Tastes

🥃 - Old Fitzgerald BiB 9 year Spring 2011 Proof - 100 / 50% Sweetness - 7 / 10 very nice sweetness mixed with some earthy ness Dryness - 4 / 10 a nice smooth mouthfeel that coats the palate but isn’t extremely juicy Burn - 3 / 10 nice soft warm hug. Not much of a burn but a lingering warmth. Flavors - cherry, oak, peanuts, caramel and chocolate up front turn to vanilla and brown sugar with toasted nuts at the finish Bud’s rating - 7.5 / 10 Feel extremely lucky to have got my hands on a bottle at retail when PA dropped this! It’s a super smooth soft easy to drink bourbon. It has a great mix of sweetness and earthy tones. I really enjoy some of the unique flavors and the lower proof just makes it a great pour. Would love to try more iterations!

🥃 - Henry McKenna Single Barrel Bottled In Bond Proof - 100 / 50% Color - Light Amber Nose - Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, light oak, warm baking spices Flavors - Oak up front followed with a little bit of peanut, fades into heavy vanilla fading into a caramel and cinnamon finish. Sweetness - 7 / 10 This is a sweet bourbon, it’s a really delicious and enjoyable warm inviting bourbon! Dryness - 4.5 / 10 This is a very nice mouthfeel, a good coating to the palate and a nice finish on it. Burn - 5.5 / 10 Just a little bit warmer than the proof would have you believe, very warm and soft, a very inviting and easy to sip bourbon. Bud’s rating - 7.75 / 10 A very very solid sipper at a lower proof and lower price point. I am very much not one of the ones who goes after the “crazes” for bourbon. I bought this because it was available online, it was retail, and I wanted to give it a shot. I will say for the proof, the price point, and overall experience of this bourbon it’s great! It doesn’t hold punches, it’s sweet, it’s got a great mouthfeel, this is what a good or great bourbon should be. I can only imagine this same barrel at cask strength would be something worth crazing over. If you see it, grab it, but don’t chase it either, overall it’s just great.

🥃 - Larceny Barrel Proof Proof - 114.8 / 57.4% Color - Light Gold Nose - Oak, spice, cherry, some nuttiness Flavors - Oak, peanut brittle, honey, spice, finish turns to caramel and heat Sweetness - 3 / 10 Definitely a more earthy bourbon not as sweet as I prefer Dryness - 2 / 10 This has a really full oily mouth feel. Burn - 6 / 10 I wouldn’t call it hot, but it’s definitely warm. A nice even warm enveloping hug. Bud’s rating - 6.75 / 10 This is a solid barrel proof offering. I wouldn’t say this is a run for the hills must have but definitely a fine sipper and one I would enjoy having regularly at its price point. Another great barrel proof. I’m finding I really enjoy the higher proof offerings. This is a great sipper at $49 a bottle and a solid option for anyone looking for higher proof but not over bearing on heat or alcohol. I would definitely recommend this especially if you like an earthier flavored bourbon.

🥃 - Baker’s 7 Year Proof - 107 / 53.5% Color - Honey Gold Nose - Heavy Nuttiness, hints of caramel and vanilla, oak Flavors - Heavy Jim Beam nuttiness, rye spice, fades to sweet syrup and caramel Sweetness - 5.5 / 10 Working it’s way up to being a sweet bourbon it has a nice finish but the nuttiness cuts down the sweetness. Dryness - 6 / 10 This is very light on my palate, fleeting, crisp, and a bit oily Burn - 4 / 10 This is a low light burn, short finish on this bourbon. Bud’s rating - 7 / 10 A solid beam entry with a nice proof that sips very easily. I love my Jim Beam products I really do. For me this would be on the lesser side, maybe not nearly as full body as I like. It relies a lot on the nuttiness, lacks some of the burn and thicker mouth feel from the other lines. Overall I think it’s a good bourbon, not a bad buy, and a solid sip to share with friends who like less heavy burn and a bit lighter palate!

🥃 - McLaughlin Distillery Devil’s Juice #5 Proof - 120 / 60% Color - Dark Mahogany almost Crimson Nose - Cherry, smoke, bon fire, mesquite wood, Sweet BBQ Flavors - Heavy smoke, mesquite wood, cinders, slight cherry, bon fire Sweetness - 1 / 10 There is no real sweetness to this specialty whiskey spirit but it’s delicious in its own right. Dryness - 7.5 / 10 This is fairly dry, as you’d expect something with this much smoke to be. Burn - 5 / 10 There’s some heat up front, very little chest burn mostly in the mouth and palate. Bud’s rating - 6.5 / 10 This is just such an interesting sip and it’s definitely worth it. Yes this isn’t a bourbon, but this does have bourbon mixed in it. A mixture of the whiskey and bourbon aged in mesquite barrels it’s fantastic. Think of the day after a bonfire how your hoodie or shirt smells. That’s this drink in a nutshell. Something I’ll drink on a crisp night when I don’t have a fire to go to, and just something to add a Smokey flavor to my palate. It will pair well with BBQ or a steak!

🥃 - Elijah Craig 18 Year Proof - 90 / 45% Color - Mahogany Nose - Crisp fruit, heavy oak, some caramel and sugary notes Flavors - Heavy oak, smokiness, caramel, fruit, and vanilla Sweetness - 5 / 10 I would say this is hard to categorize because it’s so heavily oaky but it fades into a very deep sweetness Dryness - 3.75 / 10 A very nice airy quality to this bourbon but it fully coats the palate easily and sticks around Burn - 4 / 10 Lower proof and lower heat here, not a hot bourbon but warm enough to feel it Bud’s rating - 5 / 10 *CAVEAT* I really am not a big fan of earthy or wood heavy bourbon and that’s where this bourbon shines. I think overall it’s a good bourbon, but bad for my palate and personal preferences. So this bourbon is the oldest I’ve had the pleasure of have in my personal selection, but not the oldest I’ve had (Pappy 23). Bourbon aged for a long time will really begin to mellow and pull out heavy heavy influence from the wood barrel. This is a very oak forward flavor bourbon and it really doesn’t hit the spot for me. With that said it has a great sweet finish to it. I think I would likely enjoy the barrel proof more, since I’m not a big fan of the oak flavors. While I gave it a lower rating, it’s hard to characterize because I recognize the appeal of this bourbon and why it’s sought after. I will keep a bottle on the bar for my friends who enjoy an earthy bourbon, but likely will have it around a while.

🥃 - W.B. Saffell Bourbon Batch 1 Proof - 107 / 53.5% Color - Amber Nose - Caramel with heavy ethanol forward, peanut shells and oak finish it out Flavors - A little complex with a rye spice forward, corn, brown sugar in the middle, and cinnamon with oak at the finish. Sweetness - 3.5 / 10 Not really a sweet bourbon for my palate Dryness - 4 / 10 A creamy and buttery palate on this one, good mouthfeel. Burn - 5.5 / 10 A good rich burn, nice hug in the chest, long lasting finish. Bud’s rating - 6 / 10 If you needed to have a base explanation of “what does bourbon taste like” this might fit the bill. I will start this statement with explaining I have a bad history with Wild Turkey, I have yet to find one that dazzles me. That being said when I tried this and wrote in my bourbon journal I did not know it was wild turkey that makes this product. I’m often left wanting more when it comes to the wild turkey products I’ve tried and this seems to fit that bill. My palate simply just doesn’t fit with their whiskey. It’s a good bourbon, but average at best for me.

Bluebird Distilling Barrel Proof Four Grain Bourbon Proof - 112 / 56% Color - Deep Amber Nose - Caramel, oak, corn, leather Palate - Straight out of the gate is a hot spicy oak, deep wood and leather that lasts for a very short time fading into one of the strongest chocolate notes I’ve had in a bourbon, finish is a long vanilla lingering note Sweetness - This is significantly more sweet than the nose and initial palate would lead you to believe. It’s a delicious and decadent bourbon. Mouthfeel - It’s a medium to a little above medium mouth feel, not overly velvet but a nice middle ground. Not oily or fleeting. Burn - Lingering long warm chest to this, not overbearing for the proof and really really enjoyable Bud’s rating - 88 / 100 So I bought one 375ml bottle as I wasn’t sure if or how I would like this bourbon, I tried it, and well, on their website it says “extremely limited” so… I bought two more because this is phenomenal. This hit every nail on the head for a damn really good bourbon that’s barrel proof, unique, sweet, and drinkable. This stuff is a sweet tooth’s dream, it’s outrageously good and I’m really excited about it even if it’s from that other city in PA that starts with a P 👀 If you have a chance to try this, get it! It’s absolutely worth the $40 for the 375ml.

Nose - Fruit forward nose, vanilla and light oak follow into caramel and cocoa Flavors - Cocoa and dried fruit to the front, oak into rich caramel and vanilla Sweetness - 6.5 / 10 A very dessert like bourbon Dryness - 3 / 10 This has a very velvety and decadent mouth feel, great coating on the palate and very smooth Burn - 6.5 / 10 It punches above its proof for sure with a nice warm chest. Bud’s rating - 7.75 / 10 It’s a really great lower proof bourbon for me I really enjoy the uniqueness. With the 7 year bourbon being aged in the Amarone casks it brings a unique depth of flavor, some fruity qualities to the sweet caramel and vanilla flavors with a hint of cocoa and oak. It’s a really strong bourbon with some heat above it’s proof and overall it’s a great sip! Glad I got a backup!