Tastes

A gift bottle, this is something I don't think I'd ever seriously consider on my own. While I love finished whiskies, flavored bottles I hold in less esteem. So my biases are out there, I enjoy a strong bitter cold brew coffee. I really enjoy Irish whiskey. I'm not a Jameson fanboy by any means, but I'll approach this with an open mind. I'm in the process of tasting my way through a few weird things in the amaro/mixer cabinet and this fits right in. I'll be commenting on Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka right after this experience. First pour from a newly opened bottle (neck pour) tasted neat from a glencairn. The pour was given about 10 minutes to rest before evaluation. This liquor is a total coffee color in the glass. It looks like something between flat Coca Cola and drip coffee from the morning pot. Translucent with little sheeting on the swirl. The nose is almost pathetically weak. I expect the aroma of coffee, natural or artificial but I'm getting almost nothing. No whiskey notes I can identify, just the slightest trace of generic coffee and a faint wisp of ethanol. I'm certainly losing confidence in this now. Let's go in for a taste. Watered down whiskey in bad coffee, left in a mug overnight. Perhaps with some cigarette ash in it. Bitter, nasty finish. Good god, this is bad. Jameson themselves say to mix this with cola, add ice, mix with coffee, anything but drink it neat. I should have listened to them.

I'm a fan of Widow Jane bourbon, and I looked forward to this particular expression. I was excited enough about it to actually go and chase down a bottle halfway across town. Let's see what I got myself into... This taste is neat and from a Riedel Vinum cognac glass. The bottle has been open about a week. A swirl shows thick sheeting and slow tears. I anticipate a rich mouthfeel. The maple syrup note is prominent, but quite luscious and inviting. The nose also brings notes of caramel, vanilla bean ice cream, creamed corn, wet oak wood and spun sugar. This whiskey is a sophisticated candy in a fancy glass! The maple really takes a back seat on the tongue. Up front I get classic bourbon notes of brown sugar, vanilla, clove, light cinnamon, and faint allspice. The finish is short, sweet and with a clean fade that leaves a creamy sweetness and faint echoes of maple syrup. This is exactly what I expected. Widow Jane 10 yo is a very good bourbon in my book. The finish builds on that solid foundation and adds layers of complex aroma, shadows of autumn fruits and a beautifully balanced blush of syrup. This is a great dram to end a meal or end an evening. Recommended for those times you want something sweet and strong.

I was looking for a bit of variety in my Scotch selection and landed on this as something new to try. This taste is neat from a glencairn. It was allowed to rest for several minutes after the pour. The bottle has been open for a few weeks and is about 3/4 full. In the glass this shows as a burnished brass. A swirl shows thick sheeting and slow large tears. The nose on this is delightful. It is quite fruity. I get elements of tangerine, pineapple, some green apple, and strong hints of confectioners sugar. There's a lot going on in this glass. This whisky is finished in tokaji wine casks. I have no idea what tokaji wine tastes like, I have never seen it nor heard of it before this bottle. What I can say is that it brings a complex sweet fruitiness to the nose that is simply addicting. On the palate this is not quite as rich as it appeared. Slightly creamy, but certainly not over the top in any way. The mouthfeel is silky, but perhaps just a little bit thin in comparison to my expectations. The flavor profile includes sweet citrus fruits, ripe orchard fruits, confectioners sugar, yellow cake with vanilla frosting, a slight bitter golden oak note, and just a touch of white pepper. The finish is satisfying if perhaps just a bit short. There is a good barrel note, a bit of vanilla - the ghost of the bourbon barrels it was aged in no doubt. This is a lovely homage to a speyside profile. Consider it a playful Highland malt and you'll understand. This is quite a treat. The nose over delivers, but the taste profile is solid. Easily approachable, honey and complex fruit, nice mouthfeel, and a good sense of presence. The only thing that keeps this from being a truly world-class quaff is the curtailed finish. I most assuredly recommend this.

This is a bourbon I've been wanting to try. I'd heard that it was surprisingly good for its price point, which tends to run about $12.99 in my local Tampa market. I finally picked up a bottle and it seems natural to compare it to the Jim Beam Black Extra Aged that I just purchased for a princely $2 more at $14.99. Let's see how they stack up, shall we? The Ezra Brooks pours an old copper penny color, the JBBEA just a semi-shade darker. A swirl show surprising sheeting and quick, thin tears down the side of the glencairn. The Beam is maybe a touch more viscous, but they are very close. On the nose I get wet wood funk, a touch of vanilla and a bit of nougat on the nose of the EB. There's no real indication of youth or ethanol/alcohol. The nose isn't pretty, but it's not off-putting at all. It's just not rich as maybe fits reasonable expectations of a sub $15 bottle. Meanwhile the JBBEA actually offers up just a tad more ethanol, which is surprising because it's a lower proof at 84 versus the EB's 90. The JBBEA has a slightly richer caramel note, but the two are more alike than different. On the palate the Ezra is sweet, easy, almost no spice and a very fast finish. There's a blush of sweet vanilla and caramel left on the taste buds after the swallow. It's actually a reasonably nice drink when enjoyed neat, and that's surprising at this price point. Of course I don't think this would be my everyday, its misses that by a small margin. But I have no problems drinking this as it comes. The Beam has a richer wood element, a bit more cinnamon on the slightly longer finish and just a touch more spice. Again, these are pretty close and would make for an interesting A-B=C blind tasting. I've had both of these on ice and they both fit that casual need quite well. I think the EB actually acquits itself when a couple cubes are added. It's sweeter and easier to drink, where as the Beam I think doesn't work as well on ice. Somehow the added water and chilling brings some slightly bitter oak notes a bit more forward. Again, these are subtle differences. The bottom line? I wouldn't stand in line for either and, unless I'm looking for an exceptionally affordable bourbon, I'd pass by either of these for a bottle of Elijah Craig Small Batch, Old Tub or even Buffalo Trace. That said, both of these work nicely in mixed drinks and brink no shame to the server. This is a pretty darn good bottle of inexpensive hooch. I rate on a scale of 1 = undrinkable for me to 5 = a perfect example of the expression. My "curated" bar is only bottles I score at 4 or more. Clearly neither Ezra Brooks nor Jim Beam Black are making it to that level. That said, these are solid average and should hit something like a 2.5 on my scale. I think that's not a bad result. I'll enjoy the rest of this bottle, but more importantly I think this might be a nice foundation for a sweet Old Fashioned or a Whiskey Sour for some in my circle who are not fans of brown liquor. I think they'd enjoy the more subdued and agreeable notes found in either of these value bottles.

First taste from a fresh bottle. I have no real expectations for this. I'm anticipating light & sweet, and the pale apple juice pour gives no hint of the opposite. Tasted neat from a glencairn and allowed to rest for several minutes after the pour. The nose is sweet with honey, shortbread, and a bit of biscuit against a backwash of light ethanol. There's not a lot there, but what shows up is benign and inoffensive. There is minimal complexity. I don't want to like the nose, but somehow it just seems inevitable that I'll find it's pleasant. It is. Your taste buds will tell you that the nose over delivers. The simple string of delicate notes on the nose are somehow reduced to a (clean) ethanol, biscuits, dry grain, and a faint vegetable or floral element. This is whiskey flavored vodka. At least that's what my brain keeps saying over and over. This is a mixer. I don't mean that in a bad way. It's not a horrible beverage. But it's definitely designed to be a mixer. It tastes like it should be a mixer, and the next time I pour it into a glass it will be as a mixer.

This is a bottle I never thought about buying, although I've wanted to give it a taste. I like Beam Bottled in Bond, Old Tub and I enjoyed Distiller's Cut when it was available. I'm not a fan of White Label, it's just a bit too coarse for anything except mixing with cola, imho. That said, I ran into a recent sale of JBBEA at Winn Dixie. $14.99 each if you buy two. I can't resist a liquor sale! New bottle, first pour. Tasted neat from a rocks glass. The whiskey was allowed to rest for about 10 minutes before evaluation. I think my dislike for the White Label is because its just too young, too rough. Here's what Beam says about this bottle: "Our premium 86-proof, double-aged bourbon spends 8 years in new charred, white oak barrels. That's twice as long as original Jim Beam. It's those four extra years of aging that give Jim Beam Black its full bodied flavor with smooth caramel and warm oak notes." In my experience, 8 years is a sweet spot in bourbon aging. The nose is sweet and syrupy with notes of peanut brittle and vanilla. There's not a big note of ethanol, which is quite refreshing at this price point. Undoubtedly that has something to do with the low proof. I typically enjoy BiB and higher proofs. We'll see how this stacks up. On the palate this is immediately identifiable as an easy sipper. No challenges here. What you'll taste is all there is... and frankly it's not half bad! It's not as sweet as the nose will have you believe. The entry is soft caramel, a drop of vanilla, and some caramelized sugar. There's a bit of an ethanol taste that wasn't as present in the nose, but its lacking that acetone note I sometimes get with young whiskey (thankfully). Mouthfeel avoids excessive thinness, but it's not something I'd describe as rich or creamy. Still, this is more than respectable considering the price point (am I supposed to consider price?) There's a bit of cinnamon, ginger and cloves on the short finish. There's a touch of spice in the same way that a Wendy's chicken sandwich is considered spicy. It's certainly not a challenge and is aimed squarely at the mainstream drinker. Yes, this is definitely a step up from JBW. I'm not giving up Knob Creek, or even Old Tub, but this is something I'll certainly enjoy. I rate on a scale where a 1 is a drain-pour and a 5 is a perfect example of the expression. Following a bell curve, most competently created products should place somewhere between 2 and 3. This is right there plus a quarter point for such a great price. This is an easy recommendation if you're looking for an inexpensive bottle. It's also an easy recommendation for those new to the whiskey experience.