Tastes

Here goes, hoping for a little bit more characters than the Woodford wheated whiskey. The body is pretty thin and the legs are pretty quick. Color is a medium amber. The nose honestly doesn’t offer me much. I might get a little lightly toasted oak and green apple. The first sip is pretty smooth, but also pretty bland. The flavor is almost bittersweet in a way. The second sip brings around a little bit more leather and caramel with maybe a little bit of raisin in the background? Still no burn, and no spice as one might expect with a wheated whiskey. Revisited this last night with my father in law. He like it, which is generally a bad sign. Actually chewing on it I got a LOT of smoke and char this go round. I missed it at first - probably cuts any sharper oak flavors to keep it smooth but gives it an unbalanced funk that doesn’t play as well with the lighter grain notes. Still don’t love it but wish I did. Gimme Larceny any day over this one as it layers much better (still not saying much).

Second go around. I feel like the body may be a little bit heavier and the legs just a little bit slower in the glass than I noticed before. Nose was again a bit dusty and astringent at first but opening up I do feel like I appreciate more cherries and leather. There may be a little bit of baked apple pie behind it as well. The palate definitely has some quick sweetness that is washed away with burn and a little toffee. Two drops of water does something to bring about maple pecan pancakes, but doesn’t do much to change the pallet. I really wanted to like this one. I have high hopes to find a wheated bourbon that isn’t such a pain in the ass to hunt down. Sadly I don’t think this is the one.

This particular bottle was purchased early 2019 from Liquor Barn in Lexington. The plaque states to be a 14yr barrel rather than the 9yr on the printed label. Bottle has been opened twice since then and put back due to the bear-spray like sensation it left me with. The color is dark amber but the nose is a little off putting for me but likely not for all - roast peanuts and toffee. There is also some warm vanilla and pepper - and ethanol astringency. The fumes make my eyes water if I get close enough to the glass... I’m thinking 120+ proof if that’s possible. Oh the burn!!! White pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg? Leather whip to the face. Vanilla in the background. I don’t think I should breathe near open flame. Looking back at the legs they practically don’t move. By this point some of the toffee and vanilla are coming back up my sinuses and the oak and leather sit on the back of my tongue. 2 drops of water - a move I rarely take. Vanilla toffee bomb! Now we’re talking. The burn is still there but more balanced with the oak and leather notes. I’ve never had Stagg Jr but I can’t help but wonder if these are similar... time to hunt.

The color is an amber orange and the legs are slow to appear and slow to walk down. The nose is dominated by soft cereal notes, bits of pistachio meat and raisin. There are apricots and toast as well but spice is notably absent. The palate is so incredibly smooth. There’s a balance of light oak, honey and dried fruits. It leans toward being rather sweet but not offensively so. A little bit of salty ocean spray comes across on the backend along with a subtle warmth but never a burn or a bite. There is definitely more whiskey than sherry but the dried fruits and nuttiness make themselves known. I can’t help but feel this is a bit underwhelming though. Compared to Glendronach 12, for example, there seem to be no earthy or spicy notes whatsoever. The one perk is that there is zero sulfur. So smooth, so inoffensive - so boring. Oh well, everyone has to start somewhere. I hereby declare this to be the Buffalo Trace of sherried malts - and Glendronach 12 would be the Eagle Rare!

For someone who is largely a bourbon drinker this just comes across is totally different. First of all the color is a pale straw. I was surprised how much the nose hits me a foot away from the glass as pale as it is! It may just be a mental association between the pale color and apple juice but that is absolutely the first thing to hit my nose. Bringing it a little closer I almost get an Apple cider vinegar. There is also quite a bit of sweet malt, something like I would expect from an Irish whiskey. Sniffing and I seem to pick up something like new oak. I don’t get much in the way of anything nutty, earthy or spicy. The pallet has a tingle of a burn but is largely overwhelmed by malty sweetness. Mouth feel is pretty thin and the finish the short and dry. Now back at the nose I wonder if I pick up a little bit of heather and honey, but I could just totally making this up. The second sip is smoother, with a little bit more of the honey sweetness coming across as well as maybe raisins or dried fruit. I don’t get much in the way of oak the first few sips but as I continue to drink on I feel like towards the end of the pallet maybe I pick up the Japanese oak? Do I enjoy it? Absolutely! Would I jump up and shout “this is Japanese!” Doubtful. Regardless I will enjoy finishing this bottle.

Long awaited for a Kentucky boy... supposedly has been available at the distillery in Loretto for a month or so but this one showed up on a local shelf and promptly followed me home. Warm, amber color in a glencarin. The nose is rich and sweet with maple, butterscotch, orange peel, tobacco and toasted oak. There’s really not a hint of alcohol. Here goes... spice forward! Cinnamon and the sensation of licking pop rocks. It’s not a smooth wheater by any means. The second sip is of course smoother with more vanilla, butterscotch and oak coming through with hints of allspice before a short dry finish. Overall really pleasant. Sitting here moments afterword I peel like I’ve licked a cedar plank. There’s still a bit of tingle going on between the tongue and roof of my mouth and a maple sweetness from the throat and back if my nose. This is one I will have to put head to head with cask strength makers, which I recall having a much thicker mouth feel and more caramel sweetness. This may be a bit more balanced, and I really don’t want a higher proof out of it. There’s never an ethanol aroma but the chest certainly feels the proof. In summary - like eating maple pecan pancakes at a fall bonfire as the leaves crackle under foot of those running about. Happy Autumn bourbon fans. ———— Fast forward one year. The tree canopies are hues of red, gold and the last flash of green. This bottle is a vanilla and maple syrup bomb on the nose. Legs fall and arrest before Milk chocolate, cinnamon and oak waft from the glass. Ethanol is there to remind you to be cautious. Thin on entry. Cedar, vanilla, nutmeg and a milk chocolate and oak finish. A subtle, warm hug. It’s fall once again.

Color is between golden and amber with a warm, almost orange hue. The nose is forward with familiar peat smoke and plum aroma. The background is filled with oak, leather, toffee brittle and cloves. The pallet has a smooth, thick mouth feel. Many of the aromas come across on the pallet in the finish is long. There is a toffee, malty sweetness with dark cherry and stone fruit flavors. The oak and smoke return at the end, and then sweet fruits again, and then smoke... the flavors play around long after the last sip. I feel significantly more sophisticated after this dram - almost as though I’ve traveled the world. The smoke and the sea of Scotland, the sweet vanillans and leather of a day at a Kentucky horse race and the fruity notes that leave me wondering if sherry casks didn’t in fact play a part. Grown-up whiskey, should never be without a bottle.

This is a re-do immediately after a dram of Buffalo Trace. The latter is getting harder to find but no where near the pain in the ass that it is to get your hands on Weller. The color is pure gold and the nose appreciable from a few inches away. Really very similar to BT in that it’s not complex - ripe banana, cherries, wet oak and Dawn original dish soap come to mind. This bottle is around 2 years old now and the soapy smell is one I don’t remember from before. Again, vs BT the nose is pretty straightforward but without any baking spice. Damn smooth with mild honeysuckle, slight vanilla, prunes and bananas. The finish is short and sort of a sweet/sour. Almost seems like a little rye or more time in the cask could have fixed the unbalanced finish. Ok, shut up and drink again. This time I could be convinced there is some buttery caramel in there but mostly honeysuckle and good old corn-based sour mash sweetness. There might also be a bit more of a tobacco finish than I appreciated before but aside from slight ethanol there is no burn/spice/kick to it. Is it easy to drink? Absolutely. Worth countless trips to multiple liquor stores time and again - sometimes waiting in line on a Saturday morning for up to 2 hours? Given the price of $30 for 1.5L it’s a value - but probably only if you’re from KY. If I was in a pinch and BT was in the shelf or in a hypothetic world where Weller is t as over-hyped as it is I might honestly go for BT. Blasphemy! Ok fine, I’d rotate the two for a daily easy sipper and never feel like I was missing out (except for emotionally, because you anyways want what you can’t have).

This one was a gift from some friends after a year of surviving plenty of ups and downs. It definitely put a smile on my face because we’d shared it together and had a great night once before. Alone on the porch, we’ll say it stirs memories more than my palate. Light golden, nicely aromatic for the color. Sweet corn, cherries from afar with baking spices as I nose in. There’s maybe a faint hint of oak here but not much. It’s very smooth with slight oak and corn mash and ripe banana sweetness. There some slight spice and heat from the mid to back of the sip. Nosing it again I get more of the same as before. Second sip is just as smooth and has an unsurprisingly short finish. I do continue to get some damp woody flavors and ripe banana but nothing much in the spice or earthy departments. This is a good one to pour for friends who are new to whiskey neat. There’s nothing to run away from but nothing to really run back to either. In a lot of ways it reminds me of a Weller special reserve + damp oak and slight baking spice. Both are true to my heart as a Kentucky bourbon but more discriminating whisky drinkers will likely want more than the slightly spicy, young-ish, corn based whiskey that it is.

The nose is very sweet and playful. I pick up vanilla, butter scotch, and something like raspberries are good old fashion red Kool-Aid. If I sniff on I feel like I detect just a bit of oak as well as a warm pipe smoke aroma like black Cavendish. I don’t get a lot of spice. Others have said toasted marshmallow which I can see that I don’t think you’ll be my first guess. The precipitous moved on the pallet and I feel like raspberries and caramel come through. There’s a bit of baking spice to it but it doesn’t seem to predominate. In a lot of ways he reminds me of a softer version of old Forrester 1920 and it’s complex but just without the heat and spice of its higher proof brother. I think the only thing lacking would be just a little bit more smoke or char. Otherwise this is excellent.