Tastes
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Rating: 9/23 I hear that this is just Kahlúa improved, a lot like the old style. It sounds like just what I need in my life, so let's find out! N: Disappointing start here since there isn't much going on. There's a little bit of cola and licorice, a bit reminiscent of Jagermeister, but not too strong. or complex. A hint of mushroom perhaps as well, but it's difficult to pick much out here. P: Less viscous than regular Kalúa, but a stronger, more biting alcohol presence. There's less sugar so it's more bitter. It doesn't taste particularly roasty or spicy though. There's some chocolate, but it comes with some slightly salty black licorice. It's disappointingly uncomplex. I do taste suggestions of the rum with caramel and bitterness, but they don't taste like very good rum or have any real complexity. With the weird rum, alcohol, and coffee flavors, this oddly picks up a little bit of a tequila vibe. F: Some cola lingers along with some coffee and chocolate. The heat takes some time to fade as well. I don't get that same confectioner's sugar chalkiness as I do with regular Kahlúa. It certainly isn't awful, but I sadly do think I prefer regular Kahlúa by a tick. With regular Kahlúa being an 11, this is more like a 9 to 10. I'll give it the 10, but I'm not a fan.18.5 USD per Bottle
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Rating: 8/23 N: I smell some coffee with some sour and faint roasted notes, but also a huge amount of confectioner's sugar. It's a surprisingly light nose, unfortunately, and it isn't very appealing. Still, it smells kind of syrupy and herbel, like root beer.. SBS, the regular kahlua actually has a more complex nose with extra earthy spiciness and some chocolate. This is oilier with more alcohol, but I might be getting a little bit more rum funk as well. The rum is really a bigger presence here, but I'm not sure that it's an improvement, over regular Kahlúa since it just increases the emphasis on the low-quality rum. Could be a good choice over ice cream though. P: Smooth, sweet, rich, roasty, then confectioner's sugar. It's syrupy and there's a bit of cinnamon and pepper as well as weird anise. There are faint suggestions of chocolate, but they're more like chocolate syrup. There really isn't much going on here though and the confectioner's sugar is quite powerful. I was hoping that there would be a stylistic difference that would make this closer to the old style of Kahlua, but tragically this tastes much more like modern Kahlua, but I guess with a bit more alcohol. Regular Kahlua is sweeter and more syrupy with less apparent alcohol, but it has more chocolate and fun spices to it, making it a bit tastier and helping to cover up the confectioner's sugar (well, at least until the finish). This is clearly emphasizing the rum more. It's less sweet with more wood and smoke, but also a lot more alcohol flavor. Sadly, the rum used here isn't very good. It would have been awesome to have a rum with personality in this like Plantation Xaymaca or just a solid choice like Appleton Estate. Unfortunately, this still isn't sippable, unlike the old style of Kahlua. Some sulfur does make its way in here. It's a bit less balanced and spicy and fun than regular Kahlúa. It's also kind of herbal, like Jagermeister, but with the bad, cola elements. At least regular Kahlúa is its own thing, but this just keeps reminding me of bad, syrupy rum. Maybe there's some tobacco in here too. F: Confectioner's sugar and chocolate with something a bit roasty, possibly with some of the tobacco. Rum, black licorice, and some cola. Not much happening here, sadly. It's a tough call between this and regular Kahlua which I would get. The price difference is trivial, but this is less complex so it isn't an obvious win with the higher ABV. In fact, usually I'm using Kahlua in a tiramisu to take to work, so more alcohol is actually worse. At least regular Kahlúa is its own, fun, sweet thing. The confectioner's sugar from the regular one is what gives me pause, but this really reminds me of low-quality syrupy rum mixed with Jagermeister and perhaps a bit of coffee. I think this deserves a 7 to 8. I'll give it an 8 right now. It's better than the generic stuff, but maybe I should still stick with the regular Kahlúa. What a disappointment18.5 USD per Bottle
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Papa's Pilar Sherry Finish Dark Rum
Dark Rum — Multiple Countries
Reviewed November 24, 2020 (edited January 10, 2021)Rating: 13/23 N: I get some really nice syrupy PX sherry fruit on the nose mixed with rich dark rum. There's some charred wood in here, but the sweetness overwhelms it. I get a bit of molasses and peanuts. Tragically, it isn't a terribly complex nose though. P: So, this is one of those sugary sweet rums. I was worried that that might be the case, both because of the sherry and because it's rum without a specific origin, but I did have some hope because it is dark rum. The flavor isn't totally flat, but finding the complexity requires some real searching. I do get some nice charred wood that gives this a little bit of an oloroso leatheriness and some barrel spice (ginger, pepper, cinnamon, clove) that goes along fittingly, along with some sweet, juicy red fruit (that one month of sherry aging is really coming through). There is a hint of 50% dark chocolate, but not a ton. Maybe a little coffee too. There's some vanilla, but honestly this would be better without it because it lightens the body while making it sweeter. At one point, I actually get a weird hint of jalapeño. I get a lot of the sherry sweetness. There isn't any chalkiness to it or confectioner's sugar and it also doesn't taste more than a tad lacking in fullness, so that's good. It does kind of have that solera blandness that so often occurs. F: The peppery barrel spice lingers, helping to keep this from just tasting like a liqueur. It's still sweet and dark, but blandly so. I can appreciate the quality of the underlying rum in Diplomatico, but it's just too sweet for my general preference. Papa's Pilar Sherry is similarly overtaken by its sweetness, though I'm less convinced that there is a really good rum behind the sugar. Diplomatico has some more interesting complexity. It's already hard to taste the complexity in Diplomatico (because of the dosage), so the fact that it's easier to taste the complexity in that than in this is quite telling, especially since this is the less sweet of the two. It's possible that there is no dosage in here, but in that case the sherry is just overwhelming a bland rum. Side by side with Appleton Estate 12, although this is fuller, the Appleton Estate has a more genuine rum flavor with more complexity. I definitely prefer the Appleton. Plantation Xaymaca also strikes me as clearly better, though it has a totally different profile. This is perfectly drinkable, especially when viewed as more of a rum-heavy liqueur, but I can't say that I really like it a whole lot. It does seem like a good choice for drinking by the fire in the winter though. The most generous score that I could ever contemplate giving this is a 15, but that's a pretty fantastically high score. I can similarly imagine a 9, but I really think that this is in the 10 to 14 range and it probably isn't a 14 because the Appleton Estate 12 is better. It isn't bad, but it's quite disappointing after all of the really high scores. OK, so weird revelation here, but whereas this rum itself is kind of flat and underwhelming, it has a richness than makes it great in a rum variation on a boulevardier! Side by side with some standard bourbons, I really like the complexity and richness that this brings. I can't say that I like this on its own that much and I can't say that I think it's worth its price as a mixer, but I think that's where it's closest to delivering real value. And that's a problem because it certainly isn't pitched as a mixer. But it really feels like one. At $30 or less, I'd be giving this a thumbs up as a mixer. At $40, I'm struggling to justify this. That said, I am maybe considering bumping this up a little bit because it makes a great variation on a boulevardier. It doesn't hold up all that well in refreshing, citrusy drinks that need punchy dark rums, but it works well in more aromatic, herbal drinks that need a full, sweet base layer. So back to rating this. I really do appreciate the fullness and richness here, as well as the clear sherry presence, but the flavor is just so flat. It's sippable, but not particularly enjoyable. I really can't imagine putting it below an 11, but I don't see a 14 unless it gets pushed up for being a good mixer (in one specific cocktail). Right now, I'm looking at a 12 or 13, but leaning toward a 13. Since Appleton Estate 12 and Plantation Xaymaca both strike me as clearly better side by side and they both got 14s, I'll need to really love this boulevardier variant to give the this rum a 14. Even with the boulevardier taken into account, I'm leaning toward a 13. There's a hint of something good getting started at the back of this, but it's mostly bland. It's pretty unobjectionable and avoids tasting young, but it's still just not very engaging. Also, Appleton Estate 12 is great in a variant on a Boulevardier too (it's hard to pick a winner), so this is at best tied with Appleton Estate 12. I'll go with 13 for this tasting.38.0 USD per Bottle -
Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 22, 2020 (edited October 21, 2024)Rating: 15/23 This bottle is an Uptown Spirits pick. It has had the better part of a year of air now, so let's see how it is. N: Initially, not much, then that classic Jim Beam peanut smell comes through. It's rich, savory, oily, and a bit smoky, but also restrained. It's uncomplex and not full though. There's a bit of mineral to suggest that this is a rye, but from the nose alone I would have guessed it was a bourbon. It's a very one-note nose that would be fine enough for a lower end whiskey, but really isn't adequate here. P: Viscous, fairly rich. The peanut flavor, mineral, and waft of smoke comes through, though it is less pronounced. A bit more meatiness than peanut, actually. It's a clean flavor, but there really isn't much happening. Initially, I really still couldn't tell you whether this is a barely legal rye or a high rye bourbon like Belle Meade. I might have been able to guess that it was Jim Beam though considering the lack of fullness and peanut flavor. I don't taste the ethanol though, which is fairly impressive considering the proof. There's substantial heat, but I wouldn't call it particularly harsh (at least for the proof). Eventually I get hints of green apple from the rye and some cinnamon coming out of the heat. There's also a little bit of a caramel flavor, but it's slightly artificial. F: Not a whole lot happening here either. A hint more rye lingers. I'm pretty disappointed, actually. There isn't much actively wrong here, but there isn't much to recommend this whiskey either. It's high(ish) proof, but also quite bland. Russell's Reserve Rye 6 isn't as rich, savory and smoky as this Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye, but it has more balance and complexity. The high proof really does help the Knob Creek. Another obvious comparison I keep coming back to is the Knob Creek 9 Year Single Barrel Reserve bourbon (bottled at 60% ABV). That is a fuller and more complex offering, which I feel like is saying something because Knob Creek is normally fairly uncomplex. I wouldn't say that the gap in quality is monumental between the two, but it's decisive, so I'd guess that if I did the full side-by-side comparison with some other whiskey in the range, I'd find it to be about 2 points. Comparing this with more ryes (Sazerac, Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition, Templeton 4), the richness and proof in this really stand out. Still, this is certainly the least complex and it doesn't stand out with a degree of excellent maturity either (though it certainly doesn't taste immature). I really want to recommend this, but it just isn't a good value. At $20 to $35, I'd consider this, but I'd only consider it at $30 or more because of its proof. When it comes to rating this, the proof and the rich flavor that comes with it is pretty much all that this has actively going for it. That said, is's certainly not bad. I was considering going as low as a 13 at one point, then I was thinking of a 16 at another. After some side by side comparisons, I've swung back and forth a couple of times. I'm torn between a 15 and a 16 right now, but considering that I've considered below a 15 and never above a 16, I think that 15 makes the most sense. I go back and forth on whether I like this or Old Forester Rye better, but I generally think that Russell's Reserve 6 is better than either of them.43.0 USD per Bottle -
King's county Single Malt
American Single Malt — Usa, USA
Reviewed November 22, 2020 (edited April 21, 2021)Rating: 10/23 The bottle suggests they don't care, but it has kind of a cool, unique style. I've heard this distillery mentioned before, but it's always seemed too expensive. I found some smaller bottles for still unreasonable prices, but at least the total cost is lower. N: Uh oh. This smells young and light. There's some vegetal peat and mineral, but the malt smells young and the whole product smells like it lacks complexity and cohesion. P: It tastes young. It tastes immature. It tastes uncomplex. I get kind of sour, vegetal flavor from the mix of young malt and peat. This isn't a young and rugged dram either: it's pretty bland. Sure, it has smoke too and the guaranteed sweetness from the malt, but it tastes like a few distinct flavors were just thrown together. F: Like the nose and palate, the malt's lightness shows through here. The peat remains as well, but sort of a more mineral sweet and sour element comes out as well. It's kind of odd, but not a whole lot worse than the palate itself. There is at least some richness from the malt and the lack of cohesion and alcohol become less apparent. It doesn't excite or interest me. Imagine Copper Fox Rye (aged a mere 20 months!) but without that maritime complexity or weirdly good Islay presence. I'd love to say that this is good, but it tastes like it kind of doesn't give a crap. Authentically New York, perhaps? It's not that Kings County Distillery is bad at distilling. It's not that they're bad at aging. It's not that their end product is (actively (ACTIVELY)) bad. This is mostly a strong indication that this distillery was not yet ready to release a malt whiskey. It's some combination of the cold environment and jumping the gun. I hate to dump on this, but it's just not very good. I won't rate it based on this, but it's very expensive for what it delivers. There's no way I'll be buying another bottle. I didn't have high hopes, but this is really disappointing. It's smoked rather than peated, but Corsair Wildfire is more complex and it tastes less mature. Corsair Wildfire doesn't have an elderly maturity, but it lacks youthful flaws. Unless peat is an unmovable requirement, Corsair Wildfire is better in every dimension. More rich, more complex, more balanced, more interesting, higher proof, less expensive... This isn't complex and it tastes young. I would take Corsair Wildfire and Copper Fox Rye over this any day, and they're both cheaper. This is almsot like if you took the worst elements of the Corsair and the Copper Fox. Amrut Peated beats all of them despite being less complex and mature than many other peated whiskies, but that just goes to show how inadequate this whiskey is. I can't say that I expected much of this, but I'm still quite disappointed. Considering all of the grievances I've just cited, I can't imagine this being better than a 13. I don't think it is worse than a 9, though I think it is on the lower side of this range. If I had to pick a rating right now, I'd give it a 10. I'm actually thinking that a 9 is too harsh and I might even be willing to give this an 11. It's a 10 for now though. After being so disappointed by this one, I decided to crack open my sample of Kings County Bourbon and give it a small taste. It was a lot better! I think that Kings County is best of focusing on that for the time being. It was like Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Strength Lite, which I enjoyed, albeit not quite as much as the Garrison Brothers. And that reminds me that I need to update my Garrison Brothers review now that that juice has aged and become more complex and rich.75.0 USD per Bottle -
Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 20, 2020 (edited November 22, 2020)Rating: 12/23 I don't know how old regular Ancient Age is, but this is allegedly around 6 years old. It's a bit young for something labeled "Ancient Ancient", but we'll see how it tastes. It's also 5% higher ABV, so that could affect things too. I was surprised by how much I liked Ancient Age. It's light and overly sweet, but it's kind of fun as an easy sipper in a quirky way. I won't say that I love it, but for $10 it fills a niche that more premium bourbons don't. Seeing this upgraded version that has apparently been discontinued, I had to try it. N: I can smell the Ancient Age DNA in this. It's richer though. I get some orange and a richer, mustier grain than in Ancient Age. There's a hint of tangerine this time as well. Just a bit of a medium wood that sits mellowly in the back. It has that same light caramel popcorn ball scent too. There's a rich minerality that blends in with a little bit of chemical from the ethanol...but somehow it isn't bad? Nothing is amazing here, but it already seems like a step up from Ancient Age. P: This is richer and fuller than regular ol' Ancient Age, but it's also less sweet and playful. I haven't come to a conclusion yet, but I worry that this might be trying to walk a line between childish and mature. I'd speculate that it might have been trying to age its mashbill in an unsuitable way, but this is a Buffalo Trace mashbill, so there is plenty of evidence that it can be aged very well. The increased maturity and higher proof bring out a bit of harshness that is not present in regular Ancient Age. I really do taste the ethanol in here unfortunately, and the bitterness from both it and the wood come out more. It's sort of like it was trying to enrichen the caramel but didn't want it to turn out too sweet, so it didn't fully connect the more bitter mature flavor to the sweet light caramel. I do get a little bit of nut this time (some peanut that gives way to assertive almond) and I do like that, but the end product is less balanced than Ancient Age is. F: The bitterness kind of sticks around, unfortunately. The other flavors kind of fade, aside from a little bit of an orange oil astringency and a little bit of light caramel and corn sweetnesss. Even with the extra aging, I'm still not sure that I would identify this as a bourbon rather than some version of a Japanese whisky if I were forced to make a call. I can't say that I had really high expectations for this, though I do think that they might have been a tad higher than this. The nose is the best part of this by a substantial margin and in that element alone, this crushes Ancient Age. On the palate though, I'm not entirely sure that the extra age really helps, unfortunately. It certainly doesn't make this a worse drink and the difference in cost is small (plus you get a higher proof), so I wouldn't sweat it, but I also won't feel bad if I can never find this again. This is a weird conclusion to come to, but I kind of think that the Ancient Age is a line of "bad" bourbons. It's like watching a bad movie: there's a point at which it's so bad that it becomes fun again. Because regular Ancient Age is so much farther down, I almost like it more. Going a bit (a lot) into hyperbole here, but it's sort of like Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star is Snakes On A Plane and regular ol' Ancient Age is The Room: this one still sort of seems like it's trying to be serious, whereas regular Ancient Age has completely given up and is embracing its absurdity whole-heartedly. Also, colons: the brief fad that will be gone at the end of this paragraph. Maybe I should be marking both this and regular Ancient Age down through the floor because they are quite bad as bourbons, but they're pretty fun in this quirky way. At the end of the day, I have to conclude that since I like them they deserve a decent rating. So as for that rating, I think I'll give this a bump up to 12 (versus an 11 for the normal Ancient Age) because of its nice nose, but it isn't going higher than that. I'm not entirely convinced that this is a better bad movie than regular Ancient Age is.13.5 USD per Bottle -
Rating: 11/23 N: There's this light spiciness with some orange zest. I get some light caramel from the wood and some corn, but it's quite light. A faint whiff of a musty grain, like it's been sitting in a slightly warm warehouse for a day or so. P: It's sweet and light with some orange, ethanol, light caramel, and corn with a bit of malted barley. It's soft an easy to sip. I can't remember the mashbill on this one, but I'd guess it's a wheater or possibly made with a sweet mash. F: It's a mellow finish. The alcohol comes out a bit more here, but it isn't overwhelming. The orange, grain, and light caramel all fade gently. This is still a weird, but fun bourbon. I like it just as much as I did before. I'm not sure it's a great mixer, but it's weirdly fun to sip for its price and immaturity. The lack of harshness really makes this work even though the alcohol still shows through. I'm going to stick with my previous 11. Honestly though, if you'd ask me what kind of whiskey this was, I probably wouldn't have guessed bourbon. Some sort of corn-based Japanese would have been most likely.10.0 USD per Bottle
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Rating: 15/23 After how miserably drawn-out my last absinthe tasting was (due to the wormwood's ability to numb, the strong flavors, and the high proof), I decided that I didn't want to buy any more bottles of this stuff (also because it's a mixer in the smallest of quantities) without tasting them first. So I was lucky to get a sample of Pernod! N: Initially, I didn't get much on the nose. Pretty soon though, I got plenty of black licorice with a surprising sweetness to it, a little bit of savoriness, and...that's it? There's surprisingly little presence here for an absinthe. P: This is kind of rich, without having the piercing bitterness of Oregon Spirit. It's a bit savory, a bit sweet, and a lot black licorice. The wormwood is numbing, but I still get a tad of complexity out of this. The proof certainly shows, but I don't get a bunch of ethanol. I do get a hint of terragon though. That all requires really searching though. The key thing here is that the bitter licorice flavor is at least matched by the sweetness, which is a bit jarring. F: The terragon remains for quite a while (along with the numbness, and some black licorice). It's less tasty and interesting than the palate, but it's fine. Compared with Corsair Red (the only absinthe that I have a bottle of), this is less complex, but more balanced, and also richer. The sweetness here is kind of surprising and it really does change the profile of a mixed drink in a way that bitters don't. Still, the sweetness and richness can work well in my opinion. The color is kind of cool and it's natural enough that it doesn't make what it's mixed in look weird like Mephisto does. What gives me pause here is that I wish this had a more assertive profile. It certainly isn't watery, but it doesn't have that bitter punch to it to the same degree that most absinthe does. I struggled last time I was rating absinthes because the complexity neat of the absinthes I tried was inversely related to their qualities as mixers. This time, it's still hard, but for a slightly different reason. Now, each is good as a mixer in different circumstances. Corsair, with its starker flavor, is better for bright cocktails; Pernod, with its sweetness, is better for rich, mellow cocktails. If I wanted to add a new dimension to a cocktail but was afraid that it might lose some fullness and wasn't afraid of a little sugar, Pernod would absolutely be the way to go. If I were mixing with a starker, more pure rye, I would go for something less sweet, like Corsair. This may be my next bottle (in 2149, when I finally run out) or it might be a good additional bottle to have to represent the other end of the absinthe spectrum. I prefer Corsair Red neat and it's better for some cocktails looking for a more interesting profile, but this has (I imagine) an equally large selection of cocktails that it is substantially better for. Since neither is all that pleasant to drink neat. I've gone back and forth on these in cocktails. Once sugar is added (as seems to be called for in most absinthe-based cocktails), the Pernod's sweetness becomes a non-issue. Then it's the fullness of the Pernod versus the complexity and interesting profile of the Corsair. Honestly, I consider given the Pernod a 15 at times, but I then I find a mix that works better with the Corsair. I guess this is just a tie? 14 for both then. I could be convinced that this is either a 13 or a 15, but I think that I'd be more likely to be convinced of a 15. I like the Corsair's interesting funk, but Pernod has a good, standard flavor that works well in most cocktails that include sugar (despite being a bit sweeter than I'd like on its own). OK, I'm going to go with a 15 for the Pernod on the grounds that, despite being mellow, it has a more traditional absinthe flavor, making it more acceptable in most mixed drinks (so long as they require sugar, which they mostly do). Corsair's offering is certainly interesting and a bit fun, but it's also a bit odd, so it's a riskier bet. For a side-by-side comparison, the classic Sazerac (made with Sazerac) is quite good with both absinthes, but the Pernod version is less jarring (though also less complex) and its richness is quite good. If I were serving this cocktail to someone who I wasn't sure was looking for something interesting, I'd go with the Pernod. Considering that cocktails with absinthe pretty often to include sugar (or some other sweet ingredient) and that Pernod holds up well in those circumstances, I'll give Pernod a 15.65.0 USD per Bottle
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Rating: 15/23 N: I get the rye tartness, minerality, and some cherry. It actually reminds me faintly of an island scotch. Based on the nose alone, I expect that the rye is more than 51% and that the barley might also be a bit on the high side. I do get a waft of corn as well though. P: I am more confident that this is Old Forester than I am that it is rye (though I'm also pretty sure that it's rye). Like how I'm sure that the Knob Creek rye is Knob Creek (or at least Beam) when I taste it, I know that this is Old Forester. But more so. There's a lot of that same cherry from the Old Forester bourbon coming through. I get plenty of spices, with ginger being the biggest, along with pepper (white and black), then cloves and cinnamon coming in. It's a bit harsh, but not too bad. There's a bit of vanilla, but not too much. I do get that classic rye dill flavor though. The wood makes itself known without being overwhelming. Without being told, I'd guess that this is 4 to 6 years old. This is rich, full. and enjoyable with a decent complexity. I do get a bit of ethanol, but it blends into some menthol, so it kind of works. Also, this is 50% ABV, so some alcohol flavor is OK. F: The menthol, ethanol, spice, cherry, anise, and so forth remain. The harshness is more apparent here, but it isn't overwhelming. It's a decent, but unexciting finish. How did I get this for $21? It seems too good to be true for 50% ABV rye of this quality. This isn't amazing and it's a little rough around the edges for sipping, but I can enjoy it. It doesn't really have the usual rye qualities, but there is a substantial rye tartness and I enjoy it. It's sort of like a cleaner version of Old Forester Signature. There's less complexity, but less to complain about as well. I like that nice rye presence, but I wish that there was more of it. I think I might like this a little bit better than Old Forester Signature because it cleans up the odd funk on the palate with a clean rye flavor. I like the richness here better than the complexity in Jeam Beam Pre-Prohibition, but I like Russell's Reserve 6 better than this. Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye isn't quite as good because it's less complex and has less rye flavor. I get the clean, rye dill flavor (albeit reduced) that I want from George Dickel Rye (well, kind of just any MGP rye), but this doesn't taste as immature. I really enjoy this. It's definitely a quirky rye, but it's a good one. 14 is the lowest I could possibly go and I can imagine a 16. A 17 seems like a stretch, but a 15 seems believable. The more time that I spend contemplating this, the more convinced I am that it merits a 15, but I have spent a while waffling between a 15 and a 16. I just don't think it's as good as Russell's Reserve 6 though because it isn't as complex and you really need to like that Old Forester high barley (I sure hope I'm right about Old Forester using a high proportion of barley or I'm going to feel silly) profile. So I'm going with 15.21.0 USD per Bottle
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Old Forester 100 Proof Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 19, 2020 (edited January 17, 2021)Rating: 15/23 N: Fairly rich and soft. It smells like there's probably a high proportion of barley. I get rich cherry with vanilla, and a nice layer of slightly tannic wood backing it. Some spices come off of the wood. It smells odd for a bourbon, but it smells good. P: Lots of cherry and vanilla coming through. The wood is pretty tannic, which helps to balance the juicy fruit and floral vanilla rather than just making it taste like used teabags. There's some semi-sweet chocolate in here too and there are of course spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove, black pepper). I was initially disappointed by the palate, but I'm liking it better now. There's an impressive fullness that I think has the barley to thank in large part. I think that the barley might be bringing in a bit of oiliness as well that is throwing me off though. F: That fullness persists. Obviously, it tastes like cherry, vanilla, wood, and spices still. It's a fine finish, though the components start to taste a little discordant here as the oiliness persists and turns a little bit metallic. There's maybe a hint of peppermint. Old Forester doesn't say what the mashbill is, but I bet it has an abnormally large amount of barley. This is an interesting twist on a bourbon. I think that the balance and cohesion could use some improvement and the cherry, chocolate, and spices could benefit from some refinement to turn them into real killer flavors, but for up to $30, this is worth considering. I'd rank it as a strong contender alongside Wild Turkey 101 for best budget bourbon. Up until the finish really kicks in, this is a really great bourbon. I wouldn't call it world-class, but it really stands out (it could maybe be an 18 or something). That finish brings it down a lot though, unfortunately. I've been wavering between 14 and 16 and I think I have to just come down on 15. It's better than Legent (another bourbon with a strong cherry flavor), but not as good as Russell's Reserve 10. I'm not really sure whether I like this or the Old Forester Rye better (I do realize that they are different beasts). If I had to pick one, I'd probably go with the rye because it has that clean rye flavor to it. I have the rye at a borderline 15 to 16, so this just seems to fit naturally into the 15 slot.22.0 USD per Bottle
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