Tastes

Color: Medium Copper-Amber Nose: Wow! That's a helluva nose... woody/oaky, molasses, leather, orange creamsicle. I really hope the palate can follow through on this nose... Palate (drank with a large ice ball): Initial sips bring about oak, spiciness, and slight sweetness. Mild chest hug reminds you of the 100+ proof. Some nice things going on here. As per usual, I'm struggling to articulate specific flavors... but something akin to a "cherry" cordial — no! Bubble Gum! Like Topps Baseball cards stick bubble gum. As the ice slowly dissolves, a mellow holiday baking spice comes through. Finish: Medium with a nice "buttery" quality to it, along with the holiday spices from the diluted bottom of the glass. I think I'm also getting "black pepper". I might sometimes confuse "spicy" with "black pepper". Final Thoughts: Dig it! I really need to grab another bottle of both the Jimmy Russell 70th and the standard 101 to do a blind. But this is definitely an exceptional bottle. 4.25 stars!

I visited the Ragged Branch Distillery in Charlottesville, VA last week. I had a flight of their BiB Rye, BiB Signature Bourbon, and BiB Wheated Bourbon. The latter took top honors, so I brought a bottle home... Color: Medium-Dark Amber. Nose: prune (fig?), molasses, vanilla beans, slight alcohol and oak. Palate (drank with an ice cube): Very little burn. The "prune" or "fig" from the nose carries over to the palate. I always like that... drives me crazy when the nose holds promise, but the palate doesn't follow through. The last time I got these sort of notes was from Stellum. Sweet and spicy..... I've been drinking this all night, and the more I sip, the more "grain" I get. Not a negative... just wanted to add it to my review. Finish: Medium, slightly drying with the prune profile really seeing things through to the end. Final Thoughts: Before posting this review, I didn't have any specific recollections from when I tasted this at the distillery. But I knew there was a reason why I took it home. This is different in a good way. Solid 3.5 stars.

Color: Medium Copper Nose: Caramel, Oak, Cinnamon Red Hots, Buckwheats cereal. Palate (drank with an ice cube): Initial impression is, "light-bodied" with a mild chest hug. Sweet but not overtly, with a slightly bitter bite on the sides and back of the tongue. Just got a shot of "orange peel" on the 3rd or 4th sip. Not much else is coming through on this first pour... just some familiar "bourbon" characteristics that I get from most bottles. Second pour... some nice holiday — or, should I say, Holladay — spices come through, as the ice melts into it. Finish: Slightly drying with some more tingling and spices. Final Thoughts: I always expect wheaters to be more sweet than I typically find them to be. This is no exception. I'd say this is more spicy than sweet... and while not the most complex or multi-dimensional bourbon I have ever had, it's quite good and I will definitely enjoy finishing this bottle. It has certainly piqued my curiosity about other Holladay offerings. 3.0 stars.

Color: Medium Copper Nose: Butterscotch, oak. Palate: (Drank with an ice cube ). Not the hottest or strongest Booker's batch I've ever had. Spicy and oaky....mildly sweet. I really don't have much more to add. It's good, as I'd expect from Booker's. But it's probably the most understated Booker's batch I've ever had, if memory serves. The nose overshadows the palate — which is always unfortunate. Finish: Medium with the spice and oak being the predominant features. Final Thoughts: I had two pours at a restaurant this evening. When they told me they were pouring Pinky's Batch, I jumped at the opportunity to try a batch I never bought. Not disappointed, but not blown away. 3.25 stars.

Color: Medium Copper Amber Nose: Youthful nose of corn and varnish. Palate: (Drank with an ice cube ). Hmmmm (rubs chin)... Slight burn upon the first sip. Slightly musty flavor. As the ice melted into it, a "butterscotch" note came through on the nose, that I didn't get at first. Unfortunately, it doesn't carry over to the palate. Not much else to say. Finish: Medium and slightly drying with some musty, woodiness. Final Thoughts: I'm torn. I don't think this is all that good, but it's almost got some redeeming qualities to it. It's different, for sure. I've had worse. I'm actually heading up to the Ragged Branch Distillery tomorrow, and plan on tasting a few of their whiskeys, of course. I can at least eliminate this one from my flight. This was a small "nip" bottle that I picked up at a Liquor store, btw. 2.25 stars. Not great, not awful.

Color: Medium Copper-Amber Nose: Sweet Oak, Leather, Molasses, Caramel. (Nice nose!) Palate: (Drank with a large ice ball) Very Maker's! Initially, "spice" comes at you... followed by the inevitable tongue tingle. Definitely getting the oak staves. So far, very oaky and spicy. Not much burn at all. Going in for a second pour... I need to identify more than just, "spicy" and "oak"(!)... Nope! Nothing new. "Spice" and "oak". Darn! Finish: Medium with the tingle, oak, and spiciness lingering the most. Final Thoughts: I wanted to have my socks knocked off... I wanted to report that this is "special". But what I am getting is a decent Maker's Mark release. If you like Maker's Mark, in general, you will like this — you might even love it. But I wanted more to jump out at me, and nothing did — at least not with these first two pours. Looking back, it appears that I was more impressed by the "Heart" release. I may need to grab another of those and do a blind. It's really the only way to know for sure. 3.75 stars with the possibility of an upgrade, depending on future pours.

Color: Light copper Nose: Somewhat light and slightly sweet nose at first whiff, but becoming more "grassy" upon further nosing. I've got to say, I think this is the first time I've ever gotten a definite "grass" note from any of the nearly 200 bottles of bourbon, rye, and other whiskeys I've had over the past 4-5 years. Palate: As it's such a relatively low proof, I decided to drink pour #1 neat... and, Jeez! Was not expecting THAT chest hug. Second sip brings on a tongue-coating spice bomb. This is interesting... there's something coming through that I just can't pin point. The chest hug is lingering. Crazy at 90 Proof. I think I am detecting "youth"... yes, "youthful corn". Not sure of the age statement (because there is none), but I'd be surprised if this were older than 4 years. I'm guessing less. I'm going to drop an ice cube into pour #2 and see if anything comes out of it.... Not really. I'm getting maybe a little more "oak", and the ice definitely tamps down that burn. Maaaaybe, the ice is bringing out a little more sweetness... maybe some caramel (?). Further dilution has revealed some "not-quite-ripe apple". Finish: I'd give this one a medium finish, with some spiciness and some slight bitterness. Final Thoughts: I don't typically order whiskey online. But I've been looking for Old Bardstown Estate for a while now. When I found it online, with free shipping, I decided to pull the trigger. But what did they send me? The wrong Old Bardstown! (Womp-womp). I decided to keep it, and unfortunately I can't say it proved a happy accident. This is youthful stuff with not a whole lot going on. I mean, it's not bad, but it's not great. Definitely not worth the price I ended up paying, even after I was reimbursed for the screw up. Probably a mixer mainly. 2.5 stars.

Color: Medium Copper-Amber Nose: Maple/brown sugar, leather Palate: (Drank with an ice cube) Spicy tongue tingle with oak tannins right off the bat... a moderate chest hug ensues. I'm getting a good dose of barrel char. As the ice melts into it, holiday spices and licorice starts to come through. Nice. Finish: Medium with lingering spices and more of the licorice from the palate. Final Thoughts: Huh! This is pretty good stuff. As for Bulleit, I've previously had the orange label Bourbon, the 10 Year Bourbon, and the Rye. This is clearly my favorite of the four. Interesting to note... When I went back to my grocery store today, to talk to my liquor guy about the bottles I bought yesterday, he told me that they can't keep this on the shelf. Apparently, it's popular. Indeed, there were none left. Glad I grabbed it. 3.75 stars.

Color: Medium Copper-Amber Nose: Sweet nose of bubble gum, marshmallow, Chocolate milk mix powder, and the faintest whiff of alcohol. Very nice nose on this one! I hope the palate follows through on it.... Palate: (Drank with an ice cube) First impressions from the first sip are "grain-forward". No chest hug whatsoever. Something akin to "graham cracker" follows... there's something coming through loud and clear, but I'll be damned if I can articulate it. Perhaps it's the corn in the mash? This is not very spicy, nor is it very sweet. I expected the latter, going on the nose. But this is just an oaky, tannic pour. It lacks the "smoky" and the "sweet" that I look for in Bourbon. But it's "good". I want to add... I agree, completely, with the expert review here. Finish: Medium with some lingering spice and grains. Final Thoughts: When you've tried as many Bourbons as I have, you get to a point where you know what you like. But the thing is, you really can't know if you will like one until you try it. And so, sometimes we have no choice but to buy bottles and see where they take us. In the spirit of that, I would say this is a, "Try Before You Buy" bottle. But that's not always possible. Not every local watering hole carries every bottle that you could possibly want to try. And so, we have no choice but to buy in order to try. In this case, I bought a "good" bottle in order to try it. But it doesn't check the boxes that I want checked when it comes to my bourbon. 3.0 stars. Added 5/2/25: After coming off of some high proof Stagg Jr., I poured myself a night cap of this stuff... hit with a "peanut" note that I didn't get on the first few pours. As a result, I am upping my rating to 3.25 stars.

Color: Medium Copper-Amber Nose: Cinnamon Red Hots candy; molasses or maple. Palate: (Drank with a large ice ball) Oak tannins are prevalent from the first sip, followed by a pretty big chest hug (for just 100 proof). Spicy and slightly sweet. Very oaky... tingly on the tongue. This reminds me a lot of some Old Foresters that I've had. Strange. It's distilled by Barton 1792 — of which I've also had a handful of... so, maybe it's actually those that this is reminiscent of. Going in for pour #2, to see if anything else comes through... Nope! Second pour, identical to the first. Baking spices and oak are the main attraction here. Finish: Medium, slightly drying, spice and oak. Final Thoughts: This is a decent sipper for the price — I actually paid $10 less than what I have indicated (with a special weekend promotion at my grocery store). I'd place this in the, "Bourbon that gets the job done for a good price" category. Nothing to write home about, but one that I would buy again — drink again, at the very least. 3.25 stars.