Tastes

If you like Old No. 7, you'll love this. If you don't like original Jack because it's too simple and sweet, you should still give this a try and see if it matches your refined pallet a bit more. If you don't like the profile of Jack, then don't bother with this. It's the same mashbill, just a different process, so it has a lot in common with No. 7. At $30, it's nice neat or on a rocks, and a great mixer to upgrade your Jack n' Cokes. It will likely have a reoccurring place on my shelf as long as that price point holds.

High-proof purests need not apply. This bourbon is certainly a step up from regular Tin Cup, and at $10 per year of ageing, it's not badly priced with competitors. I found it sweet and simple to drink, but really could have done with a higher proof bottling to give it more punch and complexity. It's a cool bottle, fun concept, and sips just fine neat. There's certainly way better juice out there for $70, but I don't regret adding it to the shelf, and I think it will go nice on a hot summer day when I don't want to think too hard about what I'm sipping.

I'm not going to bash a decent bourbon just because you can't find it at a decent price anymore. I also won't beat a dead horse since everyone has reviewed Balnton's and has reccomendations for substitutes. Can you find better single barrels at a similar SRP without having to search every store 10 times? Sure, but variety is the spice of life. If I luck out and find it at $60, I'll grab it to try and finish the dumb letters and throw it into the rotation. Anything over that is stretching it. If you've never had it or owned it, I'd say even at $80 it's worth it, just to have the bottle once and give a treat to friends who aren't as into bourbon. Plus, it's a lot more satisfying than ordering an overpriced double of it at a bar for $30-40+. It's also time for us all to forget that this once cost $40, because the bourbon inflation is real (started by Blanton's and Pappy) and lets just enjoy the juice that hasn't skyrocketed in price or become the next social media craze, while also enjoying an occasional Blanton's.

It'd delicate, likely thanks to the third distillation. It has a fun story and really rates high for me. It won't blow you away with flavor, but rather pleasantly surprises you with subtlety. It's a Buffalo Trace cousin, and really performs well at a great $35 price point. I'd put it up against Eagle Rare 10yr or Elmer T. Lee any day in a blind tasting, and it would probably win half the time. If you dislike Irish Whiskey, some of the notes might put you off.

A little disappointed neat. However, it really opens up with a drop or two of water, which I was not expecting at all given the proof. Honestly, with the water and some aeration it rates higher than a 4, but the closed nose neat detracts from it at first try. Can be hard to find at times, but it's a good history piece and always a requested taste from visiting friends, so worth paying SRP or a few bucks more if needed.

It's fine. But for $50, I think I'd want more than fine. There's so many $50 or less bourbons with more to offer than this, that it's hard to reccomend. The bottle is cool, the story (a bit gimicky) is interesting, and it ends up mixing well in an old fashioned or a derby. But neat and over rocks it doesn't wow me, and I can get cheaper whiskey that also serves well for cocktails. If you must have a $50ish bottle with a lot of history, try Wild Turkey Rare Breed or some Heaven Hill 7yr BiB and a drop of water to open it up.

I can't speak to what Old Forester put out in the past with its single barrels, or what it kight do in the future. However, the store pick I received at the end of 2022 was phenomenal. Great for those who love the Old Forester profile, cask strength, or even those just getting into bourbon who want a flavorful adventure. You're milage might vary, but perhaps Old Forester has finally found the sweet spot for their single barrel program.

If you drink Booker's only for the peanuts, or you only like wheated bourbons, don't buy. But if you're any other kind of bourbon drinker, this is a must grab while it's still around. If you haven't really experienced cask strength and want to know if it really does have more flavor, this is a great bottle to try neat. At $99, it's a bit pricey, but it has a lot of versatility and can be proofed down with some water or ice to change the profile a bit and have some fun experimenting with your favorite ratio.

I'm a sucker for high proof. If you enjoy a good cask strength, this a great chioce. Even thise who really only drink wheated bourbons can find some great notes to enjoy. If you're just getting into higher proofs, try some EC Small Batch first to see if you enjoy the profile. If you do, you'll likely love it in its pure form, even as it changes slightly batch to batch.

If you like larceny and high proof, then this will suit you well. A bit of an obvious statement, but it bares repeating. If you haven't had larceny, try it and see without spending double on a bottle of the Barrel Proof. If you know you like high proof but haven't had larceny and see this on the shelf for SRP, or close to it, grab it. Each batch won't be too different and you won't be disappointed.