Tastes

Honestly not sure why I bought this. Likely impulse related before tariffs hit the US. Color: pale golden. Legs: plentiful and slow. Nose: stewed apples, caramel and malt that reminds me a bit of Pilsner. No detectable ethanol, wood or nuts. Body: medium, slowly coats the roof of the mouth and leads into a medium finish. No bite, only a slow and gentle warmth. There is a noticeable tingle on the hes plate and tongue. Palate: up front there is vanilla, almost more blended grain sweetness than honey malt, milk chocolate and faint floral/herbal tidbits with a bit of oak that turns again to have some green apple sweetness with slight astringency and puff of smoke in the finish. This is a bit more complex than I expected but there’s nothing standing out. Solid single malt. It’s a bit like monkey shoulder in that it’s basic but well rounded and not offensive in any way. Oh wait, this is likely sourced from William Grant and Sons who make Monkey shoulder (blended) as well as owning Balvenie and Glenfiddich. This is not like either of the latter, so maybe a single malt version, NCF and proofed up version of Monkey Shoulder. That’s exactly what this is. The more I sip the more I like it. It brings me comfort in a rainy October afternoon. The slightly higher proof, slight mouth coating and medium to long finish make this a solid pour. Good intro Speyside single malt without the fuss of a secondary barrel finish. A good pour for someone into corn-sweet bourbon but likely to disappoint serious single malt fans.

A brand re-birth. I was lucky enough to try a very generous pour of this after flipping the bottle around and examine if the label. My understanding is that this particular blend was backed by an investment from the University of Kentucky Football Head Coach Mark Stoops. I would like to pause for a moment and co sister how unbelievable this mans bourbon collection must be. A head football coach in the SEC who likes bourbon enough to invest in it. Coach Stoops, please let’s share a few pours some day if you ever read this. Moving on, the Distillery is headquartered in Lexington, KY but bottling appears to occur in Bardstown, KY. The blend is that of a KY bourbon and rye, aged separately for 7 and 8 years before marriage and bottling. The nose was largely sweet with baked apple pie, slight lemon and chocolate cake. The mouthfeel was reasonable, not thin but not heavy. I did get a small initial bite of heat that faded quickly into a medium warm finish. The palate was much like the nose. Sweet bourbon flavors up front with caramel and green apple that transitioned nicely mid-palate to more rye-cocoa sweetness with a bit of praline that lates into the finish. It reminds me of a High West (MGP) Bourye. It’s a bourbon:rye blend and while the Bourye is spicier with some MGP dill thrown in this was more sweet overall. Next kicker, Bourye also commands $80-90. This is said to be likewise limited (30k bottles) and is undoubtedly sourced, presumably all KY but the details need some deconstructing. It appears that the 7y bourbon is 75/13/12 which could be Beam or Turkey. Interestingly this only makes up 10% of the blend. The other 90% is likely Turkey or HH at 37/51/12. Do you like sweet ryes? Do you like wild turkey? If so, this might be a good purchase. There’s not much to dislike and while I could complain about mouthfeel not being heavy, the finish being medium and the lack of wood and earth notes I suspect most who try this will like it. It likely won’t empress your snobby enthusiast friends but is approachable and will win over most.

2oz pour in a highball glass. McDonald’s maple syrup rises from the glass a foot away. That’s pretty much it for me. Maybe a little milk chocolate or mounds bar but nose is 99% sweet. No wood, nuts or even fruit for me. Body is light and initially smooth but builds with heat and spice... Palate is more imitation maple syrup up front with mid-palate pepper and a short finish bursting with sugar cane sweetness. I annoyed this with an order of chicken and waffles, really a perfect pairing. Solo this would be a hard pass for me due to lacking viscosity, complexity and a longer finish. Novel, but I’d rather pay half as much and grab a bottle of funky Jamaican rum.

Would avoid, but not actively. You could do worse but would take a slight effort.

Hot, complex, gateway to becoming a bourbon hoarder... this is all recall but I found this bottle at a local grocery and nabbed it - my first barrel proof EC and probably the highest proof bourbon I’d tasted up until that point. I recall cherries, oak, leather, clove, chocolate, burnt caramel... basically all good things. The most memorable aspect was the evolution of flavors, like moving around the dance floor in circles. Drank well below the proof and has cost me barrels and barrels of money since to find similar experiences!

Sample provided by a friend from his older stock. Allowed to rest in a glencarin for 5-10m. Color: medium amber, very slow, skinny legs Nose: rye bread, cherries, ethanol singe, pepper, dried brown tobacco Body: medium to heavy, viscous, quick ramp of sustained heat, drying Palate: lids of rich, dark brown sugar, pepper, orange zest, coriander, clove Finish: long and filled with clove, dark honey, and rye bread with a good, strong KY hug Overall a wonderful blend that is heavy enough in body and flavor to satisfy but drinks hot for 92 proof!

This pour came complements of Embassy Suites evening reception. This drinks like a mistake - the kind of mistake that leads to more mistakes... Color: light amber in a plastic cocktail cup Nose: sour apple and corn sweetness, imitation vanilla and ethanol Body: light, soft Palate: ethanol, remnants of oak and imitation vanilla, plastic (legitimately unsure if this is the cup itself or the whiskey) Finish: over before it starts This is a purpose built ethanol delivery system that could lead to bad things.

Whiskey night October - enjoying an evening on the porch with a friend, a fire pit, a few blind tastings and a few new bottles. All samples from a Norlan glass. Tasting order: Murray Hill Club, Batch 7 The Gifted Horse, Orphan Barrel *Larceny Barrel Proof, A120 Lux Row Double Barrel 12y Garrison Bro. Cowboy Bourbon, 2019 Blinded pour #2. How can this be?? My nose completely deceived me... at first I could swear there was rye bread and clove. I never would have guessed what I was drinking! Color: Medium amber with sparse, medium speed legs. Nose: Tons of brown sugar, rye bread, clove, possibly pralines. Body: Medium to heavy, coating, building warmth but not bite and warm finish in the chest. Mildly drying. Palate: Flavors galore. Up front some vanilla frosted cinnamon roll, clove, brown sugar and then a transition to round 2 with some earthy tea/tobacco and mint Tums before flipping back to toffee sweetness and pumpkin pie spice on the finish. Finish: This was a 3-course meal! Nice evolution of flavor profiles and a coating, satisfying finish for over a minute. Verdict - the first time I saw this it is a price tag of ~$100. Needless to say I passed but knowing what I know now there would be no hesitation in grabbing one at that price. Would be steep (but easily justifies $80 in today’s market) and is an absolute steal at the $50 MSRP. I can’t believe this is a wheated mashbill either. At first I thought this would be a high-rye MGP and still can’t understand how this batch is remotely related to 92 proof Larceny. I’ve been humbled for sure!!

Whiskey night October - enjoying an evening on the porch with a friend, a fire pit, a few blind tastings and a few new bottles. All samples from a Norlan glass. Tasting order: Murray Hill Club, Batch 7 The Gifted Horse, Orphan Barrel Larceny Barrel Proof, A120 *Lux Row Double Barrel 12y Garrison Bro. Cowboy Bourbon, 2019 This is a five course meal for the senses... I’ve lost many a starring contest with this bottle as it’s sat on my shelf waiting to be opened. The bottle itself is a work of art. The cork topper is pure copper and could take an IW Harper cork without difficulty. Color: reddish-amber, slow legs Nose: this freshly opened bottle gave off cinnamon, dark cherries and oak that opened up to become richly sweet with pungent honey aromas and darker molasses aromas and with more time a bit of funky tobacco Body: heavy, viscous, even building warmth and then drying in a way that calls for another sip Palate: again, this is a 5 course meal that starts with cherries and dark fruits and clove, then rich vanilla cinnamon roll and tobacco, then barrel char and pralines and then to smoke, dark chocolate, tums mints and ultimately back to molasses and cherries Finish: the plate says it all - this just evolves and balances itself the whole while over a period of several minutes before becoming quiet. At first I couldn’t see the GTS comparison but by the third or fourth sip the absolute richness and cornucopia of flavor, albeit at lower proof, is all there. This bourbon is a black hole - it has far more mass than it should and the closer you get it just pulls you in...

Game on Texas, game on.... Whiskey night October - enjoying an evening on the porch with a friend, a fire pit, a few blind tastings and a few new bottles. All samples from a Norlan glass. Tasting order: Murray Hill Club, Batch 7 The Gifted Horse, Orphan Barrel Larceny Barrel Proof, A120 Lux Row Double Barrel 12y *Garrison Bro. Cowboy Bourbon, 2019 Saved the most intriguing for last. This thing is dressed like a grand martial and the cost of the box, pillow, small booklet (which does contain some fascinating pics of the barrel heads suggesting they are under filled and barreled at 124), leather, was, stickers and 2lb medallion... I’ll get back to the whiskey now. Second impression - there is earth in this bottle. I did not believe the color, but it is truly mahogany and almost a deep brown and purple, so opaque that the flame of a fire pit could barely penetrate the pour. In the bottom of the bottle there was a cot of sediment so thick that I spurned a small dust tornado in the bottle with a single tilt. Color: see above Nose: at first pop, maybe a hint of sweet youth but that is quickly consumed with a swell of molasses, leather, raisin, smoke, hot tires, barn floor... there’s so much going on it’s hard to stay focused. What is equally amazing is the absence of ethanol at +130 proof - I can bury my nose in the glass and not a singe. Unreal. Body: thick, heavy, slow legs, slightly tannic but minimally drying, conveys a gentle solar heat without bite Palate: tons of dark, sweet dried fruits, molasses, tobacco, baked beans, burnt ends... honestly I once again can’t keep up Finish: long, rich, sweet and earthy How is this 5 years old when it drinks with the depth and complexity of a 10-15 year Kentucky bourbon?? How is it over 130 proof?? Don’t let the youth or bottle bling scare you away, the price is likely justified. Assuming as little as 10% evaporation based on barrel to bottle proof this is a blend of no more than 90 barrels and likely as few as 40 thanks to the Texas heat. Thanks to @dubz480 for drawing my attention to this one. Still so many questions, so few regrets. I’m gonna need a toothpick.