Tastes

Neat. Sample. Batch 19. Batch 28 is one of my favorite pours ever but I have noticed not all batches are at that same level. A friend was nice to provide this taste which I am enjoying in the sun on Spring Break. Very fruity and creamy on the nose. Like a rich strawberry ice cream. Even a strawberry cream cheese. Very nice oak and leather. Rock candy. Angel food cake. The cognac is really coming out but it shares equal space with the Sherry. A hard caramel candy. Nice cherry at the end. Definitely a fun one to pick apart. Interesting. Initial impression was different than expected. The mouthfeel is a bit thin surprisingly. Has a sugary grit to it but still thin. Leans cinnamon, almost red hot on the tongue and those flavors pops up again in the finish. Getting more Sherry on the mid palate, cognac on the finish. Such a spicy finish though. Was not expecting this. That cinnamon clings and hangs and dries. Mid palate there is so much fruit now. Apple, raspberries, cherry. Lovely melody. Quite a bit of oak and leather that escalates mid palate and hangs on the finish as well. The finish is changing the most. Now getting some beautiful vanilla and caramel. The fruits are now lingering on the finish more and more. Such an amazing whiskey to pick apart. I would rank this below Batch 28, amazing but not magical. It definitely morphed quite a bit over the course of the tasting, which is always fun. Every flavor it offered was very enjoyable.

Neat. Neck pour. I bought so much 5 year MGP last year. It was great to have Old Scout back on the MGP train but let’s be honest... 5 years on a MGP is not enough time. It has some great flavors but there is this inescapable grainy, green youngness. One of the latest OHLQ picks is 6 years, which makes it an interesting comparison. Amazing how much of a difference that extra year makes on the nose. The base flavors are the same as expected but the grainy, youthfulness is gone. Deep caramels, buttery pie crust, apple and cinnamon come out in waves. Slight hint of oak and leather. This one is a dark MGP. Syrupy mouthfeel gives immediate flavors of brown sugar, honey and cinnamon. Not as dark as I was expecting off the nose. Really hangs in these mid range notes. Buttered pecan pie. So buttery. Lots of caramel. Bit of apple. Tons of cinnamon on the finish. The honey is coming out more and more, a dark rich honey. Slight amount of grain on the finish, but no where near the 5 year in those terms. Very enjoyable and a great value at $50. So 7 years is probably the sweet spot where MGP starts becoming something great, but this 6 year was still a great purchase. So much flavor. The pecan pie with all this caramel drizzle and cinnamon really describes it well. A nice OHLQ offering.

Neat. Sample. I had a chance to buy this when it came out but I just spent $200 at the prior liquor store. A few reviews indicated this was a bit overrated at first so I felt alright about the decision. Those same reviewers revisited the bottle and were amazed how well it opened it and called the best rye of the year. Whiskey regret sucks. A friend heard my story and got me a sample. Whiskey friends are the best. Okay this smells so different than I was expecting. I’m assuming this is a barely legal rye since it’s Heaven Hill because it doesn’t present it self as a rye. Very sweet, the rye is subtle. Additionally, 8 year and heavy char I was expecting a darker nose. Bright and sweet. Very floral. I feel bad sipping on this on a dreary cold day like today. This would be great for a sunny, spring day. Very floral. Vanilla ice cream. Drizzled in cherry sauce. May go with a creme brûlée actually, getting those charred sugars and caramel too. I’m beginning to find the rye but I don’t think I would find them blind. This nose is delicious but not spectacular. Lovely, silky texture. Flavorful immediately. Cinnamon rolls and frosting on the tongue even before the swallow. The cinnamon and vanilla frosting escalate mid palate and it does transition into a beautiful creme brûlée. Getting these nice apples and raspberries mid palate too. I am starting to get eucalyptus on the finish but that is the only place this presents itself as a rye to me, on the finish. The rye really comes through on the finish. This would be a doozy to pick apart blind. The heavy char aspects are coming through on subsequent sips. Reminds me of a baked Alaska with the flamed meringue. Lovely vanillas throughout. Yep, should have purchased that dang bottle. This is worth every cent. This is the best barely legal rye I have ever had but I find it unfair to compare to more classic rye. Other than the finish, nothing about this is a rye.

Neat. Sample. My sample bottle says this is a Justin’s House of Bourbon pick from Railbird Festival. 13 year. Rich nose. Peanut shells. Vanilla wafers and pudding. Slight banana. Like a banana bread even. Bright cherry. Hint of orange. Sweet oak, I would not guess 13 years. Oh, getting so much bright apple now. Granny Smith. Surprised it took me so long to get there because I can’t get around it now. Very nice. Mouthfeel is a bit average but very oily too. Dark on the tongue. The taste really matches the nose. The vanilla wafer, pudding, banana is all there and so good. The apple spikes on the finish. The apple has a lot of caramel with it. There is a nice velvety oak that acts as a deep bass note throughout. I’m starting to feel the age but it took for a few sips for the oak to really present itself. Really good. I think this is Barton juice. If it is, we are talking about probably the best Barton pour I have on memory. It’s so well balanced and the banana pudding/bread, apple, caramel transitions are so strong. The oak on this too is very well balanced. Quite delicious.

Neat. Sample. So I got confirmation since my last taste that these are Light Whiskey blends. Makes sense. MGP Light Whiskey has its own distinct profile. Off memory, this doesn’t smell much different than the other batch. Just that great butterscotch, honey and graham cracker. Overall, I do think this batch is darker leaning. Again, the proof on these being close 140 and it just not hot. Deceiving. Very silky mouthfeel. All brown sugar up front. Transitions to more of a rich dark caramel than a butterscotch and the honey is really strong. Getting some buttered corn of the finish. Getting this nice sour dough pretzel. It’s so strange. I love sipping this and I will grade the pour well because it is very enjoyable. But these are so expensive and I can’t see myself actually buying one to drink all the time. I have a J Mattingly Light Whiskey single barrel that was a about $60 to $80 cheaper than these and I don’t see the value for the Old Carter label. Light Whiskey is such a strange category for me. Love while I drink it, but never crave it.

Neat. Neck pour. Bottle 229. I have not been a fan of Dickel for quite a few years but the recent BiB releases have opened up my expectations a bit. The 11 year is very good. Now we have a 15 year but only 84% proof. Heard good things about this releases though, so giving it the benefit of the doubt. The nose is very nice, very flavorful. The Dickel mineral, flinstone vitamin is there but not a turn off. This is unmistakably Dickel though. It doesn’t blur the line like the 11 year BiB. Cherry cough syrup. Chocolate. Really a cherry chocolate cordial with the white cream in the center. Damp oak and black pepper. Almond paste. Vanilla extract. Leather. I would not guess this was 15 years old. More of a funk thank oak. Pretty thin but also oily enough to get by. Vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar on the tongue. Eeks... eeks... I don’t like this... honestly if I weren’t trying to leaves notes, I would end this here. Damp, creek wood covered in a vanilla ice cream. Little chocolate on the finish. Oh no. This is hitting me so wrong. Unfortunately the rest of this dram is going down the drain. Can’t do it. I’m so confused as to why I heard positive things. This is no 11 year BiB, this is back to the Dickel profile I can’t handle. My daughter just asked what is wrong with my face. It’s a combination of disgust, confusion and regret buying this...

Neat. Sample. Okay, this is a light whiskey? This smells like MGP light whiskey. Rich butterscotch, toffee, chocolate - Heath bar essentially. I can’t find any info if this is a blend than contains MGP light whiskey but I am betting that is the origin of this smell and the crazy hazmat close proof. Little strawberries with powdered sugar. Slight tobacco. Honey and graham crackers. Oily and hot. Intense. Cinnamon, pepper and maple syrup on the tongue. Transitions to an intense butterscotch that transitions to a massive blast of vanilla that then transitions even more to a straight honey on the long finish. Getting more tobacco on the finish now. My mouth tastes like a cigar now. That’s interesting. Hangs like a smoke on the back of the throat. Super long finish. Getting a bit more chocolate up front on subsequent sips. Little mint. Super sweet, puckering sweet. Getting some nuttiness on the finish now too. Intense up front and intense on the finish. Finish lasts for days. I haven’t had a finish like this in a long time. Enjoying this sample but I don’t think I could handle more than an ounce at a time.

Neat. Sample. Some amazing people sent be a bucket load of Old Carter samples. This will be my first Old Carter experience. Okay, the nose is nothing that I expected. It’s super dark, but not from oak. Dark chocolate and dark maple syrup, molasses. Pralines and a hint of walnuts. Dark, dried cherries. Caramel sea salt taffy. Tobacco for days. I expected oak, but it’s not really here. I was thinking this was a blend of older whiskeys but it comes across more in a 7 to 9 year range. Super oily and coating. Super dark again. Brown sugar and molasses on the tongue. Oh that is really good... wonderful caramel and vanilla mid palate, the vanilla really escalates on the finish. Nice chocolate and nougat mid palate, then the chocolate carries to the finish. Dark cherries on the finish. There is a nice oak on the finish too. It’s the finish on this one, it’s great. The mid palate is just sweet desert but the finish escalates and morphs and keeps going. And going. One of the best finishes on memory. Great first samples of an Old Carter.

Neat. Neck pour. First of the Untitled series. All of this finishing sounds crazy and I love the Cognac finished stuff I have had lately. This nose is deep. Chocolate covered raisins. Tootsie roll. Syrup covered baked dates. Pralines and rock candy. Sugared covered almond. I think you get the point on the sweetness. No escaping it. Dark, sweet, syrupy. Average mouth feel. Maple and Sherry up front. Dark honey... this one has me so stumped. So much going on all over. Befuddled. The bourbon isn’t really there. It’s all the finishing, the cognac, port, Sherry. All at once. But it is all blanketed by this lovely vanilla and butterscotch. Finish has some nice chocolate but is mostly cognac driven. This is a crazy pour. Hard to call it a bourbon. The finishing took over all phases. It’s fun and well balanced for this much finishing going on. Unique and delicious.

Neat. Neck pour. Excited to try this. The 2020 LE was a let down for me but I loved RC6 and 46 Cask and many private selections from the last two years. Love what Maker’s is doing. Wow, flavors leaped from the bottle immediately. Oh snap. Oh this is so fruity. This is awesome. What a first impression. Graham crackers covered in honey. Vanilla custard. Strawberries, cherries, raspberries. Powdered sugar. Maple drizzle. Chocolate chips. There is an oak presence on this too. Syrupy mouthfeel. Brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla upfront. Fruit is pushing through. Cherry and raspberries. Oh man. Mid palate the fruits are ridiculous. Like a cherry or strawberry fruit roll up. Honey is also really coming through, with a vanilla ice cream. Light chocolate on the finish. The longer I sit with it I am starting to find more of the base Maker’s, the caramel. Oh my. This is Maker’s? This is unlike anything I have had from them. This is one of the best first impressions on a wheater too. The fruit on the finish just keeps going. I am going to hunt a back up. This is one you should not sleep on if you like overwhelming fruit flavors in your bourbon. Hard to believe this isn’t finished in a secondary cask and is just from staves. Wow.