Tastes

Had this pour as a blind taste so had no idea at the time what it was when tasting it so it was fun to go in with an open mind. Nose: vanilla, buttered pecan and black tea Palate: caramel, vanilla and nice touch of oak Finish: clove, cinnamon spice and a hint of tobacco with a medium finish. For being 15 years old the oak was really nice without being overpowering.

What can I say about standard Jack Daniels release, they never exceed your low expectations, ha. Even at 45% abv tho taste extremely watered down with very little flavor. I’m not even sure if it’s good to make cocktails, but to each their own.

The nose has a really nice banana nut bread sweetness to it. Moving on to the pallet you get a big amount of vanilla and spices that continue all the way to the finish. And that finish is quite long!

I went into tasting this bottle with an open mind because I thought it was a little ridiculous to charge $125 msrp for a non age statement bottle just because it was from Kentucky Owl. Luckily I got this as a Christmas gift so I didn’t pay out of my own pocket! The nose was pretty interesting with grassy notes and oak. This was probably the best part of the whiskey. Oak continues on the palate, but unfortunately the mouthfeel is a relatively thin. A good bourbon, but not one you should look for, especially for the price.

The nose has a good amount of wood spice and cinnamon. The palate is somewhat thin with the oak continuing from the nose. And the finish is relatively long.

I always want to dislike Templeton Rye especially since in their earlier years they were always very tricky about their marketing "history" and giving you the impression that they had this amazing old recipe from somebody's great grand daddy that made hooch illegally. Well, they got their rye from MGP and there isn't anything wrong with that! For this cask finish rye, there is a nice balance between the rye spice and sweet molasses from the maple barrel. Using rye whiskey with finishing barrels makes sense because you won't get the over sweetness that you can sometimes get with bourbon and wine casks.

This is a pretty average bourbon with nothing off putting about it. easy to sip, but nothing memorable about it.

This batch is a bit different from the other ones I have had and they is definitely not a bad thing! This one has a lighter more floral nose and the ethanol doesn't hit you as strong as other batches do. On the taste I get more lemon zest and orange peel flavors with less of that dark fruit richness. The finish is long and satisfying. Even though this is above 132 proof the whiskey is quite approachable and easy to sip considering the ABV.

When the 2 year bottle came out I thought it was pretty ridiculous that it was going for retail at around $115 and because of that I was never going to buy a bottle. Fast forward to seeing the three year edition at Costco for $80 and I couldn’t resist. Wow the nose on this is really great with burnt caramel and a slight tinge of mint. On the palate it definitely has strong alcohol burn and that’s to be expected for 108 proof. There is a lot of rye spice and I’m getting some marshmallow flavors as well. The finish is long with a good amount of oak especially for the age. I have to say this is a really great rye whiskey that looks and tastes like a rye that could be 7-8 years old.