Tastes

Neck pour, totally digging this…..very nice balance between sweetness and oak, with nice spice notes across the palate. Very creamy mouth feel, one of the creamiest Bourbons I’ve had in recent memory. Warm, but not hot…super drinkable. Really looking forward to see how it evolves, expecting something special. Blows B521 out of the water….I remember the A521 being solid, but this one makes a great first impression. Planning to grab another one or two of the C921 if I can. Don’t hesitate to pull the trigger on this one.

Each of the Discovery series Bourbons are unique and the Bardstown Batch 6 is one of the most unique bourbon’s I’ve tasted, including beyond the Discovery line of whiskies. I’ve had bottles of Bardstown Discovery Batches 2 and 4, and loved them both, with 4 being a very special pour. Batch 6, however, has this apple fruit note that I find rather stunning. Cherry notes are fairly common in bourbon descriptions, but apple less so. It also has a nice spice and oak backbone that makes the apple note even more appealing. I also love the 111 proof point….drinks very nice! I am really looking forward to see how this evolves considering the well aged blend of Bourbons in this bottle. Will follow up with more tasting notes in a few weeks. A shout out to my good friend Brock who surprised me and bought me this bottle while we were shopping at Total Wine. One helluva good dude and friend!

It’s a decent everyday pour with nice rye characteristics, but don’t worry too much if not available in your area. Grab a bottle of Russell’s Single Barrel Rye and you’ll be just fine. A few more dollars for the Russell’s, but it’s at least 1.5 times as good. I don’t plan to buy anymore Stellum. In fact, I’m only using the Stellum Bourbon to mix….just doesn’t get it done for me.

I’m first! Four bottles of B521 on the shelf in SW Michigan this evening. Grabbed two....neck pour very nice....easy on the nose, no blast of ethanol. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then gave it a go....easy drinker as one might expect at 118 proof. Good balance of oak, spice, and sweetness....not super viscous, but hits right down the middle like a nice line drive, with all the ECBP characteristics and quality that we all expect, sans the HazMat proof. Liking this....has a very nice oak backbone without being bitter. If you want to be overwhelmed with flavor and proof, then this ECBP isn’t it. If you are looking for a premium Whisky at less than a premium price, then look no further. Feeling like this could be a great go-to drinker all summer long....could definitely drink this on an 85° day. B520 is superior to B521 based on the first date, but no regrets in grabbing two of these. A very nice change-up if I must continue with the baseball metaphors. Simply stated, this is good Bourbon.

This generous rating is for a November 2018 bottle recently opened (laser code GK)....it has a richness and depth of flavor that the 2021 bottle I have open just can’t match (code JA). I gave both of these blind last weekend to my nephew-in-law who has a good palate, and he immediately picked the 2018 bottle over the 2021. So I ran my aging ass to the local stop-n-rob that had another GK on the shelf, and bunkered that sucker pronto. Only 45 bucks, and just so damn tasty....bourbon bliss for BillyT. Shout out to my nephew and follower Dodsy for a great bourbon and darts weekend and confirming the 2018 legend of Rare Breed. Too bad I lost 20 bucks to his cocky ass playing cricket....

A knowledgeable Bourbon friend and I did a blind tasting yesterday of Stagg jr. batches 12 and 15. Both bottles had been open for about a week. As expected, both bottles delivered a beautiful, sweet, spicy pour that just dances across your palate in true to form Stagg fashion. Plenty of proof without being harsh, and the flavors are there in spades to nicely balance the kick. After sniffing, swirling, and tasting for several minutes, we both made our pick, with batch 12 slightly edging batch 15 for both of us. We agreed that the taste profiles are very similar between the two highly regarded batches, but 12 earned the nod as having more balance overall. Batch 15 has an oak note on the finish that was a bit unexpected, bordering on ‘funky’. Not bad funk like in a young bourbon, but noticeable enough get ‘chopped’ in this blind comparison. We traded sample bottles of the two batches, so it will be interesting to see how each evolves with time and air, and if batch 12 can stay on top. A 4.25 rating for Batch 15, so a 4.5 score for batch 12. As a side note, we also tasted two recent batches of George T. Stagg that my friend provided from his nice collection. I thanked him for sharing, of course, but in the end, I preferred Junior over Senior.

Enjoying the last pour from my bottle of Barrell Rye Batch 003 that I purchased early this fall. I definitely enjoyed every pour from this bottle as it is a very high-quality dram as are most of the Barrell bourbon and rye products that I have enjoyed. I find it similar to Pikesville Rye in that it has all the characteristics of a high Rye Bourbon rather than a classic Rye. Would I buy another bottle? Probably not, as I prefer something like the Willett 4-year Family Estate Rye much more than the Barrell when I’m wanting a quality glass of Rye whiskey, not to mention that I’m saving about 30 bucks or so by passing on the Barrell. My Barrell Rye future purchases will be focused on the single barrel store picks which are absolutely fantastic.

The initial pour after opening 10 days ago was generally disappointing.....hot, thin, and underwhelming. I opened a 1792 Full Proof single barrel that same day that simply blew away the Booker’s Pigskin batch, at half the price. Upon revisiting today, I’m finding that the Bookers has opened up quite a bit to reveal the classic Bookers taste profile of a sweet nuttiness. Still not quite as rich as I would like at this price and proof, but at least I’m no longer kicking myself for making the purchase. It’s $100 a bottle in Michigan, but fortunately I only paid $70 on sale in Indiana. Definitely a no-go for a Benjamin, and at $70 I will take ECBP all day long over the Bookers, and WT Rare Breed when on a bourbon budget. Probably my last bottle of Bookers since it’s just not at the quality level it should be for what is marketed as a high end bourbon. Possibly I should lower my expectations for a 6-7 year old whiskey, but on second thought, maybe Jim Beam should bring the price of Bookers more in line with the product that’s in the bottle.

119.6 proof. The first pour I had after yesterday’s purchase reminded me of Stagg Junior batch 10 (127 proof), especially the cherry note, so tonight I decided to do a taste of each side-by-side. The Journeyman is noticeably darker in the glass despite being about 8 proof points less than the Stagg jr., and likely a few years younger. Both exhibit a pronounced cherry note, but the Stagg cherry note is a bit brighter, while the Journeyman is more on the dark or rustic side. The Stagg shows a greater level of refinement as one might expect from this highly sought after Bourbon from the country’s premier distillery, and the oak and heat are very nicely integrated. The Journeyman is generally a bit more brash and youthful, but damn if it isn’t amazingly similar across the palate, and so tasty for a 100% Michigan wheat whiskey. Overall, I have to say that I’m very impressed with this whiskey, not to mention that it is easily found in liquor stores here in southwest Michigan, whereas Stagg jr. is a dreamy unicorn in these parts (got mine in a trade). I look forward to visiting the distillery being that it’s only about an hour and a half away. Most definitely the best non-Kentucky whiskey I’ve had, and will most likely make this part of my regular rotation.

Bottle code HF, June 2019: Sweet, spicy, a touch of oak, and the perfect amount of heat. Oh, yeah, and well under 50 bucks.....pinch me yet again......loving this go-to barrel proof bird.