Tastes

I love the Great Gatsby style bottle. The contents - well, $50 for 4 years seems to be a new and irritating entry price for craft bourbon. That said, it beats the pants off of 2 year Peerless bourbon. Trying to pre-benchmark this is still challenging though. For a young bourbon my expectations are not high. The nose is BIG rye and big-ish oak. Caraway, red-hots cinnamon candy, allspice, floral notes, light vanilla, pumpernickel and oak. There is a slight confectioner sugar, and stale bubble gum note that I tend to get from Wild Turkey 101. The initial spice notes make me think of a four roses single barrel. So far there’s nothing not to like. Heavier body than expected but still quite spicy. There is plenty of vanilla, allspice, nutmeg and even a bit of new leather. The oak is really tied to a strangely mineral and sweet element - sort of like floral/clover honey. Honestly it’s a bit funky and the earthy/floral note is hard to place but really unique and interesting (reminds me of Willett 4 year rye but not quite a black tea and mint note). The finish remains rather hot but lengthy and satisfying - those same sweet clover and earthy notes really hang on while the spice fades out. I will say, the closest thing to a flaw is a slightly soapy note between the sip and the finish but it doesn’t stand out and could be related to my hearty consumption of gyros for dinner. I’m pleasantly surprised by this and owe Castle & Key a tip of my glass. I don’t want to hype this - because for stupid, allocated, Kentucky bourbon fever reasons this is apparently already hyped. Regardless, it’s quite good and worth every penny paid. Youth be damned, this is an interesting and slightly daring pour. It’s not one that the faint of palate will enjoy neat due to the spice and sting but the funky undertones are just what this needs to set it apart. This gets a rare 4.0 for south a young bourbon but I’ll stand by it. Just drink it and don’t ogle over the bottle or try to flip it - lest someone club you over the head with it and walk away with their money and your bourbon.

Light amber. Store sampling, hard to draw a conclusion but my impression was thin and relatively fruity with an element of Mexican street corn, apricot, vanilla and a tannic/bitter tea note that throws the whole mix. Very little if the mesquite note from its red-labeled bourbon brother on this one. Seems to be going for the Buffalo Trace crowd.

Quick store sample, well technically 2 samples but still premature to draw conclusions. Nice, medium-dark amber color. Thin but flavorful. Nice mesquite flavor with charred sugar, creme brûlée, grilled corn, rye spice and a bit of cinnamon and maybe even turmeric? Interesting and TX for sure. I can see myself buying a bottle of this in the future.

8 year local store pick. First we have splinters. Dry, woody splinters. This takes some time to open up. Some deep notes of cherry pie, tobacco, milk chocolate, varnish, nutmeg, pepper and cardamom. Each inhalation also results in a painful, and subsequently numbing sensation. There’s no hiding the 126.8 proof. If someone handed me this I might blindly assume it’s Bookers. After all, this is a 120+ proof 8 year Kentucky bourbon. The wood notes really predominate and there is is a nuttiness to it This is hot but is also bright and oily. There is a noticeable amount of wood and cherry - hallmark Elijah Craig. The proof allows some unfolding of flavors as the oil sits on the tongue. There is a great deal of spice and a slightly bitter wood tannin to it. If I had to guess this spent 8 years near the top of a rick house. Adding water brings about a bit more complexity and sweetness. A bit if brown sugar comes out and the spice profile shifts from sharp to being a bit more rounded but it’s still peppery. Early verdict - this lacks the complexity and balance of a good ECBP 12 year small batch blend. Compared to other single barrels of similar ages I’m a bit conflicted. JDBP is softer and fuller. Old Forster barrel proof is a tad more complex, but I’m not sure I love the overall profile as much as this. Not an entirely fair comparison, I will say that Stagg Jr also has a more appealing spice profile and Bookers… this is pretty similar to Bookers. Price, I believe, was around $85 - so $10-20 above a 12y ECBP semi-annual release. With the relative scarcity and assured markup on the part of my local liquor store I don’t think that’s too unfair. This is the same price I paid for OF barrel proof and several Bookers, so again reasonable. If I could still find JDBP at $55 this story would take a different direction but that, alas, seems to be (locally) a thing I’d the past.

So far I’m 0 for 2 - let’s see if we can make it 0 for 3…. Bourbon. This is bourbon. Golden amber in color. On the nose - loads of sweet corn, oak, and spice. There is a very nice vanilla element mingling with old oak, cardamom, pepper and banana bread. There is a bit of dusty cherry as well. The aroma is really a treat. Nothing off putting, no obvious flaws. Leans toward the richly sweet but complex-enough profile of a 9-12 year kentucky bourbon. Guesses? This leans heavily toward the Beam profile. The vanilla/banana bread with pralines makes me think Knob Creek whereas the dusty cherry note reminds me of old Bakers. The rye is certainly there. Bits of clove, cardamom, black tea, nutmeg and tobacco. This really has a wonderful spice profile to it. Rich, full, spicy, sweet and hot but not offensive. Buttery texture on the back of the palate. Quite a bit of wood but not in an astringent or tannic way. It’s close but doesn’t go into varnish territory. Not especially dusty - could see 14 years. The finish finish is a bit like thanksgiving - allspice, toasted cinnamon, baked apples, something a bit savory. Brown sugar, browned butter, tobacco. This a random thought, but this could also be a beefed up Blanton’s. Why? The tobacco note and slightly-sour-apple note. Also @pkingmartin likes nice things and has good fortune - so a Blanton’s Gold wouldn’t surprise me at all. This isn’t hot enough to be SFTB, which I dont recall being as interesting as this. Nosing the empty glass yields a very big, funky tobacco note that has me leaning more BT than beam… let’s go BT, possibly mashbill 2 - but it would be the best mashbill 2 I’ve ever had. Oh the shame… the shame. I’ve hated on this label since it’s inception. Who needs another 5-6y MGP that someone mucks around with a secondary finish and floods the shelves with?? Wax poetic aside this really was quite nice. I’ll hand it to MGP (presumably their 30+ percent rye) for the vast spice profile. The toasted barrel gives that lovely vanilla and the whole thing ties together beautifully. Also worth nothing that of their many experiments this one won favor with Justin’s - so I expect it will be good (anyone that charges $500 for a flight of Pappy has a reputation to uphold after all). If Justin’s has more of these I’d honestly go for it, whereas I would previously been a snob and missed out. Ideally these would go for $50-60 but no idea what this one cost. Thanks to @pkingmartin for keeping me humble!!

Time for another episode of do I know my anatomy from a hole in the ground, brought to you by the generous @pkingmartin! This, for starters, looks like bourbon. The color is rich and natural with a slight orange or light copper hue. The legs come down in sheets. The nose is high octane - felt not smelt. I’m guessing 120+ proof territory based on the singe. Lots of rye spice, bit of varnish and old wood. There is some peanut brittle, walnut, vanilla, cherry, banana, old books, cinnamon and nutmeg. The longer it opens up the better it gets. I would guess 15yo Beam if I had to gamble. Could be Barton but at this proof os more well rounded than most of their stuff. Big, spicy, oily and a bit tannic with plenty of esters. No doubt this is 15y Kentucky high-rye bourbon. The brown sugar and pure vanilla extract are front and center, then walnut and a bit of varnish and leather alongside allspice, turmeric and cinnamon. I’m gonna go all in with this being a 14-15 year old Beam distillate (or the mystery one-off that likely came from Beam, ie. KY Senator, Old Soul 15, Chicken Cock 15, 78.5/13/8.5, etc). There is a bit more brown sugar than what I remember about KY Senator 15 but has the same, nearly bitter ending riddled with tannins and a dash of old books. Certainly a sophisticated, high proof pour that’s spent some time in the KY heat - right? Wrong. Completely wrong. 9 year Dickel. I’ve never had a beer-cask finished bourbon and am left a bit speechless. This drinks like something much older than it is. I also don’t think of beer as tannic but maybe something between the beer being low ABV and interacting with the wood first changed the chemistry of the interaction with bourbon. I can see the deeper toffee and perhaps even the leather notes coming from a brown ale finish. In fact, maybe the alpha acids from the hops somehow impart those near-bitter tannins. Who knows. How to rate this. I would say it is every bit as solid as the 15y mystery mash bill. The problem is that is is also practically as expensive without offering much more. I will say that the extra pop of brown sugar is welcome compared to the mystery bill. I’m knocking KY Senator way down due to cost and will give this a square 4.0.