Tastes

Vanilla, marzipan, barley. I can't break it down properly but I love it.

Golden Honey color. Not much leg. The burn in the nose is surprisingly tame for 101°.  The nose is spicy: cinnamon, rye spice, black pepper. Some color enters the fray with orange zest, potpourri, black licorice and pumpernickel bread. The barrel wood aromas seem spiced. The flavor is lots of orange peel, bitter rind and pith. Dried citrus fruit. Pepper and cinnamon. The syrupy corn does come through, along with some old wood and some nuttiness, like pralines? Brown sugar sweetness. Finished with more yeast than I expected: I wonder if that's a product of the sour mash process. It's surprisingly smoky at the end, like spent matches or fireworks. Dark chocolate and coffee grounds. Lots more brown sugar. Pepper and clove spices. Wheel Horse is a very solid, affordable sour mash concoction. A very good balance of nutty and spicy, with some fireworks at the end. Top notch in a mixer, but like Hamburger Helper it does just fine by itself.

Honey gold color with a thick, syrupy look. The nose is at first a field of hay and heather; lots of barley. Spicy white pepper. Sugarplums. Soft aromas: lavender, marshmallow, vanilla. Just a touch of broccoli/cabbage water. Caramel and bitter chocolate. The aroma is really friendly and pleasant. The flavor is lots of pepper at first: black pepper and red pepper flakes. The spice clears the way for sweeter flavors: plums, raisins, apple skins, honey and vanilla. It has a buttery feel as well as a little bit of salted butter in the flavor. The finish is charcoal and tobacco leaf. Earthy and lightly smoked. Some green apple. Bitter fennel and herbs. Lots of white pepper spice at the tail end, and enough salt for a salt lick. Glengarry is very soft; very friendly. Green apples, honey, vanilla, mild smoke/tobacco, cigar box, old wood, salt lick, ground pepper, hay, barley sugars, and lots of pleasant elements.

Quickie review: I hate to use the dreaded S-word but this is just buttery smooth. All the edges are sandpapered right off with that extra oak. Lots of vanilla, toffee, and browned butter nuttiness. Can't believe I haven't pulled the trigger on this before. Really great.

Dark brown/caramel color, and very thick legs. The aroma is earthy cloves: a curious and somewhat welcome development. Sugary corn syrup, no surprise. Very mild oak. A hint of spicy cinnamon. It's definitely sweeter than most, but has enough balance in the nose to keep it from becoming a sugar bomb. The palate has a mix of sugary syrup and that cinnamon and clove, which gives it that needed balance. Candied orange. Salt and white pepper in the middle of the palate. It's sweet and you can see why it's perfect to mix with cola. The finish is light and ephemeral. Has more salt and spice than I had expected. Has a nutty almond liqueur component. Spicy ribbon candy and a cherry cough drop. Crown Royal was made to pair with cola or ginger ale. It's sweet but has a surprisingly spicy balance that keeps it from becoming too cloying. A very solid staple to have on the shelf.

Much leggier than it should be for its price point. A light carrot-orange color with a syrupy complexion. The nose has a lot going on, first of which is kindergarten glue, which I tend to get in a lot of bourbons. (There might be a better descriptor for it, but that's what I get.) Distinct orange peel spice. Lavender perfume and lacquered wood. Sweet and nutty at the end, with brown sugar, almonds and vanilla creme to buffer the spices. The taste continues the orange peel spice, really packing a spicy wallop in the front. The lavender/perfume manifests itself more like fabric softener than Eu de Toilette. The toffee sweetness dovetails nicely with some darker chocolate notes; it's like a Caramel Cream ("Bull's-eye") candy. more finished wood. The finish is spicy: red pepper flakes that burn just a little. Oak and barrel char. A really leathery remnant. The chocolate notes manifest themselves as the bottom of a burnt chocolate chip cookie. At $27 a liter(!), Early Times B-I-B is a phenomenal value: it balances sweeter and nuttier elements with sneaky amounts of spice. For a 100-banger, it's surprisingly mild and accessible, without sacrificing character or flavor.

Quickie review: Nutty, brown sugary, very sweet with a pleasant toasted kick. Corn syrup on the back end. Classic Beam profile with maybe a little extra heat.

Medium honey golden color. Not incredibly leggy, but leaves a little trail down one side of the glass. Has a thick, syrupy complexion. The nose is very grainy: barley & heather. Honey, toffee, marzipan. I get salted butter and butterscotch candies/Werther's Original. Just a hint of orange zest spice. The flavor is a lot: almonds, nuts, and brown leaves. Toffee, marzipan, creme brulee, caramel bulk food candy with the white in the middle. Some softer flavors: vanilla creme, marshmallow and salted butter. The finish is a touch of vanilla tobacco leaf and coffee grounds. Milky and sweet caramel latte coffee. Sugary creme brulee stuff. Such a rich, silky blended Scotch. It's soft and friendly: vanilla, creme brulee, caramel and just a hint of tobacco smoke to balance it. A balance between sweet and spicy. A huge value.

Pleasantly smoky with a real earthy tobacco burn at the end. Plenty of barley, mint leaf. Hints of carraway/star anise in the nose. Vanilla and caramel bulk candy. I pulled the trigger on this because I never see it on shelves. I think $15 a pour, while not excessive, isn't THE best value. Still, it's damn good, and I can't wait to do a deep dive on a bottle of I can ever find one.