Tastes

113.6 Proof (2018 release) Nose- Tropical fruits, wild flowers, caramel, honey, lemon, wet wood, baking spices, apples, lavender Palate- Sweet honey, cinnamon dusted apples, orange candies, oak, lavender, caramel Finish- Thick, chewy mouthfeel with a long finish of honeysuckle, baking spices and a sort of floral- lavender flavor An absolute delight. Belle Meade absolutely nailed the balance between not enough and too much honey when aging this bourbon. The nose fantastic, with the highlights being (of course) honey, tropical fruits, and wild flower smell that reminds me of the very orchard the bees are from. The palate blew me away. Perfect balance of honey, spice, and floral flavors. The mouth feel on this really feels like a bourbon aged in a honey barrel. Thick, chewy and delicious. The bourbon coats your mouth and sticks to it (just like... you guessed it, honey) and leaves a long finish that is to die for. Truly one of the best bourbons i’ve ever tried. Bravo.

Nose- Grass, grapefruit, peat smoke, Japanese pear, honey, fresh herbs Palate- Pears, honey, peat smoke, earthy, sweet oranges, milk chocolate, sea salt Finish- Medium, oily finish with notes of grass, chocolate and a light wisp of smoke Great whisky. Excellent balance of earth and sweetness. Love the grass and fresh fruit notes that I get throughout the entire whisky. Notes of grapefruit and pears on the nose and palate also add the the balance and complexity. Finish could be longer, but is enjoyable nonetheless. Not sure I would buy a bottle of this, but would absolutely order this at a bar for a fair price.

Nose- Salted caramel, candied raisins, light smoke (not peat, more barrel char), cherries, molasses Palate- Sea salt initially, raisins, light smoke (again, barrel char), wood spice, chocolate covered cherries Finish- Long, creamy finish with notes of candied raisins, spices, and dark chocolate Very nice. I’m a huge fan of the Bunna 12, and while it’s not a big step up, it really is delicious and a fantastic sipper. Nose is beautiful, with sweet sherry notes coupled with the traditional bunna saltiness. Palate matches the nose well, with a little added spice on top, and has a creamy mouthfeel with a long, tasty finish. Just sweet enough while not being over the top.

Nose- Caramel sweetness, rich oak, vanilla toffee, candy corn, honey, peanut oil, molasses Palate- Confectioners sugar, honey sweetness, cinnamon, deep dark caramel, wet oak Finish- Long, drying finish on the tongue, with a pleasant creaminess filling the rest of the mouth. Tasty notes of dark, rich caramel, candy sweetness, and toasted oak round it out Absolutely wonderful. I will say, i’m a huge fan of Old Fitz 9, 11 and 13 so I may be biased, but this is the best of all of them. Excellent although out, and perfectly balanced. Finish is drying just in the right way. The tongue dries out, while the rest of the mouth is introduced to a beautiful creamy mouthfeel, which, in my opinion is everything you want in a finish. I will always strive to keep this on my shelf, delicious stuff.

Cask #2251 Nose- Maple syrup, caramel, vanilla, spiced caramel, black pepper, cinnamon Palate- Buttered pancakes smothered in maple syrup, caramel, vanilla toffee, rye spice Finish- Long, buttery, mouth coating finish notes of Maple syrup, black pepper, and caramel This is fantastic. Everything you could want from a rye. Buttery pancakes with maple syrup from the nose to finish. My only complaint is that the maple syrup can overpower some of the other delicious flavors. I need to track down a single barrel willett.

Nose- Caramel, pineapple, vanilla, bright orange, light oak Palate- Chewy Caramel, raspberries, spiced vanilla, tropical fruits, chocolate chip cookie dough Finish- Long, chewy finish with notes of tropical fruits, cookie dough and black pepper spice Wanted to go into this hating it, but god damn this is good. Nice tropical fruits on the nose and palate. There’s also a unique chocolate chip cookie dough taste to it on the end of the palate and finish, which I fine delicious and not something you find every day. I just wish this bottle wasn’t 750 dollars....

Nose- Peat smoke, creamy sweetness, gigars, cocoa powder, sea salt, earthy, candied raisins Palate- Honey sweetness, peat smoke, cigar ash, rubber, raisins, figs Finish- Long, creamy finish with notes of peat smoke, rubber, and sherry sweetness This one is pretty good. Didn’t quite live up to the hype everyone gives the dark cove though. I was hoping for more sherry sweetness but still the cigar ash and peat smoke that ardbeg is known for is overpowering it. There are flashes of honey sweetness and sherry, but just not as much as id hoped for.

Nose- Candied raisins, fig jam, stewed dark fruits, red licorice, honey roasted nuts, lavender Palate- sweet honey-syrup initially, rich dark fruits, licorice, fig jam, sugary toffee, strawberry jam Finish- Long, syrupy finish with delicious notes of honey covered nuts, strawberry jam, and sherry sweetness A.Maze.Ing. My oh my. People say this is “liquid desert” and that is completely right. If you’re not a fan of sweet whiskies this one won’t be for you, but I absolutely love it.

Nose- light and soft, butterscotch, pineapple, raisins, toffee, floral Palate- honey, ginger, pear, apple cider, touch of mizanura oak Finish- Medium, thin finish with notes of sweet honey and an apple/pear cider This is just an average whisky. I would be infuriated if I spent $400 on this. The difference between the 17 and 21 is astounding.

PVW 15 (2016) Nose- Rich vanilla, cherry, buttery, root beer, caramel, spicy wood Palate- Caramel corn, black pepper, vanilla, walnuts, soft oak, tobacco, mint Finish- As long as a finish can get, chewy and tingling finish with notes of mouth coating spice, tobacco, and cherries Hm. Nice and complex. Good nose, but nothing mind blowing. On the palate, you can immediately tell that this is a highly aged bourbon. Lots of nice oak and spice. The finish is where this stands out. The longest finish I can remember. Spice coats the mouth throughout the entire experience. This is good stuff, but if I had it blind against some other bourbons (Old Fitz, GTS, EHT SiB) I’m not sure that this would win. For MSRP, I think that this is worth it... I won’t even get into secondary.