Tastes

Full disclosure - I believe their FP version of 1792 is among the best FP offerings available. In a blind tasting I would likely choose 1792 FP over the likes of Weller FP but short of some EC BP. Regardless, if you are a fan of the 1792 FP profile this is simply a lower proof rendition. Golden orange. Lovely aroma of bread pudding, vanilla icing, cloves, cinnamon, unripe banana. Perhaps the slightest bit of leather but overall a wonderful mix of baked goods aromas. Lots of clove and cinnamon roll up front on the palate with a bit of wet pipe tobacco then a bit of a sour fruit and vanilla note into a moderate finish. This checks all my boxes. Coming in at something like $39 this is an absolute steal and definite re-buy whenever I come across it.

What I can say from memory is sipping this several days ago is that this outshines either of the 2020 batches, which isn’t saying much. This one was still youthful but at least slightly interesting and in no way unpleasant. The mouthfeel is borderline heavy, which was really nice. Plenty of soft rye grain, plenty of corn sweetness and a nice balance of barrel spices. Peanut shells, bit o mint. If I took a guess this would be a 51% rye but a little homework suggests a mashbill of 63% rye, 17% corn and a whopping 20% barley. This would be a great $25 bottle. At $30-35 I can defend a local micro-distiller (where others charge $50-70). Sadly this can’t compete with a $20 Rittenhouse although it is much softer and more likely to be a general crowd pleaser.

Tasted blind. Crisp yellow with very thin, quick legs. Nose: bourbon-esque wood, chocolate chip cookies, dried mango, funky library books, pomegranate. Palate: Lands a bit hot with lots of dark honey malt and leather moving toward some floral notes and then dark chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts. Body is thin to medium. Toffee shows up alongside the macadamia nuts on the finish. There’s a slight allspice tingle but nothing more than bittersweet. Finish: Very subtle with dusty, dark malt and bittersweet toffee and shortbread cookies. Impression: It’s nice to just experience straightforward, unadulterated malt flavors on occasion. This seems like the Master’s Keep 17y BiB equivalent of something like Oban or Glenfiddich 14 bourbon barrel finished. It has a “dusty” quality and bourbon influence (so basically wood) without the distractions of peat, smoke or a strong wine barrel finish. Nothing about this tugs at my heartstrings but nothing offends. This is a nice, grown up malt. Reveal: Glenfarclas 1990 (2018 bottling) CS So the math would make this a 28 year Glenfarclas! Those who are math savvy are disappointed but being numerically challenged and easily entertained I am fascinated at the difference between the standard 25 and this 28. For one I had no idea this was cask strength. There isn’t a sharp edge to it. The “dusty” quality helps showcase the extra aging and isn’t overwhelming in any way. The three years difference do seem to swap the sweeter raisin finish for that of a bittersweet, more “mature” finish. I personally enjoy sherry and will pour it after dinner on occasion. Whereas most younger expressions encroach upon a whisky-finished sherry the older expressions I’ve had are certainly more sherry-finished whisky. At this point in aging my palate can no longer appreciate the nuanced sherry influence. So far @Contemplativefox is really helping me cypher my ideal age window for scotch and it seems to be that 15 to 25 are the extremes (for my palate and wallet). This pour was a great experience but for now my palate just can’t appreciate anything much above 25y or $150.

Bottle 17, Barrel 292. Dumped 12/20. Nose: funky mushroom, vanilla, lemongrass, peanut, hey, cola Palate: thin, hot, peanut brittle, allspice, caraway, a little sour cherry Finish: medium with candy corn and muesli - this is where the high malt % comes through it seems From what I understand a friend purchased this on a wayward, off ramp journey somewhere around Cleavland, OH. The pit stop itself was abysmal and made parts of Kentucky sound like Valhalla. This was one of the few bottles of liquor he could find there. With that said this is quite passable. Young, but passable. I cannot, however, in any way recommend it when so many other $20 BiB exist.

Dark amber, almost mahogany. Very Texas. Nose is HOT! There is a whopping amount of cola and wood with a dash of canned fruit salad. I can recognize that this isn’t bourbon but don’t know that I’d identify it as a single malt. There are fascinating sour cherry notes along with caraway seed, dried mango and something that is not quite mesquite but not standard American oak. Palate: Fruit galore… like, fruit city. Sour, tangy, sweet, bitter, zesty, citrus and orchard all together. Caramel soft candies. Oh, and cola and a bit of barbacue sauce. Is there a dash of Worcestershire sauce in here? Man, this is all Texas. Or at least 90% and maybe 10% Speyside. Finish goes on for days with caramel candies (the kind on wax wrappers), red grapes and a bit of caraway and adobo. Wow, this is bizarre. I understand they use several types of oak barrel (Hungarian, French, American) for their standard single malt and perhaps being a single barrel this comes from American oak - but it sure doesn’t taste like it. I suspect some of the fruity notes come from the mash but the mesquite and Worcestershire notes… I just don’t know. Rating this is inherently difficult for me. I would take almost any full proof bourbon over this and practically and Scotch. Not that I think this is bad, it’s just incredibly different. For what it is (Texas barbecue on the 4th of July sort of thing) I’d say it’s a solid 3.5, which might be selling it short but it’s the sort of thing I enjoyed trying but wouldn’t ever seek out. Thanks to @ghill40509 for the generous sample! Certainly makes me want to get more into American malts!

On the nose this is a bouquet of caramel, cinnamon candies, oak, I ripe bananas and cherries. The palate mixes it up with more of the same and a medium-thin mouthfeel. Adding water brings the caramel forward and makes for a silkier mouthfeel. The finish moves toward cedar and pine before deciding on a lengthy stretch of herbal mint tea. I think this cost me $14 for a 2oz pour and I’ve seen it on sale for $45 a bottle. I think I’d gladly pay the $45 for a bottle but wouldn’t put this at the level of a $65 RR single barrel rye, Rare Breed rye or Willett 4 year. The real question is how would this stand up to Pikesville Rye - a question I need to answer soon…

Lovely amber hue. First in the glass a nice waft of rye spice and brown sugar - signature Knob Creek Rye. One of my favorite tues this far was a 115 proof store pick. Funky and hot. Signature brown sugar, buttery sticky buns, red hot candies and heat…. But the funk is almost off-putting, sort of like lemon dish soap. With time a good dose of mint, leather and cherry comes out as the funk breaks up. Chinese five spice. Peanut shells. Blood orange. Creosote. Ash? And with that I no longer have nose hair thanks to the ethanol singe…. sorry but it’s true. Ok, so this one takes time. Let it breathe and the rewards are there. Still almost frighteningly spicy, oaky and hot but that brown sugar is always there to tie it together. BOOM! Vanilla, oak, lemon, mint, buttered toast… lots of heat… cherries, candy cigarettes, floral notes, red hot candies… more oak and allspice with a bit of nutmeg, browned butter and baking vanilla into the finish. I will say that the finish isn’t my favorite. It’s a bit bitter and tannic compared to the lower proof KC rye. What about water… no change on the nose. Mouthfeel becomes much more silky and the floral and herbal notes come out right away. This is liquid potpourri. I definitely prefer the palate more with some H2O added. Also elevated the finish to showcase more of the oak, mint, eucalyptus and cinnamon candies. This is the louder, more reckless but possibly fancier KC rye and doesn’t try to please anyone with an abundance of sweetness. There are some points where this reminds me of George T Stagg, for better or worse. It has some bitter character, is hot as hell and isn’t for everyone. Drinking it makes me sort of angry, but in a good way? Anyway, thanks to @pkingmartin for the sample! I’m strongly considering adding a bottle to my collection with the understanding that not many people will drink it with me unless they are also already drunk and angry.

Another fading memory at this point but a good time had with @ghill40509 on a weekday afternoon. What is unequivocal is that this is better than the overpriced 15 year version complete with fancy decanter. The profile is similar to that of JTS Brown bottled in bond - lots of dry oak, vanilla, cherries, allspice and maybe a hint of clove and tobacco. It's not a stand out but for the value it is another bottle to strongly consider and puts the 15 year to shame in terms of both flavor and VFM.

I don't know what this costs but it sits between the standard 86 offering and their 1897. The layers of caramel and vanilla remind me of 1897 but the bitter, over-aged banana on the palate kind of ruin this for me. The barrel strength cranked to degree of pain tolerance packs way more flavor but still run the risk of tannic ester flavors. As usual, choose your barrel picks wisely. Thankfully I paid nothing for this pour but would have parted with a solid $3-5.

Notes from memory here. This pour was free to me. I mean to say that this was poured at bar where my division was hosting a graduation celebration. So essentially I've slaved away and been underpaid to get to this point, making this the most expensive pour I've ever had. As compared to standard 101 this has less caramel on the nose and more wood and varnish. The bubble-gum sweetness and caramel are there but in the back seat. The mouthfeel seems a little heavier and the rye spice a little more predominant with a tannic but moderate finish where the classic bubble gum and caramel balance out the wood. As others have said this is good, but is it 3x as good as WT 101 for the price? I would say absolutely not and for the same $ there are better options (including the 116 proof Rare Breed and 110 proof RR single barrel). In the event that a barrel pick is done by a reputable source it might be worth a shot but otherwise save your money. Score here reflects value. I wound up sipping 1791 full proof after this and the upgrade was astounding.