Tastes

Nose: Rounded, sumptuous and decadently nostalgic. Few wheaters can touch this nose – the sweet, confectionary notes just melt and simmer throughout the glass before overflowing into your nose. Warm, moist brown sugars, bubble gum, ginger, cinnamon, and very buttery. You can literally smell the butter melting on top of the pancakes. Freshly buttered toast, melted milk chocolate, some orange spices, potpourri and a little cherry cough lozenge sitting on top of piles of big baking spices – all balanced by gorgeous notes of sweet American oak and a squeeze of lemon. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ The grape soda note I get from some of BT’s bourbon comes through here, even more so than some bottles of Eagle Rare. I attribute this to BT’s corn strain specifically which may sound odd but it’s definitely here and works very well with the rest of the nose. You can’t not love this nose – even if you aren’t a fan of wheated bourbons. Nosing this is the quintessential confectionary shop – it literally hits every note you’d imagine while standing in one. I’d be giving this a 100 if it were for the nose alone….. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: Sluggish & disappointing – their is no other way of saying it. Nothing offensive and with nice qualities, but a huge letdown from the nose. Demerara sugars, bubblegum, raisin and some of the really nice baking spices from the nose, but not as intense. The wheat is stated beneath all the sweetness but isn’t as rich as your average Weller 107. The mouthfeel is rounded, but never takes off and lacks any depth or substantial texture other than “sweet”. The palate overall is quite buttery, which one should expect from a wheater and the support of the oak accompanies the sweeter notes mentioned above, with just a hint of barrel char and a non-astringent wood polish note, but overall everything is a half hearted yelp compared to the harmonious melody that was sung on the nose. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Medium in length. Honey & spices pop right from the start of the finish. A picture of every classic holiday spice you can muster from childhood memory unfolds: rich baking spices – cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla spices, moist brown sugars, more demerara sugars, muscovado sugars and some black pepper as well. Oak and sweet vanilla stride hand in hand next to the baking spices followed by a mere hint of smoke. The BT corn note from the nose is back here on the tail end of the finish along with nicely accentuated notes of golden wheat, reminding you of exactly what kind of bourbon this is, and the continual, unrelenting baking spices remind you exactly who’s last name is on the front of the bottle. This is a Van Winkle every inch of the finish, although I would of liked to of seen this finish march a little further on past the ‘Medium’ threshold. The spice domination turns slightly bitter right on the end but remains lip smackingly sweet, and delivers on just about everything you should expect from the finish of a Van Winkle. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 83.5 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Nose: Very soft, sweet scents and quite toasty. Spots of honey, a few pinches of ginger with a bit of lemon. Sherry sweetness is present also, rich baking spices, raisins and some other notes of currants – caramel and toffee are all clearly displayed along with some green apples. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Taste: Creamy and medium bodied. Rich vanilla, baked apples, and moist banana bread dusted with noticeable spice and giving you the most subtle nudge of a burn, reminding you that you are in fact drinking whiskey. Well textured, with marmalade mixed with crushed hazelnuts. The honey and ginger from the nose come back as well. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Not a very long finish but this just means that you have to keep diving back into this whiskey till the glass is empty and then later need to refill. The spices from the nose stick with you, and don’t leave your tongue, lingering well into the finish. Hints of sweet red grapes come around with pie crust, vanilla and almonds. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 96 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Nose: Upon this aroma we detect lush fruits, likely from berries either black or blue, or very likely both. Subtle notes of honey and maple also fill my nose, along with dried fruits – apricot and currants. Notes of vanilla and some caramel are there and finally some brown sugar. Whoa, that’s quite a nose for a younger whiskey so this goes to show you that Lustau sherry is a wine of exceptional quality, it is no surprise that these great whiskey and wine houses wanted to collaborate. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: On the palate you’ll notice some rather nice cinnamon flavors here along with woody spices that are common among bourbon & sherry cask matured marriages. It’s rather creamy and there is a nuttiness to it as well – almonds and pecans. There is a toasted quality here you pick up from the wood as well, with barley being among these flavors and some caramel along with what tastes like sweet fudge. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: It carries on and on and on…light notes of banana, and soft oak thats firmly present throughout the finish. I would say that much like a sauterne wine, you don’t need to eat anything after dinner with this – this is the dessert. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ *With water* Nose: The vanilla is much stronger here, but the fruits are hidden away now. There is a sudden scent of apples, red and golden with a slight sensation of citrus on this fellow that I missed the first time around, however most of what I mentioned the first time around is still here. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: More spices make their way here, along with vanilla which is stronger now. The palate feels more crisp now, with notes of pears and on the way out it seems a little more hasty to exit your palate. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Not as long with water, but it lingers on in its own way. Creme brûlée starts to appear now closing out in a very creamy finish. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 93 w/ water: 89-90 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Four Roses, Royal Liquors OESK Single Barrel ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Nose: Cut red cedar wood, pine and forthright rye spice, crystal clear in typical FR fashion. Some dry spices too including cinnamon nutmeg and cardamom. Lots of smoked sweet hickory, intertwined with caramel, and big umami notes which I absolutely love – almost meat marinade like in nature and the hickory is phenomenal. Along with the umami is sweet cooked corn that is very pleasant. That sweetness then evolves into sweet & sour – sour hard candies, like Warheads. Lemon, lemon juice, grilled pineapple mixed with almond and cashew butter, nutty raisin bread dusted with more crushed nuts and spent peanut shells, including the red skins. Firm layers of oak and sweet wood lay down a balanced foundation with sea salt, Christmas spices and buttered french toast – breakfast and dessert in a glass. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Youthful and possessive in it’s 8 year & 9 month swagger. I’m being drawn more and more to younger whiskeys as my palate has progressed over the years, to the extent that I almost prefer bourbon under 10 years old. This expression of FR is the perfect testament to why this is, exerting layers and layers that you could nose for easily 30 minutes. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: Sticky sweet. Oily, rich, dense and meaty with a lot of weight. Rye, cedar & oak spices with this wet mentholic note start on the tip of your tongue, then proceed to cover your entire mouth. The meat marinade note from the nose is hear but it’s sweeter – more savory and sugary sweet. Charcoal, barrel char, black licorice, treacle, green rye grains, corn and tons of smoke. This could be the smokiest bourbon I’ve had to date, perhaps from the hickory that is so assertive starting on the nose, but is ever present here as well. Warm and inviting. The overall balance of rich sweetness to smokey dryness is phenomenal. The palate rounds out before the finish with just beautiful smoke, and a pleasantly sour and savory finish. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Sweet and smokey with a long finish. Mesquite, chocolate covered peanuts with a pinch of salt sprinkled on top. Spice and smoke fight for dominance in waves as you exhale. Bitter black coffee, oak and thick caramel. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 94.5 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Eagle Rare, Healthy Spirits Single Barrel #256 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Nose: Typical vanilla & oak. Cherries, candied lemon & tangerine peel. The tangerine had been recently peeled and candied, as it possess juicy textures as well. Big, crisp grape soda notes in classic Buffalo Trace fashion. Some green fruits as well – green apple and a little honeydew melon. Speaking of honey, theirs that too, but the honey is light, not dark. Buttered toast, raisin, spiced sarsaparilla, and a light lemon custard is all layered on top of the oak, which is more muted in this barrel, by its vanilla counterpart, which has now formed into vanilla ice cream. Their is a rubber note too, that may be more metallic actually…hard to pin point exactly. Very honest nose. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: Oak and vanilla concentrate, hand in hand. Where the nose is fruit heavy, the palate is sugary sweet. Oak extends to the mid palate with some baking spices but it’s the sweeter wood spices that stand out over the oak. Cherry syrup, banana, grape skins, mocha, torched chocolate and brown sugars. The sweet wood spices keep lumbering on all the way through to the back of the palate. Things round out with oak tannins showing up and the vanilla concentrate comes back around right before the finish with more momentum this time. Very vanilla heavy palate on this barrel, and it works nicely with the spice elements. Overall mouthfeel is thin to medium, at best, but their is a lot that shines through from 11 years in the barrel. This is a great representation of Buffalo Trace’s #1 mash bill. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: This is where you know this barrel stands out – the finish is fantastic. Spices climax immediately then its oak barrel tannins and vanilla beans…French vanilla ice cream, specifically. The finish continues with sugar donuts, a few wisps of light wood smoke and bubble gum. Interesting how syrupy the finish is, considering the lack of viscosity on the palate. Some waves of light spices keep the sweetness in check. The finish is on the longer side of medium and, along with the nose, is where this barrel’s highest accolade lies. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 89 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Nose: Total fruit bomb. Super juicy nose with notes of orchard fruits – oranges, apricots, lemons, lemon juice and this bright red cherry note along with some Starburst candy. This nose already is significantly richer than your standard bottle of BT. Light caramel and vanilla appear deeper in with more spice than I remember finding in previous bottlings of BT as well. Notes of dried corn, strawberry pie, pie crust, berry jam with a big raspberry breakfast pastry note. A subtle red wine-ness on the back nose. Unmistakeable Buffalo Trace mash bill #1 (low rye) which I definitely think contributes to the fact that this nose is more fruit forward with heavier sweet notes as opposed to vivid spice/dry characteristics. Nose finishes so light and refreshing. Light oak notes, not dark or charred round off the nose. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: Medium body. Having the bottle open a week + definitely gave this more body and continually tasted thicker as it opened up. Oak, vanilla cream and some burnt toast. The oak is more oak spice and mostly on the tongue which gently coats the walls of the mouth where as the burnt toast starts mid sip and fades off before the finish. Oak tannins also work nicely and are more pronounced here than in the standard BT. Mixed berries, black peppercorn and a sweetness in the form of cane sugar intermingles throughout the sip. After 4-5 sips I found things to get more bitter and the oak became the loudest attribute. Wood spices and spent tea bag quietly lead into the finish. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Popcorn. Burnt popcorn. Coffee and milk chocolate notes follow. Very solid, medium length finish. A good depth of spice intermingles with Demerara sugars coating your tongue and some light pepper spices, that never come full throttle, follow the sweet sugars. Very solid considering this is Buffalo Trace – a sub $30 bourbon. The most gentle wisps of smoke are the final reminder of this bourbon. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 88 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Old Weller Antique 107, Cask Single Barrel #43 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Nose: From the first aroma I’m reminded more of Weller 12 than I am of OW107 – much sweeter and more fruit forward. Sugared strawberries, dried apricots, sour green apples, lemon, rhubarb, dried fruit leather – tons of orchard fruit, all interlaced with iced cinnamon roll, cinnamon dough, sugar donuts, cherry Jolly Rancher, a definite ripe strawberry note and big cotton candy. Quite buttery (think Maker’s 46). The nose is significantly softer than other expressions of Weller 107 where the spice and the alcohol burn can be the most assertive notes. In this single barrel, you do find those pronounced red woody spices that are signature of the OW107 nose, but they are much more balanced. It really reminds me more of Weller 12, but more like a barrel proof Weller 12. The nose rounds out with sweet bread loves and glazed jerky. A very refined and rich nose but in a velvety demeanor. This nose has panache with the perfect balance of sweetness and spice. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: Immediate, classic red wood/woody and cinnamon spices that define OW107 on the tip of your tongue but this expression shows much more dried fruit than usual, with those spices. These signature spices of cinnamon and clove climax almost mid palate. Lots of red cherry notes start here and turn medicinal and cough syrupy…syrupy, in fact, is the best way to describe this palate however it maintains a nice dryness also that creates a very harmonious balance in texture. Big bold black pepper notes cut through the dryness. Maple syrup, wheat, orange rind and the alcoholic bite thats is often associated with OW107 comes in the from of paint thinner, sweeter and not astringent at all. Caramel, smoke, like brush on fire and a bitter note close the ending out. Overall, this barrel takes Weller 107’s potential and outdoes even that. This single barrel displays near perfect balance between sweetness and spice with the perfect amount of bitterness. Everything you love about OW107 is in this bottle but with far more finesse and a fervent sense of balance. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Your mouth almost feels sticky from the sweetness as the finish sets in. Long, sweet and, interestingly enough for OW107, a subtley spicy finish – the spice is definitely present, but its not so in your face and is kept in check with the sweeter notes. The lightest of smoke, gooey Demerara sugars, and crushed cinnamon stick. Nougat and buttery dough. Hints of burnt sugar and smoking wood, like from a BBQ pit. Spice now lingers to no more than a hum but it makes sure you don’t forget you were just sipping none other than OW107. Lastly, red cherry from the palate shows up in both the medicinal and Claey’s Hard Candy drop sense. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 92 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Nose: It’s been while since I visited this old friend. I definitely recommend giving this ample time to open up. As the airtime sets in you’ll find polished oak, heavy on the polish and more acetone than I recall from past bottles. Some blueberry scone, medium spice and lumber thats seen some heavy rain. Again let this one open up. Maple syrup and caramel form under the lumber and theres some light cereal notes that will cut through the alcohol with air time. Dark brown sugars come out after about 20 minutes. Now were going somewhere. Some citrus comes out, with red berries like strawberry and some Raisin Bran cereal. Not a lot of spice on the nose and somewhat restrained for 94 proof. To me the nose feels like it’s already been watered down. Lots of woody notes really assert themselves but its kind of all over the place, not so much oak, just “woody”. Dig a little deeper and on the back of the nose I picked up some cinnamon rolls, buttered toast and wood spices tucked away into the back crevices and this light banana note that was nice as well. Nothing really pops out of the glass on this nose and I’m really reminded of Evan Williams just with more brown sugars, overall sweetness and that polish note. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: Body on the palate is medium in weight kept standing purely by the foundation of spice on the tongue, which starts on the tip of the tongue then travels to the sides and back of tongue but doesn’t stray from there. Caramel and brown sugars from the nose come through but are quickly overshadowed by what I can only describe as “wet wood”. This is unmistakably HH with this note of chestnut and walnut that I pick up from many of their products. Some more (wood) polish notes appear onto the palate from the nose earlier, not in a bad sense its just very emphatic throughout drinking EC12. Brown sugars, cinnamon spice and that wet wood note keep coming around. The palate on this just felt a little “watery” and two-dimensional. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: At 94 proof I was hoping for a longer finish. The spice that was cinnamon and woody on the tongue lingers to the rest of the mouth but fades all too quickly and becomes nothing but a memory perhaps triggering another sip all too soon. Light hickory smoke and barrel char notes, vanilla bean and brown sugars carry through. Some paper, caramel and lumber round out the finish in whispers. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon & House Rating: 85 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel, BevMo! Single Barrel #2358 ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Nose: Caramel covered green apples and blood oranges bursting and a squeeze of lemon lead the nose. Ripe orchard fruits, strawberry, oranges, nectarines, more lemons and rhubarb. Fruits turn to old fashioned hard candies with vanilla and milk chocolate. This one takes you right into what I imagine a 1950’s candy shop would smell like. Big candy bar and sweet crunchy textures. I actually found a lot of similarities with the nose of this barrel the 2013 Pappy Van Winkle 20. This clearly doesn’t have that age or even a similar mash bill, but the parallels are there. Most importantly the classic WT profile is here with roasted peanuts and big peanut brittle. Gentle rye grains and spices play well with the sweet notes. Firm oak, cup cake icing, Big Red cinnamon gum, milk heavy dough batter, toffee drizzled cinnamon rolls, and salted caramel covered popcorn round things out. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Letting this nose open up over that past two months really helped things open up. The rye that we all know Wild Turkey uses in healthy doses shows its colors now and really pops out. Their is also this slight, for lack of better terminology, “funk” that I get that comes in the form of a brand new pair of Nikes, still in the box – unusual, but I like it. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: From the beginning sweet hickory and charred barrel. Vanilla and black peppers showcasing an almost quintessential bourbon palate. Then comes the signature WT saw dust and lumber qualities all polished up. Candy shell and chocolate from the nose, but this time the candy is a red cherry flavor, almost sour. Chewy sugars coat your mouth – a little honeydew and cantaloupe, burnt sugar and hardened toffee, peanuts, granulated cane and brown sugars. The oak is chewy along with the sugars, and not to mention savory. Some maple syrup and pleasant baking spices finish out the palate with a slight dryness. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Long. The sweet baking spices from the end of the palate usher you straight into the finish but never leave your side. Dark chocolate covered caramel candies dominate with peanut brittle, sawdust, light oak tannins and humming rye spices w a touch of vanilla. Treacle and black pepper act as a reminder of what came before with more candy sugars and theirs a sweet smokiness – just wisps, like that coming from a lightly charred honey glazed ham, fresh out the oven. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon & House Rating: 94.5 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com

2015 A Midwinter Night's Dram ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Nose: Richly ambrosial. Fresh potpourri with blueberry and boysenberry concentration, still hot in the pan. The French oak and port barrels come through more than Act 2 from 2014 but the rye isn’t overwhelmed by this. Creamy vanilla, crips fresh mint from the rye with some Belgium waffles, orange icing and hints of blood oranges and tangerine. The additional barrel aging takes your standard Rendezvous Rye to new heights on the nose without choking out the classic Rendezvous profile. Dried cranberry, dark purple grapes, Trader Joe’s fruit leather (the apple ones) home-made Christmas fruitcake, cinnamon sugar and vanilla custard. I actually prefer this sweeter nose as opposed to last years Act 2. On the back of the nose I got some gentian and quinine bark, no doubt from the port cask which reminded me of Bonal or Byrrh (port based fortified wine), for you Manhattan drinkers. In fact this is about as close to a Manhattan in a bottle as you’ll get without buying some premixed cocktail garbage. Some apricot and dried fruits round out the nose with some light spices. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: If perfume could translate to a palate, this whiskey has it. White floral notes, rose water with a black and blue berry medley. The lightest of mint and menthol notes delicately dry things out through waves of creamy vanilla. More dark blood oranges, tangerine, plum, sweet cereal and rye grains come through but not as green and earthy as you may pick up in your average rye – the wine barrel finishing def polishes things over. As MWND opens up in your glass you’ll find thick figs and prunes and some vanilla-lemon custard. I also get this reminder of raisins from those little boxes my mom would put in my lunch bag as a child. The body is medium in density and has a very nice mouthfeel, the wine barrel maturation and rye play very well. At the back of the palate oak quietly shows its head, enduring throughout the wine heavy journey in your mouth, and settles onto the tip of your tongue as the port has the last word which comes across as dry, which I find really pleasant. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Sticky raisin, black pepper, black licorice and anise star. Oak is subtle. Lots of sweet winey notes and mint, smoked fruits, Luxardo cherry syrup, banana chips, rose petal, some white pepper. Like a manhattan in a bottle with little to no bitterness. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 91.5 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com