Tastes

On the nose: orange, cinnamon, clove, cherry and vanilla On the palate: caramel, prominent sweet citrus, marzipan, coconut, big spice notes, and some medicinal cherry On the finish: the spice comes out more with BIG cinnamon and clove spice notes, turbinado sugar, sweeter cherry, with a touch of bitter oak With some water added: the palate becomes sweeter and brings out both the caramel and cinnamon flavors more. Overall: Excellent at the $55 mark. It deserves a place alongside my beloved Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel, Baker’s and Knob Creek Single Barrel. Barrell nails it again

On the nose: caramel, vanilla, and very grain heavy On the palate: Corn Pops cereal (never thought I’d use that as a tasting note), molasses, definite char, some bitter oak, and a mild spiciness. Definitely unique, with a robust mouthfeel too On the finish: Goes sweeter and the spice becomes more prominent as well Overall: Unique and interesting for sure. Not terribly complex, but solid nonetheless. If you’re looking for something off the beaten path but not radically out there, this could be a winner.

On the nose: apple, pear, lime (maybe like a lime custard), smoke, and vanilla On the palate: Pear, honey, ginger, mild sourness, savory smoke, vanilla extract, and a touch of salt. I think I’m picking up some character of Clynelish and Talisker for sure. On the finish: Goes more smoky paired with the sweet and sour. Medium length finish Overall: A solid blend. The sweet flavors make up the core with the smoky and sour flavors as accents. I love a Johnnie Walker Black with ice when I wanna turn my brain off, but this is a complex and interesting blended malt, especially if you’re a fan of Diageo’s single malts like Clynelish, Cardhu, or Talisker.

On the nose: berries, stone fruit, coffee, baking spice On the palate: big honey, baking spice, toffee, light oak, a light tartness, and coffee ice cream/coffee liqueur On the finish: a lot of that sweetened coffee note and a mellow round sweetness Overall: Really unique, full bodied and tasty! The coffee note is especially unique

On the nose: fresh cut apple slice, peanut, caramel, clean vanilla, medicinal cherry On the palate: caramel, vanilla, cherry, mint/mint tea, black licorice, herbal and that Flintstone vitamins note. On the finish: relative short and keeps the mix of sweet and bitter with an astringency to it. Overall: Polarizing for a reason. As someone who unironically ate conversation heart candies as a kid and loves black licorice, I really like this, but your mileage will definitely vary. Solid quality/price ratio is this kind of profile if your thing.

Barrel: 000517889 Warehouse: CL-W Aged: 7 Yrs, 9 Months Nose: big vanilla extract, cherry, sawdust, and peach On the Palate: Major caramel, vanilla, amaretto, honey, peanut, and baking spice juxtaposed by big bitter oak, medicinal cherry and char - BIG sweet and BIG bitter flavors fighting it out beautifully! Finish: Vanilla and amaretto still fighting with the big astringent oak flavor, then a resolution to a combination of chocolate, cigar smoke and woodiness. Overall: This particular barrel is equal parts friendly and rugged. I absolutely love the contrast and intensity, but it’s not gonna be for everyone. I’m also a big fan of the 107 proof - BIG flavor and texture, but not quite smashing you in the face like a 120 proof cask strength offering.

Barrel No: 114.52 Nose: cedar, sandalwood, sawdust, brown sugar, molasses, orange and cherry Palate: brown sugar, orange, molasses, clementine, peach ring candy, pronounced black tea and oak tannin Finish: sweet then a big charcoal/char character Overall: It’s going to depend on the barrel you get, but for this particular one: big sweetness and fruitiness, well contrasted by big bitter and charred notes from the longer age in the barrel. Not terribly unique, but definitely a complex and full-flavored bourbon

On the nose: maple, vanilla, and cherry On the palate: Maple syrup, brown sugar,big cherry, sweet vanilla, pronounced rye spice, cola Finish: long and sweet with notes of turbinado sugar

Nose: banana, cherry, vanilla, and baking spice On the palate: big cherry, banana runts candy, brown sugar, substantial spice character, and a little bit of bitter oak Finish: More oak and then chocolate Overall: Excellent bang for my buck. A super solid offering, especially for $25 a bottle.

Nose: Sweet and floral Palate: Pear, green apple, honey, butterscotch, a little salt, mint. There is a big effervescence/zing that leaves my tongue tingling. Finish: sweet and then earthy/borderline smoky Overall: A very unique combination of flavors and sensations from this bottle. Has to be experienced to be understood