Tastes

This oft-ignored bottom shelf is better than Evan Williams in my opinion. Its availability is questionable. But it carries a 6-year age statement. And after the nixing of Heaven Hill Bonded I highly recommend this inexpensive bourbon. Nose: dusty corn, toffee, a little bit of ethanol but nothing out of the ordinary Palate: rich but brittle, toasted nuts, hints of barley and more sweet corn but not quite butterscotch Finish: medium with baking spices, orange citrus Easy to buy at below $15. Should be explored. It’s my belief that more of this (and the discontinued HH bonded) are what go into Elijah Craig in the older barrels as opposed to Evan Williams. And it shows here. Although the EW single barrel is fantastic in its own right.

Nose: ethanol is louder than I expected for an expensive blended bourbon. Some corn, slight oak, earthy Palate: soapy, briny, bitter but muted traditional bourbon notes Finish: best of the three, some sweetness and less bitter at the end Somehow this bottle got worse over time. Definitely not the best batch of Barrell Bourbon.

This is another barrel pick (Cox & Evergreen, Louisville, Barrel Pick #1, 2019) Nose: while the last pick was bright and reminded me of nosing Buffalo Trace, this barrel is a bit more like standard Elijah Craig: oak, a little briny, buttered biscuits Palate: the last barrel pick was also sweeter on the palate, with some leather; this pick has more spicy vanilla and the sweetest has been turned down Finish: short but still rich, with a little cola, a little more spice The last barrel pick is a four-star bourbon but this one fell a bit below that. Flavors are a bit more subtle than the last pick I reviewed of Elijah Craig but will come back in a week or two to see how the bottle is shaping up.

Nose: candied nuts, peppercorn, oak Palate: rich, baking spices, hints of gingerbread and candy apple Finish: medium warmth but not too hot, very balanced Lovers of Elmer T Lee, Very Old Barton, Russell’s Reserve or Old Grandad might enjoy this a lot. A few drops of water smooths over the hotter rye bits but leaves a lot of the rest intact.

Nose: candy corn, dusty oak, dark fruits Palate: rich, sweet up front then becomes drier, nutmeg and clove, citrus and a little iced tea underneath the spices Finish: medium and a bit warm, rye shines more on this than standard Wild Turkey offerings Delicate and rich, this is a creamier and more complex Wild Turkey that I think most bourbon lovers can appreciate.

Nose: honey, oak, candy corn, slight toast or biscuits Palate: richer and less bitter than standard Beam, mint, baking spices Finish: medium, more spice, and even less bitter than the standard white label I’m imagining in my mind before the bourbon hype (and the stocks were stretched thin) that this is more like what white label used to taste like even if it was lower proof. This is nice and even lacks some of that Beam funk some people detect (including me) that I usually don’t like.

Batch: C918 Age: 12 Year: 2018 Proof: 131 Nose: toffee, biscuits, candied nuts Palate: rich with hints of baking spices, and vanilla Finish: very smooth for the high proof. Probably the smoothest bourbon above 125 I’ve ever had. The only bite comes from the proof level and definitely not the recipe; this is a 10% rye mashbill. Slightly bitter at the end. Overall excellent.

Back in the day this was a definite upgrade over standard Buffalo Trace. Today the two are much closer in tasting notes. Eagle Rare is becoming harder to find, and the two are worth the comparison, but I’ll buy Buffalo Trace over the higher priced Eagle Rare most any day. Still, this is a fantastic bourbon. To me, the 2019 upgrade to Buffalo Trace is EH Taylor Small Batch. That whiskey is what Eagle Rare used to be in today’s available whiskey stocks. Nose: heavy butterscotch and toffee, hints of zesty orange, oak and corn, hints of raisins and worn leather Palate: rich with cola, vanilla, baking spices like nutmeg, more butterscotch, hints of honey and cherries Finish: short but balanced and delicious, way too easy to sip Sweet to start, spicy to finish. This is a great bourbon. However, it’s hard to justify the higher price for Eagle Rare when you can just buy Buffalo Trace. Both are excellent. You can argue Eagle Rare is a bit richer, but not $10-20 richer. And if you find a barrel select of Buffalo Trace absolutely buy. Store picks of Eagle Rare have returned for 2019 and I’m very interested to try those for comparison.

This is the 112.8 proof edition; coming back to this bottle after about a month or six weeks. Nose: butterscotch, vanilla, toast, oak, smoky, approachable, slight zest, hints of raisin and cherries Palate: rich and the rye spices come out on the mid palate but it’s not overwhelming, more fruit including orange zest Finish: medium and balanced, warm but not hot This is Wild Turkey 101 supercharged. Because Wild Turkey goes into the barrel at a lower proof than some, this is a very approachable, rich bourbon that doesn’t have to be north of 125-proof to be quite complex and delicious.

Nose: lemony zesty malt, lightly toasted oak, biscuits Palate: buttery mouthfeel, hints of toffee, more biscuits and slight brine Finish: honey and slight vanilla, baking spices, hints of a grassy flavor Easy to sip and easy to find. Perfect whiskey for bourbon lovers looking to branch out but are turned off by the single malt....maltiness of scotch.