Tastes

Neat. The nose hits me right between Woodford Double Oaked and Woodford Rye. Marshmallow, macadamia nuts, vanilla, fresh corn, apples. So much going on here it is almost overwhelming. I wasn’t expecting this much depth. Okay, strange. I like the nose so much but the taste hit me so strangely. It’s all the same flavors as the nose (which I find delightful) but it’s like they don’t quite go together on the tongue. So much to tease out though. Nice creamy mouth feel. Powder sugar and marshmallow dominate the tongue with hint of apple. More marshmallow and vanilla and apple from there. It’s such a funky adventure. I want to like it but it’s so odd that it’s throwing me off in a bad way.

Neat. Nose is quintessential MGP. Nice berries and cream with vanilla frosting. Hint of oak that transforms into a dark chocolate. Little toffee and hit of spearmint. Baking spice. Really clean MGP nose on this barrel. Thicker mouth feel than I was expecting with the moderate proof level. Hmmm oh hell yeah. Good MGP on this one. Vanilla frosting with a hint of those baking spices as it sits on the tongue. Transitions to more vanilla, eucalyptus, vanilla, and ends on a nice milk chocolate. Dessert lingers on the legs. I have a lot of good MGP bottles but this may be close to the top. Surprised how great this is considering it’s moderate value compared to other MGP. I’d put this ahead of my Blaum for example.

Neat. Z&Z. Great first impression on the neck pour. Deep and rich flavors. Hit of oak transitions to apples, vanilla and honey. Little baking spice. There is something interesting about this nose. Started out rich and dark initially but it’s so overwhelmingly light and bright now. Way different than expected on the taste too. The SiB is so different. Brown sugar and apples on the tongue. Transitions to the caramels and oak I more associate with Antique. Legs are vanilla and apple again. Dries out the mouth tremendously and quite a bit of alcohol burn lingers and builds on the legs. I was excited about trying a SiB Weller Antique. This experience was good but spiky. I’ll try again once it opens up but this pour is just good, not great.

Neat. Binny’s pick. 11 year. Incredibly cherry forward on the nose. Surrounded by mounds of vanilla. Slight hint of mint. Some all spice the deeper I go in. Great, creamy mouth feel. Cherry and vanilla on the tongue that transitions to even more cherry and vanilla which leaves even more cherry and vanilla on the legs. Wow. The nose was subtle and almost disappointing. The rest was a delicious punch in the mouth. This cherry is the most intense and delicious cherry note I have experienced. Incredible.

Neat. Neck pour from the other side of the world. Different nose than I was expecting. Tons of caramel and nougat. Hint of spearmint and cinnamon. Lots of vanilla the deeper I go. Creamy, delightful feel. Pure sugar on the tongue with a hint of apple. Transitions back to deep caramel, vanilla and nougat. Hint of cinnamon and honeycomb on the legs. Legs go for miles. Regular Blanton’s doesn’t compare at all to this. I just tried regular and it’s so thin and bland by comparison. Somehow the legs from the Gold even overpowered the regular. Glad this bottle made its way into my collection.

Neat. Incredible. Intense chocolate, vanilla and graham cracker. Delicious on the nose. No banana, which I typically associate with Jack. Medium body texture, immediately spicy on the tongue. Maple and cinnamon. Transitions back to the intense vanilla and hint of graham cracker. Not complex but a delicious sipper. Different flavor profile than the other Jack single barrels. I like this a lot!

Neat. 10y batch 29. Neck pour. Caramel, vanilla, and toffee with a hint of pepper. Lots of bright, sweet notes up front and these deeper mid-level notes behind it. Creamy texture on the tongue. Nice powder sugar and deep vanilla on the tongue. This is straight dessert. Vanilla frosting with powdered sugar covered berries. Even reminds me of a meringue. Does leave an interesting dryness on the mouth.

Neat. Neck pour if new bottle. It could be the Mash Bill 1 rumors biasing me but the nose reminds me of EHT SiB right off the bat. Hint of cola with the heavy oak and vanilla. Hint of berries and mint. Nice smooth creamy texture on tongue. Feels thick on the tongue but then then on the edges as the oil comes around. Brown sugar on the tongue. Then uppercuts you with that vanilla. Hint of cola persists on the legs. Subsequent sips brings in the berries on top of the vanilla. Official review must have had a bad barrel. This is great stuff. I would put this against EHT SiB in a blind flight.

Neat. First taste of this. Plums hum from the glass immediately. Dark fruits dominate and the wine influence comes out more and more. Oh that is interesting. I’ve never had anything quite like this. Plum wine comes to mind especially due to that sweetness. Vanilla and smoke hidden beneath the fruit. I’ve been dedicated to bourbon for some time so this is me spreading my wings a bit in a different category. I like this a lot. Completely different spectrum of flavors than I am used to, but still inviting and delicious. A refreshing, fruity treat that would go well around a fall campfire.

Neat. OHLQ Barrel 1378. MGP. Graham Cracker and oak upfront. All spice and vanilla. Cinnamon. More spice notes and less dessert notes for a MGP. Hint of apple. Thinner texture than I was expecting. Spicy on the tongue with that cinnamon and spice still dominate. Caramel and vanilla with lots of cinnamon again. Tingle on the tongue. Get that Apple again the more I sip. Caramel and cinnamon with the apple on the legs. Pretty fitting for a fall day watching the leaves change and fall. It’s good. It’s unique for MGP too. I don’t think I have described something and a caramel apple with a layer of cinnamon. That’s a cool combination.