golden yellow color. The legs are thick and oily. Has a pleasant creamy feel. The first aroma I get is nuttiness: almonds and peanut dust. There is tiny little bite in some oak and some white pepper. This is softened up by gooey molasses, toffee, honey and sweet corn syrup. There is an interesting, unexpected note of red berry on the nose, like the dried strawberries you'd find in a box of corn flakes. The taste is first cherry juice that you'd find in a jar of grocery store cherries. Some spicy cinnamon quickly follows. Orange rind spice and peanuts. There is more of that sweet, dried berry flavor that just elevates and balances the rest of the the spices. The finish gives me a lot of tannins: metallic, pennies, batteries and other things that make the tongue absorb a bit of electricity. Some old oak and leather. Apple skins, sherry, and pepper round out the final swallow. I was expecting Noble Oak to be a little sweeter and a little "smoother" in the palate, if not the burn. Putting it up against Woodford Double Oaked is a fool's errand, in retrospect. Still, despite it's lack of buttery-ness, it's still a damn fine dram in its own right.

Sherry, vanilla, tobacco

Pours an oily, burnt orange color with some legs. The nose has some spice, but also some yeast. It's rye bread, but also reminds me of sourdough (even though there doesn't seem to be any wheat in the mash bill). Overripe bananas and kindergarten glue. Corn syrup and lacquered wood. Nutty, like walnuts in a brownie. Hints of vanilla and potpourri. The taste is vanilla with a touch of that glue. It has a very dry texture, which dovetails nicely with some peanut dust flavors. The oak char really hits, not unlike the bottom of a burnt cookie. The back of the palate picks up some orange peel and cherry, adding a sweet respite to some of the darker flavors. It finishes with dark and spicy notes: oak, fennel, pumpernickel and pepper spice. There is ton of char: all ten years of it seeped into it. And tannins galore -- puckery and metallic. Russell's 10 is a terrific value for the amount of flavor you get. It's dark and dry, with lots of burn in the flavor, if not a ton of heat. And yet it's oily texture makes it go down easy.

Dark amber-gold color. Oily and viscous on the inside of the glass; drips as slow as molasses. There is a little heat in the nose, but quite pleasant. Plenty of wood if you don't let too much escape. The initial aromas are browned butter and Werther's-grade butterscotch. Brown sugar and vanilla creme sweetness that is directly up my alley. There is a little prickly spice at the end: white pepper and fennel. Notes of plastic and mint leaf bring up the rear. The first sip has a nice little burn to wake you up. Tastes of toffee, brown sugar syrup, maple and coffee grounds. They call it Double Oaked and it's earned, with a lot of toasted wood flavor. Spicy salt, pepper and carraway seeds. The sweetness of the malts are in perfect harmony with the spicier elements. It finishes with caramel, marshmallow, toffee, honey and coffee grounds. Just a little bit of solvent/nail polish remover, but it fits with the rest of it. Woodford Double Oaked is simply dripping with succulent flavors and aromas: caramel, syrup, brown sugar, pepper, salt, coffee grounds and lots of toasted wood. At my first sip it jumped up toward the top of my list of favorite bourbons.

This is a 43.5% version. Honey yellow color with a scatterplot chart of lacing on the inside of the glass. The more you gently swirl, the longer the legs go. The initial sniff is brown sugar and toffee. It's got a burnt sugar, like creme brulee and marzipan confections. There are secondary whiffs of cream, butter and barley. Just the slightest touch of old oak. The flavor is lots of brown sugar and sweet caramel. Butterscotch, butter and cream/milk. Some musty hay. Just a touch of citrusy lemon drop at the end. It finishes just as pleasantly as it begins: mild chocolate with a secondary minty coolness. Menthol tobacco ash. A little salty at the end, but only slightly. At only $31, Sheep Dip is a very solid addition to the shelf. It's very friendly: soft flavors of brown sugar and caramel, a hint of citrus, with a little salty chocolate at the finish.