Tastes

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 Blind tasting, was told ~115 proof and blend of corn whiskey and 17y KY straight bourbon. Color: Light amber, quick thin legs. Nose: I cannot believe the proof - there’s no singe and no hint of ethanol. Bubblegum, Dymatap, marshmallow cream. Body: Light, mouthwatering and does not coat but goes down clean and quick with no real heat or after burn. Palate: Unsurprisingly sweet with bubblegum, cough syrup, straw, a bit of spice to keep it balanced. No bitter or off flavors. Finish: Quick, clean, one trick pony. There’s no evolution of flavor to speak of (or at least that I can remember). Two things: I called this one out as an orphan barrel pretty quickly on the sourced high age, low proof bourbon alone. It reminds me of Barterhouse 20 but not as complex and really lacks in the oak department. Two, I believe the Bernheim source but get little to no MGP rye from this. Great to try! On to the next one...

109 proof, NAS, red winter wheat mash bill (70/16/14) Color: medium-light orange-amber Body: medium appearance in the glass, medium legs, light on the tongue, mildly drying Aroma: maple syrup, pralines, cinnamon, bit of barrel char, hint of milk chocolate and underlying wet wood that lets you know it’s wheated Taste: cinnamon, allspice, cola, maple, vanilla, hint of cherries and mint Finish: warming in the chest without coating the mouth, maple syrup and pancakes with nuts This is leagues beyond the blade and bow, Bernheim, Wilderness Trail group in terms of complexity and clocks in at a decent flavor:value ratio. It’s just more complex and maintains an approachable palate. Heat is in no way off putting and in no way “bites” like MM cask strength. This is a clear winner if you prefer wheated bourbons, curtesy of a Big Boy distiller. As @dubz480 stated, this gives OWA 107 a strong run for the money and if availability is a factor (which I’m starting to think should be lauded) this again wins hands down. Need to try it against RC6, which I recall being sweeter and a tad more earthy, and the 2020 limited release but this is a clear yes, buy and enjoy me and regret nothing bottle. ————— Revisit brings loads of caramel, marshmallow creme, oak and maple pecan pancakes. The mouthfeel is more tannic/drying than I remember but warm in entry with caramel, tobacco, mint, cinnamon, allspice and then a subtle transition to drying oak with a slight bitterness and something like jalapeño-milk chocolate.

Ok, this is a case of dont rate a bottle by the neck pour. First pop was bond, cardboard, youthful... and then bang! This opened up nicely and now could contend with Elmer T Lee. It’s no Weller Antique 107 (that’s what makers 46 CS is for). This is very good though for being only 6 years. This is a group that I’ve wanted to support for some time. That said, I’m not a fan of most wheated bourbons as the tend to fall flat for me. 6 year bottled in bond, 100 proof, 64/24/12 wheated mashbill Color: light to medium Body: in the glass it has a medium-thin appearance with sparse, thin quick legs. On the tongue it’s light, no burn but also doesn’t coat the mouth in any way, not drying Aroma: loads of wet wood, a bit of vanilla and some sour apple follow Taste: brown tobacco, allspice, a bit of barrel char, Granny Smith apple, vanilla, more oak Finish: mild tingle on the tongue but no heat on the mouth or chest, largely earthy with a hint of sour apple and vanilla What it’s not: - a great value? (but what is these days?) - full bodied or oily - especially complex What it is: - a craft, wheated whiskey - approachable and all day drinkable - light, slightly fruity with plenty of balanced oak, sweetness and just enough spice to keep it interesting I would put this up against Blade and Bow as well as Bernheim Wheat whiskey. It’s not as full bodied as a cask strength makers 46, nor is it as robust. The flavor:value ratio strongly supports Bernheim at $30. This is more well rounded as B&B, and if your willing to shell out another $15 to support a craft distiller then go for it. It kicks the pants off of Weller SR but at more than 3x the shelf price it should! Would possibly take down Elmer as well. The more I drink it the more I understand it. It’s a departure from the cask strength behemoths I’ve sought after but certainly is pleasant!

Part of a flight of four while out. Absolute steal at $35 for the lot. Started with pot still, then 7yr rye, then family estate 12 and 13y. All four in copies glasses. The 12y was bottled at 118.8 proof. The nose on this was subtle for the proof and didn’t wander far from pot still (both a welcome surprise and disappointment at the same time). Lots of warm rye bread but with brown sugar, anise, mint that pot still lacks. The palate is more of the same, a bit of barrel char is added in along with brown butter and more brown sugar. As compared to the 13y this had less heat and lacked some vanilla/cinnamon elements that really made the 13y the standout of the evening. I would probably put the 7y rye second followed by 12y and pot still. Seeing as how I can afford exactly zero of these bottles aside from pot still I might pour the latter and add a dash of Old Grandad 114 and hope for the best... Overall, if you like the rye bread and herbal tea backbone that has gained Willett its cult following then you’ll like all of these if you can find them. Won’t comment on price other than to say it can get outrageous but to each their own. Cheers!

Again, part of a flight of four this evening consisting of this as well as pot still and family estate 12 and 13y. The rye roll backbone of pot still is there on the nose and to a lesser extent on the palate where more heat, char, spearmint show up. Back to the nose - a bit of cola, mint, anise, and maybe cloves? The herbal elements of the 4y are there but take a back seat to the cola and a bit of charred wood. Back to the palate and this is really quite different from the 4y. The barrel comes through more so than the herbal/earth notes. There’s noticeable burnt brown sugar, double mint gum and powdered sugar sweetness that aren’t amplified to the same degree as the 4y. Honestly, between this 7y and the 4y I don’t have a clear favorite. I love the 4y because it’s so different from most rye that I’ve had whereas the extra age of the 7y makes it more “familiar” with the added barrel influence. If I ever find a 7y under $250 I’ll be bringing it home but feel like the 4y remains as solid and satisfying as ever.

Willett gripe - this was part of a flight and I didn’t see if this was the sourced/blended vs 100% Willett distilled that’s becoming more abundant. Are the new and old offerings noticeably different? That I cannot say. This pour smells like a rye roll tossed with chalky Tums. There’s not a whole lot going on but it’s certainly not the traditional corn sweetness of more classic bourbon offerings (ie. Vanilla, spice +/- nuts). On the mouth it is incredibly soft and light bodied. The finish is short and unsurprising. Palate overall matches the nose. This drinks like a young 30-40% rye. The most simile thing I can think of is WR rye but with a bit more character. There is supposedly a 52/38/10 mash bill from Willett per Bourbonor.com that would align with what I think I’m getting but who knows. If you like this then you’ll like Willett. If you hate this then don’t chase $1000+ bottles of family estate.

A 113.6 proof MGP, NAS rye for $40. Can this compete with the acclaimed Rosseville straight out of MGPs rickhouses? What about with new guys like Pinhook’s 4y Tiz Rye or the formidable Smooth Ambler ryes that again, are all MGP! Honestly, how can there be so much competition among bottlers/producers all using 4 to at most 6y MGP rye? Let’s find out... This one. Priced the same as Pinhook’s Tiz Rye. Why I picked this first, who knows. Light in color and relatively light on the nose. Light caramel notes, pepper, hint of dill and lemon peel (not unlike New Riff’s non-MGP high rye bourbon). Mash bill on this one is 90% rye with the possibility of some corn thrown in. Caramel, a bit of leather, dark chocolate and pepper, perhaps a puff of smoke and hint of #4 char barrel in there. Pretty dang good by my standards. Not as earthy or herbal as a 4y Willett and not as sweet or complex as the everlasting finish of Russel’s single barrel rye. I feel like I’ve seen at least one other enthusiast sipper refer to this as Mexican chocolate and in many ways I see the resemblance! Will have to go back for the Tiz Rye, grab a pour of a friends Rossville and possibly crack a recently unearthed Smooth Ambler 4y rye and let the battle rage on. This one certainly threw its punches today. Until next time MGP rye (next time Gadget, next time).

Birthday gift from my brother in law. This was barrel 16-11657 (distilled 2016) and bottled at 103.7 proof. Light amber color and the nose is equally bright. Lots of green apple and pepper on the nose with a serving of ethanol to bring home the “crisp-ness” of this young and ambitious bourbon. There’s some hay, dill and possibly light maple syrup in there as well. High rye anyone? Entry is mildly viscous and peppery but otherwise reminds me of a caramel apple sucker. Wow, this drinks like it’s 90 proof. The longer I sip the more dill and maple come through. When I sit and think back on other KY/IN border bourbons from craft distilleries I feel like this stands out. Peerless bourbon (have not tried their rye) was thick and just plain sweet. Starlight Huber was bursting with heat and came across as a more classic bourbon. This definitely drinks on the field-cut rye side with more herbal notes and is really refreshing. If I had to rank the 3... this would probably go in the middle. With or without the $60 price figured in the Peerless bourbon is dead last. The 124 proof single barrel, store pick Starlight Huber’s and this store pick were both in the $40-50 range and, like Peerless, are non-chill filtered. Maybe it’s my mood but the Huber’s just hit with the right cola, cherry and wood notes. That said, don’t disregard New Riff. I enjoy this bottle and in full disclosure am a big fan of their single barrel rye. Game on craft distillers!

Batch 7, bottle 334 of 700. Older bottle style, 103 proof. The color is an hue of orange. The nose following a neck pour is light with a whiff of ethanol. There’s toasted oak, stewed peaches with cinnamon, a bit of milk chocolate... pepper, cigar. Oh this hits like water on the back of the tongue with an oily finish. Pecans, vanilla, a bit of heat and then a yeast roll, orange peel and tobacco finish. This is what I’d hoped for! Blasphemous comment incoming - this is what a $200, marked up bottle of Elmer T Lee should taste like. The bright, sweet and oaky palate is complemented by an oily, slightly hot and lingering finish that America’s other light whisky company can’t proof or make enough of. At ~$100 this is not a value per se and would be unaffordable as an every day sipper. I can’t comment on more recent batches but this just does it for me. It’s not the clove, mineral and honey laden Remus from MGP. It’s also not the bold, leathery JM triple cask finish. It’s an entirely different, and truly lighter, more floral/earthy and almost BT-like bottle. Debating running back for another bottle before it’s gone, largely due to bourbon FOMO, my inner tater, and the fact that Elmer T Lee won’t be back in my neck of the woods for some time.

Correction - Batch 53. Neck pour. Beautiful amber with a deep red hue. Nose is a mix of astringent shoe polish, copper pennies and at the same time warm vanilla and puff of pipe smoke. Thin, hot, tannic and not exactly balanced. There’s an astringent vanilla that peels through but a bitter metallic taste that sneaks into the finish. Once that fades there is a return of the MGP earthiness and tobacco. This drinks like smoking something - something hot. I liken it to a short stem pipe. There’s wood, earth and enough sweetness to bring you back. It’s honestly enjoyable despite some unusual notes. This may need 3-6 months open to hit its stride. ——— Revisit, opened 2 other times in the past month... got more cognac on this pour at first, then milk chocolate, graphite on the nose. Still a fair amount of astringent grape cough syrup, graphite but less bitter/copper pennies than before on the finish. Some underplayed oak and hint of cigar on the finish as well. No burn - but so tannic that my cheeks are parched to the point of tingling. I need to brush up on my cognac but maybe this is all to be expected? If so, this seems more grape than corn based rather than being a grape-finished corn product... if that makes sense. It’s growing on my but not as a bourbon.