Tastes

Rating: 19/23 N: Sweet, musty, milk chocolate, kind of tart, quite rich with corn character. There's a definite decadence to this nose. Hints of tangerine that border on malt, as well as faint sawdust. A bit odd, but quite nice hedonism, with balance and complexity as well. P: Wow, it's got maple and vanilla and the other decadent flavors. Rich, sweet corn, faint tangerine, light kettle corn, some wood tannins, notes of milk chocolate, musty notes that aren't quite sawdust. F: Astringent with wood and orange zest. Lingering must and vanilla. Hints of kettle corn remain as well. - Conclusion - This is delightful. It isn't blowing my mind or anything, but it's another great True Blue. There's more of an alcohol bite to this than the Total Wine pick (19/23) I bought has, but i also doesn't have that weird barbecue flavor. This also seems a bit sweeter! This is easily a 17, but I could see it being as high as a 19. I was leaning toward an 18 until I realized that this was sweeter than the Total Wine True Blue. Now I'm going with a 19.

Rating: 16/23 N: There's a real richness here. There's a big sweet layer as well. I get cherry and malt and spearmint and light baking spices and vanilla and just a nice core layer. P: Rich, full, decadent. Lots of cherry flavor, but also a ton of burn It tastes high proof, not harsh. Some malty richness and hints of dark chocolate. An interesting note of mushroom earthiness that reminds me of Noah's Mill, but in a good way. This is decadent, but not all that exciting. F: This is a bit bitter and flat and lingering, but there are some flavors to consider here. Cherry is clearly present, but it seems like there's some orange to trade off with an existing bourbon. - Conclusion - This doesn't quite come together, but it is quite decadent and needs something to tie it together a bit. I'm finding it to be comparable in quality to Whistlepig PiggyBack (16/23). There are some similar stark rye vibes, which I appreciate, though this goes a more decadent, less complex route. If anything, I'd be inclined to give the win to this one, so it could be a 17. Pikesville (16/23) has a sweeter body with some nice character from other grains, but it's missing that pure rye purity that this has. Still, I'm not finding this to be better than the Pikesville. Russell's Reserve Single Barrel rye (17/23) is also in the same ballpark as this quality-wise. Both focus on the richness. Sigh, this seems like another 16 Rye. It could be a 17 though. I have a lot, so I'll review it again later, but it's a 16 for now.

Rating: 16/23 Woo! This is the 2500th booze I'm reviewing! N: There's a bit more alcohol than I expected, but then there's just tons of decadence: orchard fruits (juicy peaches and nectarines, pears, tangerines, apricots), vanilla, modest maltiness, faint caramel, touches of baking spices, lemon. So good! P: A bit more heat than I expected at 46% ABV, so I guess the nose wasn't lying. It isn't harsh though. The palate is unfortunately a bit thin. My immediate impression is that this received more water than it should have. The grains also show in that way that's a little bit on the bitter side. Moving past that, I get sweet malt with a well-integrated orange and apricot backing. Maybe a hint of white pepper in the burn. Possible hints of cayenne as well. I like the decadence here, but there's too much heat, it's too thin, the grain is too watered out, and there isn't adequate complexity. I think that this would be a lot better at a higher proof. F: The malt grows and the baking spices come out more now too. Not much fruit left here. Surprisingly, this is the most complex version. Oh, the vanilla is coming back on the long finish! I like this better than the palate. - Conclusion - I really like this at the beginning and the end, but the middle (i.e. the palate) is unfortunately a disappointment. This is still a very nice whiskey, but it isn't quite great. I would give it a 17, but that heat makes me drop it to a 16. Though maybe I'm overstating the negative side of that grain bitterness. It could be a 17 after all. Regardless, hopefully some air in the bottle is kind to this.

Rating: 19/23 N: Surprisingly sweet, with some toasted marshmallow. Oily with ginger hints. Maybe a hint of mint too. A touch of minerality, but it doesn't detract from the oiliness and make this seem thin. A nice nose with a decadent vibe. P: This is oilier and less leathery than the prior Dad's Hat ryes I've tried. It has flavors of toasted marshmallow, candied orange peel, baking spices, mint (maybe spear mint? but in a good way), and some sort of other citrus that's more tart. Pomelo? Some licorice, but not of the same leathery variety that I associate with Dad's Hat. Maybe even a hint of maple. This is surprisingly smooth for this style of whiskey and proof. Not the most bold complexities to the profile, but there's some nuance here. This is more on the decadent side. F: Big oiliness. That toasted marshmallow carries through, with some more candied orange. Hints of spices of the baking variety. - Conclusion - Whiskey often struggles to incorporate adequate maturity without becoming inundated with bitter tannins. Dad's Hat, in my limited experience, doesn't suffer in this way. It's a leather bomb that is delightful on the right occasion (which is at least once per week). This amps up the oiliness, decreases the tannins (to the point that I wouldn't say this tastes especially leathery), and loses some of the brighter fruits and punchier flavors. There's perhaps a more refined quality to this. I like it a lot and I feel like for most whiskeys this move to greater refinement would be a big win, but I'm no so sure in this case. The thing is that I don't think Dad's Hat needs refinement. It really isn't lacking in any way. Would I like it better with more oiliness and toasted marshmallow? That sounds awesome, but maybe it wouldn't work out. To be absolutely clear though: this is stiff competition for Dad's Hat Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength (19/23). I'm not sure which I think is better. I love them both. I guess that puts this at a 19 as well. Coming back to this, the other Dad's Hat is drier and less smooth, but more interesting and leathery. This has the smooth, sweet, nutty, oily notes going for it. Honestly, I'm now liking the sweetness and richness here better than before. Its decadence is currently winning out over the other Dad's Hat. Eh, there's a nice hint of cognac to the other one. That's kind of winning out for me now. They're close. I think I need to go with a 19 for this. For the money, I'm thinking the other Dad's Hat is a better buy, but there's a really nice character to this that it just doesn't have, so I wouldn't take it over this entirely.

Rating: 18/23 This is a Drammer's Club pick, with higher ABV (55.6%) than the usual distillery release (46%). N: Quite funky. It's not just smoke - there's some worty grain along with chalky minerals, faint sea spray, and mild apricot. There's a lot more nuance here as well, but it's hard to pick out. My overall impression is that this is nicely aged, but not aged so much that it's lost its original grainy character. P: Full flavor, with an alcohol bite and a big sweetness. The sweetness shows off caramel maltiness with a thorough dusting of apricot and then some floral vanilla. Bits of minerality come out as well here. Light notes from that original wort still make it through too, but they're not vegetal. Well, maybe a tad grassy. They actually add to the profile really nicely. A restrained woody backing with some spices is here as well. Cinnamon, ginger, white pepper. There's a maybe a faint soapy bitterness, but it's not too bad. I'm actually getting very little smoke here. A bit, but honestly you could have convinced me that there wasn't any here. Maybe a hint of blackberry in here as well. F: The grain kind of lingers, along with some flat bitterness, probably from a mix of the grain and the wood. Faint apricot and vanilla sneak in briefly, along with a touch of that caramel maltiness. - Conclusion - This is a really nice dram. It's easy to drink and has an interesting funkiness and nuance. Somebody did a good job picking this age for this barrel. This is pretty competitive with Strathmill 24 (1993) (Cadenhead's) (17/23). This is fuller, but it's less sweet and approachable. The Strathmill has almost a melon fruitiness in comparison. This has more nuance though and maybe a bit less bite. Overall, I'm inclined to give this the win. It isn't massively better, but it's an improvement. I'm thinking an 18 for this, but it could be a 17 or 19. Coming back to the Glen Scotia, I'm liking it better. This is also striking me as a little bit less complex, though with more of a sweet apple flavor. It's reminding me of Westland Peated (15/23) now. I'm looking at more of a 16 or 17 now. I think I'll go with the 17 because that's the part of the range that overlaps with my prior tasting. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine for sharing this rare bottling!

Rating: 14/23 N: It's kind of oily with dill and mint hints, along with a sweetness that makes me think of confectioner's sugar. Hints of orange peel, along with a rye richness buried underneath. Faint caramel. Light rye spices and faint grains. P: Richer than I'd expected, with lots of grain flavor that has wort hints, but avoids actually tasting like wort, particularly because it has a lot of caramel sweetness that is just a little on the light side and mixes with some vanilla. Rye spices with mild herbal notes. A faint touch of citrus. F: Clean, with light grains, some spices carrying some heat, faint herbs, faint clean water sweetness. It's pretty boring, actually. A long, lingering, faint, floral, herbal, vanilla sweetness. - Conclusion - This is easy to drink. It's tasty, but not all that interesting. It's kind of like a rye for people who aren't sure they like rye, but also don't want a rye that tastes like a bourbon. Russell's Reserve 10 (16/23) is way better than this. This is beating Red Blooded (10/23). I'm thinking a 12 to 14, but maybe an 11. Not a 15. I'd choose a 13 right now. Yeah, I'm thinking a 13. It could be a 12, but I'm leaning toward a 13. Coming back to this the next day, I'm leaning more toward a 14. Thank you to the always generous @Milliardo for sharing this sample :)

Rating: 14/23 Today was rough. I found out that the rafters in my attic are undersized and can't support the weight of any reasonable roof. Now I need to hire a civil engineer. The rest of this project will be far more expensive than this bottle of whiskey, so I feel like I can open it and add it to the project budget without stressing about the cost. N: A bit bitter, with some rich cherries coming through. A bit of what I assume is malt that is somehow dry and also kind of bordering on vegetal. Kind of grassy as well, with a touch of mint. Maybe that's the bitterness. Maybe a touch of creosote too. This isn't a very exciting nose, but nothing seems particularly bad. P: Lots of sweet fruit! I was expecting more spice and leather. This is a bit youthful and exuberant, perhaps, but it's tasty and fun. It's funny that it has this particular character because it reminds me of Aberlour, which was one of a couple of other drinks I considered opening to console myself. The high malt mashbill is showing here, alogisde the cherry sweetness of the cognac. There are definitely spices and there's a hint of creosote, but this is much more in the fun direction. Hints of buckwheat. There's a significant amount of rye, which adds some mint in too. It's probably also largely responsible for those spices and creosote. F: Lingering cherries, mint, and spices. It's sweet, but not cloying. The balance isn't quite right. Or perhaps it isn't quite in the normal bourbon range. It's definitely malty. I'm liking it, but it's a bit challenging. - Conclusion - This is a bit weird, but it's good. There's a mix of genres happening here that I appreciate and the overall product is enjoyable to drink. I was previously skeptical of Old Elk, but I like the direction they went with this. It's at least a 14 and it could be as high as an 18. Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered (19/23) is more complex and shows less ethanol. An easy win for the Smoke Wagon. Bull Run American Whiskey 13 Pinot Noir Finish (14/23) has a rich candied full sweetness that this doesn't have. This is spicier with more herbal notes and ethanol. I'm definitely finding this to be closer to the Bull Run than to the Smoke Wagon. Russell's Reserve 10 (16/23) is more interesting and nuanced than this is, but it does have a bit of an odd bitter flavor that makes it more challenging. It is increasingly hitting me that this isn't as full as I initially thought it was. I'm finding this to be about on par with the Bull Run. I think that the Russell's Reserve is better, though not by a ton. The Bull Run might be a little better than this or a little worse. It's putting me kind of in the 13 to 15 range for this and I'm going with a 14.