Tastes
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Neat. Neck pour. Party Source pick. Had this bottle bunkered because I had another EC pick open. Finally killed that bottle a week or two ago and felt inspired to open this one on a Sunday Funday. Okay this nose is hitting out of its weight class. This has to be an older single barrel. Between 9 to 11 years. The oak on this nose is lovely and beyond any 94 proof EC nose I have had before. Almost regret not buying more of this just off the nose. Behind the oak is a sweet honey comb and almost a Honey Nut Cheerio cereal. Getting a whiff of chocolate and black pepper. Really nice caramel. Slight berry. Okay this is just a killer nose. The last two EC picks I had were underwhelming so I wasn’t expecting this. Mouth feel is average but at least it is not watery. Can’t expect much else from the proof. Sweet oak coming across on the tongue at first but not much else. Hmm. Doesn’t match the nose on the taste. It’s just milk chocolate. Through and through. Weird. Went in for another sip and some vanilla cones through. Gosh it reminds me of those flavored straws my kids get sometimes. Like the straw has these cookies and cream pellets inside it and when you drink the milk it mixes up through the straw. That is this with the blend of chocolate and vanilla. This is simple but it is also unique, delicious and refreshing. A cookies and cream bourbon. Oreos are practically my kryptonite so I can’t help be a fan of this. It may be two notes but it’s a great two notes. Changes how I will approach EC 94 proof single barrels in the future.
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George Remus Single Barrel Cask Strength Straight Bourbon (2020 Release)
Bourbon — Indiana , USA
Reviewed August 30, 2020 (edited December 10, 2020)Neat. Neck pour. Party Source pick. 113 proof single barrel. How old? Not sure. 5 guys standing around the bourbon section at Party Source and not even one knew the age on their own store pick. Not exactly encouraging right off the bat, but I love MGP and bought it anyway. It was $58 which screams 5-6 years old to me with MGP. MGP runs about $10 a year on these picks mostly. (Bad customer service though, really disappointed with Party Source on that interaction...) Okay, on the nose this is a neck pour and it is a bit hot. But I am getting hints at a lot of flavors, just need to ease into it on this one. Oh this is an MGP butterscotch bomb. Makes me think it may be the low rye mash on first impression. The butterscotch is so good though. It’s surround by vanilla and a melody of berries. The berries are a range of high and mid range notes so apples, peach, cherry or berries. With each sniff I lean a different way on how to describe the fruit, which is fun. That much fruit on an MGP is unique too. I usually get apple or cherry but not this melody. Fresh pie crust and nice baking spices, cinnamon and sugar. There is this blast of black pepper though that keeps the experience from being overly sweet. Slight hint of green that I can get with young MGP. Sticking to the 5-6 year assumption. Super creamy and awesome mouth feel. Much much darker on the tongue than I was expecting. A dark maple syrup. Transitions straight into the butterscotch and fruits that were there in the nose. I’m going to narrow in on apple and cherry. Next to the butterscotch it starts bright like an apple but darkens quickly into the cherry and the cherry is what remains on the finish. Butterscotch is the main note. There is some nice vanilla that lingers on the finish too. Almost a vanilla cherry cola even. This is a fun MGP butterscotch bomb, still sticking to my low-rye assumption as well. 5-6 year low rye. For the price, I would take an Old Scout 5 year pick over this though. This is certainly delicious and better than 80% of the young MGP I have had over the last year but it’s not a killer bottle compared to other things I can get for $60. -
Blanton's Original Single Barrel
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 19, 2020 (edited September 22, 2020)Neat. Gallenstein single barrel. Opened 6 to 9 months. I was disappointed in this when I opened it. Seemed flat on the neck pour. Let’s see if air time opened it up. Been a long time since I drank Blanton’s too. Super bright nose. Graham cracker covered in honey comb with caramel covered peach. Splash of pepper. Hint of cherry. You know, this certainly isn’t flat anymore. It’s popping with some fun flavors. Super watery texture. Light as air. Very minimal flavor coming through. Some sugar water sweetness, but blah. But one note on the taste. Got a blast of sweet milk chocolate and slight hint of caramel and cherry. Caramel barely lingers. Blah. This Single Barrel is just a dud. I even thought it may have recovered off the nose but yet again this is just a flat pour and air time didn’t help it. Bummer. -
New Riff Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 15, 2020 (edited March 24, 2021)Neat. Opened 12 months. Bottle kill! I loved this Single Barrel and this bottle seemed to past forever. Sad to see it go but a proper tasting feels like a good send off. The nose starts with a deep rye bread. Deep and dark and spicy with salt sprinkled on top. Behind that intense rye though is a ton of sweetness and citrus. Vanilla icing (like the kind that goes on cinnamon rolls). Orange. Lemon. Cinnamon. Clove. It’s just so nice. What I love about New Riff Rye is that there is zero dill and zero black licorice. My hate for those notes has declined over the years but I still find them in so many high rye Ryes. This nose is so delightful. Mouth feel is nice and creamy. Flavors perfectly match the nose. Starts with the rye and very little sweetness, but transitions into the citrus and leaves with the cinnamon and vanilla icing. The cinnamon and vanilla icing last forever on the legs too and it’s delicious and unrelenting. Good bye barrel 15-1941. You served me well. -
Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 14, 2020 (edited August 29, 2020)Neat. Opened around 9 months. In a saucy mood tonight and feel like exploring things I haven’t had in awhile. EHTBP has a special place in my heart as the first bourbon to show me what bourbon could be. Still getting cherry vanilla cola on the front of the nose but it isn’t as dominate as the neck pour. Graham cracker covered in honey. Clove. Super charred caramel and butterscotch to go with it. Slight hint of chocolate. It’s a bit hot too, need to approach with care. Perfect, thick and viscous mouth feel. Coats the mouth instantly with heavy oils. Cherry cola explosion at first and then it upper cuts with cherry cola a second time when I let my guard down. Cinnamon and clove. Tons of rich butterscotch. Cherries on the legs and they linger a long time. I just went cherry picking and that notes is fresh in my mind. It is still there a solid two minutes later too. Amazing after taste. Man, what a pour. This bottle is amazing. I loved this on the neck pour and the extra shelf time has just brought so many flavors out and intensified some of the ones I remember from before. -
Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2019 RC6
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 14, 2020 (edited October 29, 2020)Neat. Opened 6-12 months. I remember loving this when I first opened it but haven’t revisited it in a long time. With the new Maker’s special release coming out I thought it was prudent to go back to this one. Really love the nose on this. It has these bright notes I don’t usually get from various stave combos on the Private Selects. Vanilla buttercream is the first note I get. A thick but not overly sweet buttercream. Behind that is buttery pie crust doused in cinnamon and brown sugar. Caramel covered apples. Strawberries. All of it just smothered in that buttercream note. I still really love the nose on this Maker’s. Nice and creamy texture. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla buttercream on the tongue initially. Transitions hard into the caramel apple and pie crust and leaves the strawberries on the finish and legs. Little oak lingers on the legs as well. Yep, still the best Maker’s I have ever had. They just nailed this release. That vanilla buttercream note is just so good tonight on every sip. -
Sam Houston 14 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 9, 2020 (edited October 15, 2020)Neat. Neck pour. This bottle wasn’t on my radar until the Bourbon Junkies featured it in a recommendation video. Cost $105 at Binny’s, this is the IL-01 batch. Beautiful nose. Gorgeous. The 98 proof makes this so inviting. The oak on this is fabulous and it comes side by side a deep vanilla and a melody of fruits. Strawberries mainly but something brighter too like peach. There is a nice caramel, hint of mint, and a thick cinnamon. Beautifully aged. Mouth feel is lacking, not creamy, not oily but also not thin. Brown sugar and cinnamon up front, cinnamon bomb even. Transitioning into that lovely oak that flows into a deep caramel. Strawberry shows up in the middle but takes a hard right back into the oak which lasts for quite a bit on the legs. The oak is quite drying and astringent, holds the pour back a bit. I adore the nose on this but the palate is a bit lacking. I mean this nose is phenomenal. I wish it translated more to the palate. This could be due to the neck more but the taste comes off as overaged right now. I am hopeful a few months on the shelf will bring this around. -
Smoke Wagon Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Indiana (bottled in Nevada), USA
Reviewed August 7, 2020 (edited September 2, 2020)Neat. Neck pour. Okay, I went into this thinking “$35 for a MGP? This will be 4 years old, young, green and disappointing.” Bought it anyway because I haven’t had it and I like trying new things. Wow, I was wrong. The nose on this is so different than typical MGP. The lead note I am getting is root beer, which is a new one for any MGP I have had. Delicious vanilla, graham cracker, honey, and light caramel. Getting a nice rye and pepper note on the end. So inviting. Texture is a bit watery but also oily too. Thin but coats. Getting red licorice on the tongue, which transitions into a root beer float with a blast of vanilla. On the finish I am getting some awesome cherries and berries drizzled in sweet caramel. Legs are decent for the proof. Graham cracker and honey shows up on the tail end. Wow, this bottle is a third of the way gone in two hours. Crushing it with a friend. Perfect bourbon for some Friday day drinking. This has to be the best sub-$40 MGP I have had. Kills Eight and Sand and George Remus. Not at all what I was expecting based on the price. Phenomenal blend. -
Remus Repeal Reserve Series IV (2020 Medley)
Bourbon — Indiana , USA
Reviewed August 6, 2020 (edited December 4, 2020)Neat. Neck pour. Butterscotch and cherry leap from the glass. Followed by some very nice sweet oak accompanied by some black pepper. Fantastic cinnamon and all spice. Really digging this nose. At first it just came across as sweet but really ramped up the dark notes as I spent more time with it. The oak is really dominating but not in a bad way. It’s a really good oak. I can’t recall an MGP with an oak note this yummy actually. Super creamy and oily, love the mouth feel. Lights up my tongue with brown sugar and cinnamon sweetness. Cherry really come through as well. That sweet oak is front and center again, just a great oak note. Butterscotch, more cherry. Then cherry again throughout the finish and legs. Mmmm yum. There is more fruit emerging as I sit with it, peaches and nectarines. Okay, this is fabulous. $85 and worth every cent. This blend is predominating the low rye MGP Mash and it just brings all these delicious fruit and dessert flavors with such a strong oak note. The oak note is so pronounced and creamy and sweet. I was just okay with Remus batch 2 and 3. I thought it was worth the extra $20-$40 to get a MGP 12 year Single Barrel. This I will buy again at $85. MGP may be figuring out how to release their own juice finally. -
Barrell Bourbon Batch 023
Bourbon — (bottled in) Kentucky, USA
Reviewed August 4, 2020 (edited August 6, 2020)Neat. Neck pour. Been a long time since I had Barrell. I think it was batch 9, which I was not impressed with at the time. I can have a hard time with Dickel. The nose is very appealing on first impression. Deep butterscotch, hint of toffee, brown sugar and cinnamon, a bit of Dickel funk, charred caramel. Geez, it’s even giving me some hints I associate with Four Roses. Oak is presence but the age of these barrels isn’t coming as forward as I expected. Nice creamy texture but it’s also light and fluffy on the tongue. Brown sugar and cinnamon up front. Transitions into the Dickel fun but these the caramels, butterscotch and toffee comes punching. Butterscotch for days on the legs. The Dickel funk is still a turn off for me, but this blend does a good job keeping things interesting. The other barrels in this blend are adding a ton of flavor and compliment/ overcome the Dickel to keep it enjoyable.
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