Tastes

This is among the most pale whiskies I’ve ever seen. It is a pale straw in the glass juxtaposed against Willett 4 year. Both are wonderful but I feel like tasting this by itself just didn’t do it justice. Plenty of ethanol on the nose with grassy, spearmint and rye grain notes. There is a bit of snickerdoodle cookie in there as well as dried apricot and maybe even a bit of nougat. The grassy, minty notes are there on the Willett as well as a bit more oak and floral notes but for a fantastic rye it’s almost a bit boring in comparison. The Seagrass just has a funky not-quite-butterscotch sweetness that livens it up. When this hits the tongue - there is an explosive chain reaction. It is hot and oily with upfront rye spices and vanilla and then like dipping your partner a bit too abruptly the apricot, molasses an butter pecan notes take over. It’s as though palate 1 is hip checked out of the way by palate 2. From start to finish this is an oil slick. It’s unconventional but makes me want to take sip after sip just for the experience. So back to Willett 4y rye for a moment. The dark brown sugar, spearmint, cardamon, roasted cinnamon and anise are all there I spades with wood balancing things out. Many of those notes are there with Seagrass but are whisked away in the blink of an eye. So - which is more satisfying? The Willett is so classic, so balanced and so good with earthy tea and tobacco notes. It’s comforting and predictable. The Seagrass - well, it’s complicated. The mouthfeel is outstanding and the beginning classic but the end just a bizarre fruit and almost cloying sweetness. But somehow it works. So there you have it - unconventional but interesting and likely to satisfy if you want to shake things up but likely a bit too left field if you just want classic rye which is stolen quickly from the tongue with this one.

3rd floor, Rickhouse U, Barrel #2 (barreled 2-6-03, dumped 4-20-17) This at firs hit like you would expect a 115 proof version of Elijah Craig would do. Big cherry and lots of wood. At 14 years it’s definitely more of a musty wood but we’ll balanced with vanilla frosting, a bit of heat and notes of leather and cedar. There’s more but if you’ve had an EXBP you know what to look for. No surprises but just a bit more varnish and old wood after an additional 2 years. Chewy. Not viscous per say but the flavors are so dense that you go through 2-3 plates as you actually chew on it and move it around your mouth. At first it’s musty old oak and allspice, then more clove and fruit, then the vanilla frosting and pecans, then just flame broiled sugar and flan before a very long wave of old oak, leather, dried figs, cherries, maybe even a bit of citrus (sort of a bitter blood orange thing) and tobacco. This is like an ECBP with softer edges and yet somehow more complexity. It seemed a bit more fruit forward than woody but it carries its age well. How they decide which mashbills, proofs and ages will earn the label I do not know but I would like to have been part of the barrel sampling journey along the way to know exactly when to dump this one.

Blind pour on a summer evening. Color: light amber, very slow teardrop legs. Nose is bountiful cherry, gala apples, figs, cinnamon, banana, brown sugar, maple syrup and oak in the distant background. The oak and a bit of varnish and tobacco come more forward with time. Bits of rye bread and spearmint in there as well. This is a 9.5/10 nose. I could breath this in all day. Hot and sweet, viscous with a blast of maple, brown sugar and spice with a turn toward an oily, oaky finish propped up some of the fruit esters. Wow. The allspice, clove, peppermint, dash of white pepper all mixed in with brown sugar and vanilla - then the oak/earthy and sweet tobacco notes. This finish just keeps going. What is this?!? It’s big and bold without pushing too far in any one direction. Not tannic or drying. Not bitter in any way. No funky esters. This is so well tied together. This is so Heaven Hill turned up to 11 but with more dark/sweet/earthy notes than I’ve gotten from, say, ECBP. There are no big dill or cedar notes so not MGP. No Turkey bubblegum funk. No Barton banana funk. No over the top stonefruit and vanilla BT characteristics. No Beam peanut funk. I’m sticking with HH but who knows. I’m still getting wood, sweet cherries and tobacco with vanilla sugar minutes later. Is this a blend? Sweet Heaven this is good. Very good. Good as in best pour I’ve had in a while. Age - maybe a sweet 9-13 years, leaning toward the 10-12 but sweet enough that it could be younger. Whatever it is they yanked it at exactly the right moment. Oily enough to be an aged, wheated mashbill but oh so good. Better than Larceny Barrel Proof good. And so wonderfully spicy. I’m out on the mashbill a parts of the nose say high rye but the oily finish is uncanny. This - somewhere in the top 5. Better than Bardstown Distillers series #3, Cream of Kentucky 13 and possibly even the likes of Weller FP (almost too earthy some days) or ECBP A119 or B520…. Won’t hurt you like Stagg Jr or GTS. This is at least Kentucky Owl batch 10 territory. Better than my beloved Lux Row Double barrel or Garrison’s Cowboy?? I’m afraid to say - this is quintessential, well executed and crave-worthy. Absolute thanks to @pkingmartin for whatever this is - it could be just about the best bourbon I’ve ever had. Reveal: Little Book Chapter 4 Wow. Well done Beam, we’ll done! I’m guessing the brown rice whiskey imported some of the unusual viscosity? This also seemed much more fruit forward than typical KC or Bookers (although I always thought Bakers had a noticeable amount of cherry). Being a blend it does have some unfair advantages - but I don’t care. Expressions like this one leave me asking why we aren’t seeing more blended American whiskey expressions outside of Barrell? The creative license beyond blending barrels from a single distiller has clear potential and in this case tremendous results (although it’s all still Beam at the end of the day). I will say that High West Bourye and WM Tarr fall short of what this accomplishes but I say keep at it because this is phenomenal.

Blind pour #2. Dark amber with thick, slow legs. Oak for days with gobs of spice. Pepper, cinnamon, chili powder. A bit of leather. Dark brown sugar. Dark tobacco. Maybe a touch of cedar. Overripe banana esters. Library books and maybe a bit of sesame oil. Slight varnish. Super interesting. If I had to guess this is 13-14 years old and north of 110 proof, high rye mash bill. Profile at first made me think Elijah Craig but there is more of a Barton or possibly Brown Forman edge the longer it sits. Thick with wood, spice and brown sugar. Like licking a cedar plank crusted with burnt brown sugar. There are many more wood and earthy notes than sweet or fruity notes here. This bourbon could masquerade as a brooding bounty hunter in the dimly lit corner of a bar, his face illuminated only by the draw from his hand rolled cigarette. The finish is dry with leather, dark tobacco… and on the back of the tongue Beam peanut. Is this a Little Book? Could this be Beam with a twist? I believe it is very, very possible… Reveal: Bardstown The Prisoner #1 So my hunches are once again entirely wrong. Tennessee = Dickel around 98% of the time it would seem. I will say this is unlike their highly acclaimed BiB which had way more fruit to it that plays much more of a supporting role here. Honestly the wine finish was missed on me. Oak and spice were 2/3 or more of what came across but could be what is eaten, barometric pressure, etc. Overall this was still an interesting, enjoyable and flavor-packed pour. It certainly drinks like something I’d expect to pay $100 for. Despite being the opposite of what I would expect this is something I would likely pay MSRP for if I wanted something that drank like a well aged and earthy bourbon. Another shout out to @pkingmartin and for the excellent find and for generously sharing this with me! Definitely an educational dram if nothing else.

Blind pour. Golden amber in color. Fast teardrop legs. Fruit, soft grain and young oak. Makes me think of 4R and BT profiles. Apricot, pecan, bits of dried fruits. Subtle light brown tobacco and vanilla. Rye bread and tea. Medium to thin on the tongue with a burst of mild heat, fruit, vanilla and then a slow fade to oak, rye and tea notes. No big surprises. I’m wondering if this isn’t an EHT single barrel with the subtle tobacco notes. It also reminds me of Elmer with a bit of extra oak and BT mashbill #2 fruity notes. The finish is short with vanilla, fruit and light brown tobacco. So, I don’t know what this is but 4 out of 5 EHT lovers would love this. It also reminds me a lot of a Murray Hill Club batch but now we’re getting into the weeds. Likewise could be a Hancock or Bowman brothers (tweaked) BT distillate. I’m going with BT mashbill 1 1/2 (or maybe 1 3/4). Reveal: Blood Oath Pact 6 Well hell. I can see now where the cognac barrels really brought out the stone fruit in this. Likewise the rye still manages to poke through and the oak plays a big role. Altogether seems well executed but not exciting. Much like Buffalo Trace. I will say this - the $100 price tag makes this a better value than Elmer T Lee on the secondary. That said if you can score an EHT small batch or Blanton’s at MSRP of $40-65 respectively then go that direction. Thank you to @pkingmartin for sharing this one with me!

Golden yellow in color, whispy quick legs. Aroma of stewed apples, hey, honey, heather and just a bit of barbecue and maybe slight peat but no smoke. Mildly viscous with a puff of smoke, bite of wood spice and then heavy, creamy blanket of sweet lightly caramelized malt and a bit of crisp apple and handful of dried fruits and and en essence of barbecue. The smoke comes through more and more with each sip. The finish is on the sweet honey and heather side with some of the cerasote underneath. Empty glass smells of heather, citrus, malt and smoke. This is a great introductory dram. It has no real flaws and nice balance. My only complaint is that I wish it would take a stand and be a bit more bold. It doesn't call me back but it certainly is enjoyable.