Tastes

This was a unique one. I did a blind tasting between this, Cedar ridge single malt and JJ Neukomm cherrywood smoked single malt. It was obvious which one was which. This tastes like you dripped grease from your backyard bbq into the glass. It's so heavy and oily with the mesquite influence. It really is slow roasted bbq in a glass. The first sip is like homemade smoked beef jerky and then the olfactory senses kick in with heavy char, cherry, grass and salted butter. A single malt to remember. A welcome addition to the American single malt category.

For $10 it knocks plain jim beam out of the park. Not as widely available and not as dense as Evan Williams Bottled in bond but good enough to mix well with cocktails.

After reading an article suggesting this is a bigger and badder version of Jim Beam Distiller's Cut I decided to open it up. It noses young with a fair bit of alcohol. I get hints of a baking smells like brown sugar and frosting. Gooey butter cake comes to mind. Tastes big and buttery with apples lingering on the aftertaste. Doesn't have a dense flavor quality but it is fairly oily on the mouthfeel. I hoped for a more chewy and smokey quality like Jim Beam Black but I'm pleasantly surprised. It's not complex but it is good. Damn good for how cheap it is. If only Beam would switch this for their regular white label.

I've had some fantastic bourbons before but this packs so much complexity and flavor into a glass I'm surprised the glass doesn't shatter immediately. I compared it to my Stagg Jr and found the Stagg thinner with more vanilla but the Belle has a robust cinnamon note. Call the dos equis guy because this is the most interesting bourbon in the world.

Deeper, smoky flavor than original beam. Decent mixer but not a bargain for sipping neat. You can wow some guys at a wedding by stocking this instead of the original behind the bar.

Quiet Man is a good name for this floral and friendly dram. Freshly cut apples on a spring day. Not as full tasting as I hoped for. A nice alternative to Jameson if you're into it but not life changing. I'd pick Tullamore over this for the same price.

I don't enjoy scotch. I'll experience it and tuck it under my belt to further expand my palate but I don't truly enjoy it. But after sampling the founders reserve, the 15 year and this 14 year I'm much less off put by it. I hate using this word but damn is it smooth. It has this dark fruity note that I really dig and I can only attribute that to the sherry and cognac finishing. I would happily seek this out at the bar but I don't think I like it enough to justify buying a bottle.