Tastes

Another lovely, no-frills, old-school bottle. Priced right and widely available, this is worth a try at least once. It pours a light golden color with medium legs, not unexpected for the age and proof of a bottom shelf BiB. The nose is not robust per se but there are very pleasant notes of cherry, oak, pecans and faint ethanol. It comes across the palate feeling thin but again pleasant with balanced cinnamon, pear, banana, vanilla and bubble gum. The finish is gone in an instant but not unpleasant. This hangs below WT 101, EW BiB and for a few more dollars EC small batch (but definitely above the likes of JW Dant, Jim Beam white label and light years beyond Kentucky Tavern and Kentucky Gentleman). If you are rotating mixers and appreciate the likes of EW BiB and WT 101 I would highly recommend bring this home at least once.

I love the appearance of this bottle - no frills whatsoever. The BiB statement and 100 proof for around $15/liter... how bad could it be? The short answer is not that bad, but there are better options. This pours a light golden with quick legs. The nose is just funky and a bit astringent. There is imitation vanilla, play dough, walnuts. The oak component is what I think lends an almost acetone-like scent. The palate is fairly thin and lands with mild heat, creme brûlée, dusty attic tones and a black walnut bitterness rather than clean oak. The finish is medium and the funky black walnut bitterness hangs in the sinuses. There are pleasant parts but the finish (Daniel Kannaman's peak-end effect) sort of sinks this one. Fun to try, not one I'll purchase a bottle of.

I was only able to have a taste but the finish followed me all the way home. The nose was full of smoke and dark honey and tha palate bounced from smoke to floral notes, then smoke, then pine, then smoke then herbal tea, then smoke, then a bit of orange zest. I would like to have had a bigger sample and more time with this. Not medicinal, not full of ash, more like an Ardbeg but not with as much citrus as a Corry. Extremely pleasant and would strongly consider a bottle.

Let’s be fair here, this is a $20 bottle being propped up by Total Wine and wasn’t designed to be earth shattering. The story behind it is interesting enough. The distiller and blender have Brown Forman DNA and the former us also distilled for Michters and Angels Envy. The nose is vanilla and butterscotch, plain and simple. Maybe a little oak. Mouthfeel is thin with very mild heat. No surprises here, just more butterscotch, vanilla, faint wood, apple pie. Not bad really. I’d drink this again if offered without hesitating. If on a $20 budget I’d bring home WT 101 first or BT if I see it for $22 (what it’s worth). This could find its way into the $20 rotation though.

OL0614 bottled at 60.7% abv. The maturation in oloroso casks gives this a rich nose of raisin, Fig Newton, vanilla, brown butter and just a bit of young oak. It’s like the aroma of warm maple syrup - if it was made from raisins. Thick mouthfeel and swell of spice and heat (should have seen that coming) and then almost straight cream sherry for minutes at a time. The first 2 seconds make me think caramel-sweet bourbon more than malt but there is some toasted malt character. Before I can decide what the sweet element reminds me most of a kick of wood, clove cherry and cinnamon swell and then a freight train of raisin, salted caramel, oak and browned butter drag me along for miles. A bit of nuttiness sneaks into the finish a likely from the oxidation of oloroso. Fantastic. I love this. I genuinely enjoy the >120 proof, the heat and the viscosity. I’ve never met a scotch like this, although I’m guessing Arbeloue A’bundah would be close. The catch is this is $70 instead of $100 and I’m not sure I could be more pleased. If I could be then it will cost me... Some will no doubt be turned off by the heat but this dram makes rewards those who dare. The malt character is a bit lost in all the Sherry and might disappoint some but I believe it reveals itself briefly in the flicker between palate and finish. It’s incredibly sweet and might best follow a meal but I crave this enough to pour it on an empty stomach after work. [Crowd chants] “Sherry, Sherry, Sherry” and then they throw gas on the fire.

After the 17y BiB Masters Keep I thought it would be prudent to turn to the infamous 101. Marshmallow fluff, canned pears, new wood, nail polish, cherries, pink bubble gum, wintergreen. Mild viscosity, warm and spicy with lots of vanilla, a little clove, allspice, bananas, and another ester that I think is the “old book” funk of Wild Turkey. There is balance, such balance between the wood, vanilla, spice and fruit esters. It’s not as “big” per se as Russel’s Reserve SB and lacks the citrus and stone fruit. It’s also not as densely sweet and spicy as Rare Breed. Certainly not as “dusty” as the 17y BiB but that’s not what I want here. I don’t want old, I just want affordable and good. And it is both of those things. I honestly might take this over a Henry McKenna SF World Spirit winning BiB. The body, balance and finish are almost every bit as good with a bubble gum and slight mint twist. Wow. It is “sharper” and less refined than a HM BiB or it’s RB or RR counterparts. It doesn’t “pop” with flavor the way a OF 1920 does and it lacks the earthiness of BT mash bill #1. But who cares? If price is factored in this is a solid 4.5 out of 4.75. It won’t upend anyone’s opinion on whisk(e)y but is a fantastic example of what can happen when grain and wood meet. The heat is quick and tingling but not offensive to a seasoned bourbon drinker. Nothing about this is unpleasant to me neat. That said, at under $20 a bottle this is almost mind blowing to me. No more hunting thanks, I’ll sit on the porch and drink Wild Turkey 101 any day. If the unaffordable scotches and allocated bourbons all disappear some day but this remains then we will all be ok. Actually, better than ok.