Tastes

I found it on sale for $35 a while back. I'm finding it hard to get anything pleasurable out of it. Perhaps I got a bad bottle/batch, but I've had 6 other people try it with similar negative feedback. I'd love to support another Texas distiller, but I'm not sure if the Texas climate is really made for a good single malt, which often needs a long time in cool conditions to really mature in a barrel without over oaking it. The young age and hot climate really puts this off for me. I might visit the distillery at some point to try them out again, but until then I won't be getting another bottle since I'm struggling to find use for the one I have right now.

Maybe I had a bad pour, or something stuck in my teeth from lunch changed the flavor, but I found this pour bitter and sour at the same time. I'd be willing to try it again, but I won't be buying a bottle before I have another taste.

I think my local store picked a real winner ("Yelp" for anyone else who has that barrel too). It's no surprise it reminds me a lot of Larceny Barrel Proof since it's also distilled by Heaven Hill and uses the same mashbill. Opens up with a drop of water or a little ice, tons of flavors to dissect once you conquer the heat. If I had to choose a store barrel pick, I'd say this really stands above something in the same price range, like Knob Creek. UPDATE: I did a blind between this and Larceny B522. I could pick up subtle differences and managed to correctly identify them. I still prefer the Larceny, but for $50, the Rebel is a great alternative if you can't find any Larceny batches.

This has an incredibly silky, creamy mouthfeel. Different people will get different profile notes from different batches, but I don't think anyone will miss how great this bourbon feels in the mouth. It just coats everything. Yes there's vanilla, cherry, molasses and oak (to me anyway) but boy does that mouthfeel shine through as a winner. 100% worth $50 and a nice upgrade from the regular small batch. Not that I'd want to, but if I could only find this on the secondary/inflated market, I'd still pay $80 for a bottle.

This is one unique single barrel. The mashbill alone of 80% Corn, 10% Malted Corn, 5% Rye and 5% Malted Barley is way beyond the norm. As a value proposition, this bottle has a lot of competition with other great, aged, cask strength bourbons that often come in a lot lower on price. However, as a conversation piece this thing ticks all the boxes. It's aged in two separate climates (not intentionally), by a now defunct distillery, and bottled by a independent organization in a bottle that just screams "ostentatious." Like the legend it's named after, Doc Holliday boast some serious swagger in an old time, grooved bottle, western label, cast metal "loaded revolver cylinder" cork, and 3D gold colored steer skull. Heck, the label even says "I'm you're huckleberry." Maybe I'm a fool for opening my bottle (21 of 149 according to the hand written side of the label) rather than saving it for an investment, but I can't leave this whiskey undrunk. It's flavorful, malty and spicy, but very approachable at its proof. I think a little water helps tone down the spice and gives some chocolate notes that's probably from the malted corn. It's a great whiskey that's really unlike any other bourbon I've had, although you pay a premium for that novelty. Sure there's other cask strength bourbon out there that I like better and cost way less, but I'm not sorry to have such a fun bottle I can share with friends when they come over. Nothing like this will likely ever be made again, so if you have a chance to buy or try it, I think its worth the premium pricing.

Do you enjoy the taste of peanuts? How about the taste of some shells picked up from the floor of a Texas Roadhouse sprinked with some vanilla extract? Have I got the bourbon for you... But in all seriousness, I have a soft spot for this cheap bourbon from my dance hall days when it was the well on tap for double whiskey cokes at $5.00. If this is your go to daily, I can respect it. However, I might also offer you some equally inexpensive alternatives like Evan Williams BiB, Early Times BiB (yes even the "new one") or Mellow Corn BiB (if you don't mind it isn't technically bourbon). You get more than you pay for with those alternatives, but you only get exactly what you pay for with classic Beam. Either way, there's no shame in sharing a round of this with friends or just taking a pour to help unwind from a particularly stressful day. It sure beats other cheap liquors for that.

Pretty good rye, especially at SRP. Don't get suckered into secondary just because it's Buffalo Trace, but worth keep an eye out for. Although the bottle says it's great for a Sazerac cocktail, I've found Rittenhouse BiB or Old Overholt BiB are better for such things, they carry more over in the mix. However, I'd have to say, Sazerac wins by a hair when served neat over most of its competitors at the same price point. The real difference likely comes down to the rumoured lower Rye % in Sazerac vs many others. Sazerac might contain as little as 51% rye, and at 90 proof its not nearly as hot and spicy as its competitors. Side not: It's another cool bottle to add to your shelf, so that itself can be worth the hunt.

It's the definitive Lagavulin, and some would even say that makes it the definitive Islay. If it's good enough for Nick Offerman, it should be good enough for you. Even with the steady price rise thanks to Diageo, this is still an amazing whisky. If you could only own one core offering from Islay, it's hard to argue against this one. Like Ardbeg Uigeadail, I could drink this every day for the rest of my life.

I picked up a bottle of the new ET BiB (now that it's owned by Sazerac, not Brown Foreman). I can't compare it to the old as I never had the pleasure. What I can say is this newer juice is good, but thin and simple. Certainly worth $22 for a liter, especially for cocktails, but the proof bites more than I'd expect at 100, while simultaneously failing to really coat my mouth. Above average, especially for the price, but nothing to write home about. I think I'd still take Evan Williams BiB over it.

I want to love this bourbon, I really do. It has strong flavors and complexity you wouldn't expect from 3 years in the barrel, so the whole "Texas climate," isn't a gimmick. It's a cool bottle, and delivers on the sweetness of a wheated whiskey. They only thing I don't love is the price. At $60, I could see this as a serious contender for people's wallets. At $40 it would practically fly off the shelves. But at $80 it's really hard to justify over plenty of other great bourbons for half the price. The price is really what drops the rating for me, because otherwise I'd be ranking it a 4.5 easily. But who knows, at the rate of inflation and the whiskey market, $80 might just become the new $40 and we'll be begging to buy this.