Tastes

My third review from my visit to the Litchfield Distillery yesterday afternoon. Tasted their Cask Strength at the distillery, and also brought back a small bottle to have in the comfort of my (parents') home. "Aged 4 Years"... drank with a small ice cube. Color: Medium copper/amber. Nose: Leather (think, "Old leather-bound book") and toasted corn... almost like Fritos! Palate: Initial sweetness with a nice tongue coating. Spicy tingle and slight burn ensues, as well as a nice warm chest hug. The higher proof (the highest of Litchfield's expressions) really makes itself known. Oak char comes forward on the back end. Finish: Long with a tingle that could almost be described as, "tongue-numbing". Raisin and licorice comes out on the tail end This is good. It wasn't my favorite of the five I tried, but it will either be #2 or #3. I'll know once I revisit the Straight Rye shortly...

My second review stemming from my visit to the Litchfield Distillery this afternoon. Tasted this Straight Bourbon at the distillery, and also brought back a small bottle to have in the comfort of my (parents') home. This bourbon is aged, "At least 4 years"... Color: Light golden amber Nose: A much more classic bourbon nose with subtle vanilla, allspice and some corn coming through. Palate: Youthful grain flavors with a tongue tingle and very little chest hug. Mildly sweet and spicy with oak char. Finish: Short with a customary lingering spiciness and woodiness. This is not my favorite of the handful of whiskeys I sampled today at the distillery, but it is decent bourbon that I would drink again.

Visited the Litchfield Distillery today. Had a great time tasting whiskey, and even learned some things I hadn't known before with regard to the distilling process. Tasted several of their offerings, including their Port Cask Finish... and I also purchased a small bottle to try at (my parents') home. Nose: Didn't get much from the nose here at the house. It's almost as if the time it spent in the Port barrels cancelled-out the usual nose I get from straight bourbons. Palate: Spicy, slightly sweet, oak. I got the "Port" more from the tasting at the distillery than from my home pour. Finish: Short. This was my least favorite of the five I tried today. Not bad, not great. However, wish I had more because I find I discover more from subsequent pours, as more notes tend to reveal themselves over time. More reviews of other Litchfield Distillery whiskeys to come...

There's a lot going on here. I will need to buy a bottle and taste it in a more "controlled" setting, as I typically do when tasting/reviewing. But my preliminary notes on this Knob Creek 12 Year... Color is a deep rich Amber. Nose: Caramel, Vanilla Ice cream Palate: Oak, Vanilla Finish: Nice long finish. Excellent. Can't wait to grab a bottle when I return home from a trip.

This was a spontaneous purchase. I'd seen it for the first time yesterday, and ended up buying it today.... The nose was promising. I got "maple-cured bacon" from the get-go. I'd hoped the palate would follow-through, but instead I got a funky chemical taste that I assumed was peat (I'm not a fan of peated whiskey!). But as it sat (with an ice cube), it began to reveal itself a little more — which elevated it from, "Meh!" to, "Hmmm!". I got a nice blast of sweet roasted corn. I realized that was what I initially mistook for the peat. The finish... not much to report on. Short, I guess you'd say, with not much to add. This is a young whiskey. Statement is, "Aged at least 2 Years". I thought it was going to prove my first ever drain pour. But the late stage corn revelation granted it a stay. 2.25 stars for not being my jam, but not totally awful, either. Added 7/14/23: The "cured maple bacon" reemerged on the palate in tonight's pour. But this stuff is still too "Scotch-like" for my tastes. Too "musty" and funky in general. Will sound strange, but I almost detected something akin to sweaty socks just now. I think it's too peaty. I hate peat. Lowering my original 2.25 to a 2. I might even dump this stuff down the drain tomorrow morning.

Was out with the wifey for dinner, saw this on the whiskey menu and figured I'd give it a try. I've had the Redwood Empire Pipe Dream bourbon, and I liked it very much. So... I agree with Expert review: this is on the "fresh and more youthful" side of the Rye spectrum. Light nose, and initial spicy palate with some sweetness. Similar spicy/herbal profile to other nearly-all-rye-mashbill Ryes I've had, but with less of a punch. 3.0 stars. It's good Rye, but I will most likely repeat-purchase Sazerac, Rabbit Hole, etc. — or one I've not had yet — before I consider buying Emerald Giant for the first time.

Drank with a large ice ball... Oh, my goodness! The nose begins the journey with a strong initial whiff of alcohol, followed by oak, leathery sweetness and allspice. The palate is spicy and smoky wood (think "campfire"), followed by a warm initial chest hug that stays with you for a few sips. Dark cherries, and some sweetness follow and another good dose of spice hits you on the mid palate. The finish is long with a welcome appearance of buttery Sara Lee pound cake(!) which totally took me by surprise. These limited releases are dangerous because if you end up loving them, subsequent searches prove difficult and/or expensive. This is one such bottle. If I can find another bottle at SRP, I'll snatch it up. If you see it for under $100, grab that thing! 4.25 solid stars!

Nose: Butterscotch, allspice. Palate: Sweet, spicy. Cherry cough syrup-like qualities. Lots of the same flavors I have tasted in many other bottles. For me, all bourbons share much of the same profiles. So, as much as I was hoping this one would stand out from most of the others, it didn't knock me out. It's "good", but nothing special. I don't know... sometimes my opinions will change once the bottle is open, and I pour it again. Maybe my mind will be changed after subsequent pours. I've now had Old Forester 1897, 1920 and now the 1910. As of now, of the three, 1897 is still my favorite — with 1920 close behind. Been sipping on this all night. Moving my original rating of 2.75 up to 3.0. It's a decent pour. Added 4/22: I bought a bottle of OF 1920, and conducted a blind vs. this 1910. I got heavy molasses on the nose from the 1910, that I didn't get from my first pour. But, in the end, the 1920 won the day.

I've had Four Roses Small Batch, Small Batch Select, and their Single Barrel. None of them made a positive impression on me. The fact that I have not reviewed any of them would indicate this. Tonight, I'm giving the Small Batch another try... I've concluded once and for all: I do not like Four Roses. There's just something weird and funky about the off-spicy flavor I get from every expression they offer. (Shrugs).

I had the Russell's 10 Year some time ago, and I was impressed. It took me a while to get around to the SiB, but I finally did... Initially, I got a strong alcohol nose — not surpring, as this is characteristic of higher proof whiskey (in my experience). But it soon gave way to leather and rich butterscotch. Yum! Before the first sip, cherries came rushing forward. The palate is sweet(!) and mildly spicy, with a hint of tart apples. The finish is long with lingering flavors of Sarah Lee Butter poundcake and even some spearmint... and of course, a nice warm hug in the chest. This is what I would consider a superlative bottle. Will definitely buy again and keep on-hand.