Tastes

You ever get a bottle of bourbon as a gift and wish people would have just let you drink your own bourbon in peace instead? This is that bottle... Batch 4, case #2730. Finished in Chardonnay barrels. Others have mentioned other wines but this is Chardonnay only. The nose has a punchy amount of caramel with tones of raisin, milk chocolate and ritz crackers. Entry is viscous with caramel, grape jam and then a slow transition to a strong vegetal note that reminds me of having a sinus infection. Why. This may work for some people. Sadly, I believe it is essentially an April fools of a bourbon - a well disguised prank. Never has a finish so ruined a bourbon. I want to drink more and find that it goes away but it keeps coming back. Lovely bourbon - and then something takes a dump in my mouth. I’m gonna go sit in the corner and burn this off by slurping Bookers mixed with cask strength Makers.

Spring 2019 Unlimited Spirit pick. This one has been open for a while just below the neck. For what it’s worth I’ll cut to the chase. Nose of canned peaches and sawdust, hint of pipe tobacco. Quintessential BT without unexpected frills. Palate is light, zero heat with an array of light, fruit forward flavors and very short finish. Canned peaches are back with just a tad of vanilla and new wood. Not really worth the $20 premium over the standard offering. That said, I’ve had single barrel offerings that drank like 12y+ heavy vanilla and aged oak barrels. This was somewhat the opposite but I can see the zero-heat appeal.

My early days of bourbon drinking consisted of Elijah Craig, Four Roses single barrel, Eagle rare and if I could take it I would go for Bookers or Bakers. This was the first bottle of Old Forester I ever purchased and in hindsight I can’t say why. Maybe it was the bottled in bond statement. Maybe it was an interest in what American whiskey of the olden days tasted like. Maybe it was on sale. Maybe I lied and I bought this alongside their standard 86 proof expression. The 86 proof was gentle on my young palate whereas the 100 proof BiB brought the heat... but in a good way. With the heat came flavor, or rather flavors. They were big. And I liked them. And then I tried more bourbons neat. I learned to appreciate the singe of Bookers. I spent too much money. I drank lots more bourbon. I said I would stop buying bottles... In short, this was an excellent gateway bourbon and I don’t know that it gets enough credit. I say that, and certainly could have been blown away by a comparably priced bottle of Rare Breed, Russel’s Reserve or numerous others. But I didn’t stumble over one of those. This has a nose that punches out of the glass with vanilla sweetness. There is dark chocolate, wood burning fireplace, apricot, over-ripe banana, cherry, green apple, nutmeg... it just keeps going. There is a nice medium body and then a building head and flood of sweet vanilla, tobacco, leather, fruit and barrel char. The finish is decently long as well with a warming Kentucky hug within the chest. Somewhere along the way in by bourbon adventure I was lured by the harlot that is Buffalo trace and sought (without luck) my own bottles of Rock Hill Farms, Elmer T Lee and single barrels of Buffalo Trace and EH Taylor. What I loved about some of those I believe this bottle has in spades. The sweetness, body, fruit, barrel char and well balanced spice. Look, when this bottle is gone I won’t have to pay $300 to some shady Facebook bottle slinger or waste countless hours hunting. If this is too bold or brash for BT fans then so be it. I’ll take this over many of BT over-hyped, marked up expressions any day. Not only will you find it anywhere - you may even find it on sale.

This is my mother-in-law’s go-to bourbon. That statement itself is telling. Having grown up in Bardstown, KY she is no stranger to bourbon but that doesn’t mean she will drink anyone under the table either. If the proof was any lower this couldn’t be classified as bourbon... and it shows. It has a very light copper color and a nose of sawdust. Going deeper there is rye bread, faint caramel, a bit of varnish and possibly some eucalyptus. Thin, thin, thin. Burn? We don’t need no stinking burn. I believe this has alcohol in it though. A wash of rye bread, peanut shell and possibly a bit of Hershey’s chocolate hiding toward the short finish. Good grief. With a mash bill of 63/27/10 the rye is front and center but in a disappointingly singular way. This is only better than Kentucky Tavern in that I don’t worry about going blind after drinking it. Only thing premium here is the packaging. I hesitate to even recommend this as a starter bourbon with standard Buffalo Trace, EW white label and Old Bardstown BiB being half the price and every bit as approachable with far more complexity and sweetness.

The nice thing about giving bourbon as a gift to your in-laws is that you 1) still get to drink the bourbon and 2) subsequently care less that you are stuck at you in-laws. Blanton’s - the perfect gift bourbon. If you can find it. So damn sweet. So little burn and so easy to drink. I hate to love this bourbon. Dumped 2020... some good things still managed to happen. Light golden color with sparse, slow, tear drop legs. I let this one rest ~10 minutes due to being a newly opened bottle. The nose at first is a mix of crisp oak and acetone but within 10 minutes there is plenty of oak, apricot, Wurther’s original candies, milk chocolate, vanilla... maybe some dry brown tobacco. Light on entry with a mellow heat, loads of vanilla, bit of nutmeg and allspice, maple, oak, nougat, citrus fruit and some earthy cigar wrapper notes. The finish is lingering and sweet. Not oily, not drying, just lingering and sweet as derby pie. It lacks very little but is certainly on the sweet side. Mouth feel could be heavier, finish could be longer but I’m pulling at straws.

Oh the hype. I finally found a backup that I egregiously overpaid for as part a local bars effort to keep avoid closing their doors. I figure it was a good deed... This pour comes from an old screw top bottle, probably open and 1/3 gone after 4-5 years. Was originally a birthday present obtained via a friend of a friend. Light copper in color, thin slow legs. Nose is heaps of fresh sawdust, cherries, ethanol, slight maple and imitation vanilla. Maybe a bit of pecan and tobacco but they’re faint at best. Thin, quickly builds with heat and mild sting. Loads of vanilla and cinnamon follow before settling into a dusty bit of milk chocolate, tobacco and mero chino cherry. This is good. I would say $45-50 good. It is very similar in profile to MM 46 CS as @dubz480 has said before. Actually reminds me quite a bit if the MM wood finishing 2020 as well with the sawdust but still has a thinner mouthfeel and shorter finish despite being a similar proof. The earthy, dusty flavors are excellent though but I’m a sucker for pipe tobacco aromas and flavors (sentimental reasons). Definite buy at MSRP. Admittedly I just paid double and if not for the sake of supporting a local establishment I’d be upset. Read before you sign... and then drink it.

Tasted alongside their standard offering and double oaked at the distillery. The WR high-rye backbone is apparent throughout. The original double oaked ha the strongest nose and the double double wound up with the most subdued nose. Color progression from standard WR up to this demonstrated a step toward darker honey with the double double having an almost red-honey hue. If WR is rye bread, apples, peaches, cut grass and pepper with a bit of leather then double oaked is butterscotch, rye roll, cinnamon, toasted almonds and a bit of oak char. This, double double is their standard mashbill aged 5-8? years and then left in a new heavily toasted (40min), lightly charred new oak barrel for 2 years rather than 8-12 months. Start to finish the mash goes into copper still #1 and by #3 comes off at 158 proof. It’s then diluted to 110 for barreling. Again, the only difference between off the shelf double oaked and this double double offering is an additional 12mo in the second, newly toasted barrel. Nose again is subdued with rye bread backbone, less butterscotch and a whiff of herbal tea. It reminds me a lot of Willett in that sense. The palate is full of oak, dusty nutmeg, marzipan, tobacco and a soft rye, butterscotch and cherry finish. Fantastic stuff but I do wish the finish was longer and the mouth feel heavier as others have noted. At $50 for a 375 it’s pricy but against a Willet product is comparably priced for a simile profile. It’s years beyond their standard offering and sure to please anyone who likes their double oak. Admittedly I bought 2... maybe I’ll have more impulse control next year?

This was a sample provided by a friend, and a generous 4oz sample at that! I went into it blind and first guess would have been a BT product based on the light but balanced nose - apricot, wood, floral notes... wrong. The palate landed hotter than expected - a kick of heat that faded gradually into a nice viscous coating. Admittedly I had no idea of the proof and guessed somewhere around 115. It was full sun-dried oak and maybe a bit of cedar. There was a rush of cinnamon and nutmeg that faded to an earthy, wet, brown tobacco. Subsequent sips brought out more walnut mid-palate. The finish was medium and showcased some of the stone fruit and wood notes once again. At this point I’m thinking 10-14 years. Profile had me stumped. Nose like BT, palate not unlike HH or an odd Beam. More cinnamon than I’m accustom to with HH. At this point all of my guesses were wrong. I was told 125 proof and 8 1/2 years. This would make it the most mellow and complex Bookers I’d ever had or... this can’t be 1792... Unlike the barrel pick I’ve come to adore this locked the bananas foster notes, had more cinnamon and that amazing rush of wet brown tobacco. I honestly scratched my head and wondered how they could be the same. Goes to show what difference a single barrel can make and I will have to put these head to head at some point. Both are fantastic and I honestly might prefer this bottle over my single barrel for the earthy/tobacco notes that I love from Eagle Rare. Can see why this one continues to be lauded, there’s some magic in them there barrels. Would go higher in the score if the finish lasted longer or there were some flavor switch ups. That said, this is without detectable flaw and very well balanced.

A tale of three bourbons. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Take several of my favorite distilleries, blend their well-aged product and charge a hearty but honestly not unreasonable price given the work required to make it all come together. Is it worth it? Is the sum better than its parts? Sadly no, not really. Is it still incredibly enjoyable? Yes. Nose really showcases the older MGP. The oak and anise jump out of the glass as well as a bit of funk. Good, but almost muted as compared to my high expectations. The body is medium viscosity at best and a bit hot, but not unpleasantly so. Lots of up front wood notes and a bit of pepper, then an almost bubble yum sweetness that I get with Wild Turkey and possibly the oak and cherry notes of Heaven Hill. What I couldn’t pick up as well was the mineral/pencil lead and anise notes that I love about MGP. They are subtle and tucked into the finish with a bit of leather but not showcased (for being ~50% of the blend). This is no Boone County! I shouldn’t have expected to be either but was disappointed with the lack of “oomph” on the palate. Neither is it an ECBP gobstopper of fruit, wood, chocolate, etc, etc... Need to give it some time to be sure but at $130 likely not a re-buy when I could have a bottle of both ECBP and Remus for slightly more and really enjoy the flavors separately. Would miss the Turkey funk but a bottle of rare breed thrown in would fix that. Ok, now getting well above the $130 mark but also getting 3x the volume. Buy it, share it, dissect it, enjoy it. You won’t head this one as “my precious” and maybe that’s not a bad thing. ———— I still love this, but if you’re still reading save $100 and buy a bottle of WR Rare Breed instead. You’ll thank me. Note - this is delicious but is there’s 95% overlap and honestly the added bit of sweetness here detracts from the balance that rare breed alone strikes.

Kroger Wine & Spirit Shop pick! 2020, the scourge of years. Grew up on floor 8 of warehouse K. This monster clocks in at 134.4 proof and looks ready to wrestle. The legs are whisky and quick. This color is beautiful - a deep red-copper color. The nose is great - cinnamon, cherries, vanilla custard, tobacco... I hate to disappoint myself but there is a clear resemblance to Stagg Jr at this point. Did I forget to mention that my nose burns from the ethanol? Because it does. Bracing myself, oh this is a party in my mouth... a riot of spicy, sweet, woody, earthy goodness. The burn is there but takes a minute to set in. The mouthfeel is heavier and oily as it finishes making its way around the palate. The finish is delicious but gains a bit of slight bitter almond that didn’t quite reveal itself earlier. Going back in, cinnamon churros, pecans, almonds, anise, toffee, vanilla, cherries, ripe banana (to let you know it’s OF), pipe tobacco and some wet leaf/fall funk! I’m not disappointed in the least. Oh no, I embrace this bottle. Others have had bad experiences and as regrettable as those are I will say this experiment works out at least sometimes. The finish of vanilla, banana, anise... it’s all still going. The proof could be part of the difference and explains some of the Stagg Jr magic. I would honestly equate the two and am happily unapologetic. It’s like rolling a Jeep down a hill as the flavors are ejected - somewhat quickly but each one discrete. The thing lands at the bottom, upright and you grip the wheel and think “damn it’s good to be alive!”