Tastes

Neat. Neck pour. Gallenstein Selection 2. Big Bob Dylan fan but this is my first Heaven’s Door purchase. This single barrel is 21% Rye MGP! Going to guess between 4 to 5 years. So nothing too special, but it feels cool to have a Bob Dylan bottle I will actually enjoy. On the nose, honey, cornfield, hint of chocolate. This is probably closer to 4 years, it’s youthful. Not off putting but clearly youthful. Powdered sugar. Maybe there is some fruit but I feel like I am stretching to just find something else. Creamy mouthfeel, very very sweet first impression. Straight cane sugar sweetness. Yeah, the entire experience is over the top sweet. One of the sweetest MGPs I have ever had. It’s so sweet it puckers the lips. Lots of honey, vanilla syrup, caramel syrup (like the coffee kind), hint of chocolate. Candy corn. The youth (or rye) pops up on the finish and overwhelms on subsequent sips. Getting a nice cinnamon roll on subsequent sips now too. Happy to knock on this Heaven’s Door. Not a special MGP barrel, but unique due that over the top sweetness. The novelty is one and done for me unless these get a bit more age.

Neat. Sample. First time trying anything from Still Austin. Nose is very toffee and nougat forward. Also getting a lot of cinnamon raisin oatmeal cookie. Powdered sugar. Little musty funk. Decent nose but no stand out characteristic. No crafty bubble gum so that is a win in my book. Mouthfeel is syrupy with a bit of grit to it. Starts out decently bright and sweet up front. Vanilla Royal frosting. Darkens you mid palate and blows into that raisin cinnamon oatmeal cookie. It has a layer of frosting over the top too. Those notes carry through to the finish where it picks up a hint of chocolate. I don’t get oatmeal cookie much personally. I’ve heard others get that note on other pours but I think this is the first pour to really blast it. The taste is much better than the nose let on. I don’t have a desire to but my own bottle based on this sample but I will happily try Still Austin again down the road to see if they can build on this positive impression.

Neat. Sample. Time is passing fast, hard to believe Chattanooga is ready for a bottles-in-bond release. Very excited fo try this for the first time. And the nose does not disappoint on first impression. Nice blend of malt and toast. It’s a beautiful blend of sweet and savory. Getting this nice BBQ rub with apple, cinnamon, brown sugar. Little corn bread too. Lots of vanilla. Getting a cherry cola now too - it’s morphing a bit from the first impression. Mouthfeel is a bit watery. Hmm, it packs less flavor than the nose let on but the finish is nice. Initially it is all brown sugar and cinnamon, hint of apple. Transitions into that savory BBQ rub and the cherry cola. Malt and baking spices, hint of pepper on the finish. On the finish, a vanilla emerges and lingers and carries the pepper along the way. I like it, but I like it less than I expected. The combo of sweet/savory is nice, it finishes strong but I would buy a 111 proof over this.

Neat. Only been opened for two days but brought it to a Bachelor party and it got crushed! Only a third left. It was more popular than the Old Rip 10 I also brought (among many other bottles). The blend on this is nuts. 10 year Wheated bourbon finished in rum, calvados and cognac casks mixed with a 14 year MGP high rye finish in Sherry. Just nuts. Not surprising the nose is all over the place. I think the Wheated bourbon is predominant in the blend because it is very soft and buttery. The rum influence also dominates. Maple covered baked dates. Powdered sugar on an elephant ear. Even a savory and sweet BBQ rub. The age gives it a nice dark base but it doesn’t come across as oaky. 14 years on a MGP can be over oaked easily, but that isn’t here. Mouthfeel is so syrupy and rich. Immediately I get maple and Sherry, the Sherry is surprisingly forward and dominant. Very grape-y mid palate - grape soda. Root beer too. It is all rum on the finish, dates and hint of almond. Buttery again on the finish too. This thing is a roller coaster. I would describe it as a Cigar Blend jr. The finishing is all over the place. You could put it in a flight of rums and I probably wouldn’t realize it’s bourbon even. Reminds me a lot of Foursquare Rum. It’s really good but never it’s the scale to being great.

Neat. Second pour but first time I sat down with it for a proper tasting. The nose is more delicate than any other ECBP thus far. That’s not a bad thing, there is nice flavor here but it isn’t over the top. I want to describe it as peanut brittle - but it isn’t quite peanut. It’s more like almond butter. There is a nice pear note here too. Toffee. Lots of Christmas spices too - cinnamon, nutmeg, even a fresh pine. It has surprising depth honestly. It felt more one note on my first impression but I didn’t have a whiskey glass for that pour. Mouthfeel is creamy but very light. Getting sweet tobacco and pepper initially. The almond butter really comes through mid palate. Lots of vanilla sweet cream up front too. A nut brittle comes through and is the main notes I am getting on the finish. Initially I thought the finish was weak and disappointing. But on subsequent sips, the oil is really building and the finish continues to extend. There is a surprising lack of oak but it is showing up more and more on the finish. Okay this is a really good whiskey but compared to other ECBP batches, it is missing this extra gear of flavor. It hits such a different flavor spectrum than other batches that I do appreciate it. I am glad I got a bottle but I am not going to be hunting a back up like I did last year’s batches. It’ll be an interesting pour to throw in blind flights when the ECBP name isn’t setting such high expectations.

Neat. Neck pour. Sneaky cask strength 12 year MGP labeled as Alabama Whiskey? Yes please. On the nose, oak and apple lead. The apple slices are covered in cinnamon and brown sugar. The oak is gorgeous. I have had dozens of 12 year MGP over the years and never gotten this much oak. Maybe had this level on some 14 or 15 years but those came off as over oaked though. This has that oak but with the 12 year depth. Vanilla bean. Coffee bean. Black tea. What the hell? This is hitting its own MGP flavor profile. Yeah it’s even coming together as a tiramisu. Getting red fruits now, bit of cherry. Wow. I want to keep smelling but I really need to take a sip before I go nuts. Please live up to the nose, please please please. Mouthfeel is fantastic, oily and dense and coating. Dark initially. Cinnamon and brown sugar, coffee bean up front. Lightens up mid palate. Vanilla and apple attack with uppercuts. The finish is more familiar MGP. Honey, graham cracker, chocolate, butterscotch. The oak really lingers on the finish - slight bitterness but not a turn off. Vanilla comes back in waves during the finish. Delicious! It didn’t blow me away on the taste like it did the nose but it didn’t let me down either. This is a unique flavor range for MGP. I would buy another if I had a chance.

Neat. Sample. On the nose, my first instinct was toasted marshmallow fluff. There is also chocolate and graham cracker, making a nice s’more. It goes far beyond that though. There is a medley of fruits - raspberries, blueberries and cherries. There is something brighter back there like a mango too. The longer I sit with it the brighter it becomes, strange for something so old. The oak is dense and velvety, always there but not center stage. Getting lots of spices now too, cinnamon, clove, leather. This nose is dynamic! Mouthfeel is syrupy thick, very dense and heavy on the tongue. Immense flavor immediately. Cinnamon, brown sugar, oak and tobacco. Mid-palate is all dessert - caramel, chocolate, butterscotch. The fruits come on the finish. Slight overruled banana, cherry, cream and chocolate. Long finish - mostly vanilla and that banana. This is an impressive pour. Well balanced, dynamic, delicious. It doesn’t have an all out special quality that makes it a more elite pour. I would buy this at retail if I found it but it seems to take a bit more to get it in my area. Without luck, this sample may be the only time I come across this pour.

Neat. Opened yesterday, so almost the neck pour. I adore this nose. So rich and decadent. The oak is velvety chocolate. Deep, dark cherry. Cinnamon and clove. Vanilla royal icing. Hint of pear. The oak is the main event but it’s surrounded by goodness. Creamy and oily mouthfeel, like melted ice cream. It’s just milk chocolate, melted ice cream. Matches the nose. Deep, dark cherry. Hint of apple. Vanilla and honey notes on the finish. Conflicted on this one. It’s so rich and flavorful, the mouthfeel is a knock out. There is a lack of depth and there is nothing too magical on the palate. It’s just a pleasure to drink it but it isn’t an experience. Looking forward to blinding this against WT 17 (the old Master’s Keep). On first impression, I liked the 17 more than this but we’ll see what the blind shows.

Neat. Sample. The nose on first impression hit me wrong. Got a wet dog note. Whenever I have a moment like that I assume it’s me and not the whiskey. Take a break, smell my elbow and try to reset. Going back in, there is a mustiness there but it’s not as bad as that first whiff. Chocolate peanut butter cup seems to be the dominate flavor Discover is going for when their own distillate is involved. There is some interesting fresh coconut here. Vanilla pudding pie. Inviting nose but nothing special. Mouthfeel is average, tad watered down feeling. Taste matches the nose. That fresh coconut appears upfront, almost like a coconut milk even. Transitions to the chocolate, hint of nut, ends on a vanilla milk shake. You know, I am going back to the mouthfeel. Initial impression was off, but subsequent sips have a creaminess to it. This is kind of unique. There is a vanilla coconut Silk - milk alternative. This reminds me of sipping on that. Odd description for a bourbon but I dig it. I don’t think I would buy a bottle of this for myself. Something fun to explore once but I don’t anticipate craving it.

Neat. Sample. I adored Series 2, 3, 4 but the Dickel in this one has me skeptical at the price. I am hit and miss on Dickel, love or hate it pending certain qualities. Super excited to be able to sit down with a 2 ounce sample before I choose to invest. The nose is subtle but there appears to be some depth to it though. Milk chocolate and a slight apricot lead. Royal vanilla icing. Leather, clove and cinnamon. Dark cherry. Salted caramel. Honey and graham crackers. You know, the graham cracker, honey and icing made me think of those old Dunkaroos as a kid. Definitely some nice layers here. May lack cohesion. It’s definitely Dickel but it’s a nice Dickel so far. Mouth feel is a bit thin but oily so it costs nicely. It’s bright and sweet immediately. Honey and green grapes. Transitions into a salted caramel / milk chocolate combo accompanied by a dark cherry. The finish is almost all the Dickel. Oak, leather, chocolate with a hint of the medicinal cherry. Getting a hint of blood orange on subsequent sips on the finish. If this was Dickel 13 year bottled in bond for $40-$50, I would be raving right now. But Discovery 5 at $135, it doesn’t fit the series or the prices. Probably the best Dickel blend I have ever tasted, but I don’t think I love it enough to justify a purchase.