Tastes

Nose - pear, apple, honey, old wood, spoiled meat, unidentifiable nut, cereal grain, bitter floral and herbal notes, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - pear, honey, vanilla, cereal grain, hay, bitter herbal notes, cream, apple, yeasty moldy bread, subtle sulphur, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast and young with grain, dry herbal, and plastic flavors. Another stinker from Total Wine. Can’t say I’m surprised. This reminds me a lot of the Glen Ness I reviewed a few days ago. There’s really not much to like about it. The nose is really bright and grainy. The palate arrival is probably the best part, as there is a hint of some nice pear and honey notes, but it quickly takes a turn for the worse through the development and finish. As a sidebar, I’ve actually heard a Total Wine employee recommend this one to some poor, naive customer. As I don’t believe the sales person was purposely malicious, I imagine TW puts pressure on the employees to hawk their own brands, likely because the margins are higher. If you want more honest recommendations, you’re better off going to your local small business liquor store or finding some reviewers you trust on sites like Distiller.

Nose - black cherry, berry, buttered popcorn, sawdust, candy corn, butterscotch, vanilla, cream, nutmeg, dusty corn, leather, frosting, cocoa, brown sugar, sweaty oak, apple, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - cherry, rich caramel, sour berry, apple, wheat, black pepper, grape candy, spicy oak char, cinnamon red hot, allspice, powdered sugar, brown sugar, plum, sawdust, buttery corn, toasted marshmallow, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium long with cinnamon red hot, spicy oak, caramel, and black pepper flavors. Hey! My first Garrison Brothers. The richness they’re able to get from a short amount of Texas aging is remarkable. You can almost taste the musty, sweaty wood. That said, there’s still some unmistakeable youthfulness, particularly in the palate. I’m fine with spicy, harsh bourbons, but would like to see a bit more complexity and depth of flavor to endure the burn. One interesting characteristic is this sawdust note a couple others identified, especially on the nose. I absolutely get that one as well, but it seems to morph between buttered popcorn and this dusty, powdered sugar, frosting aroma. Pretty cool. Overall, this is solid bourbon. Unfortunately, GB charges absurd prices for whiskey that’s not absurdly great. This can’t compete even with some bourbons close to half its price. Fortunately, I was very generously provided a sample of this by @ContemplativeFox, so I don’t have to buy the bottle.

Nose - honey, pear, cereal grain, floral notes, subtle sulphur, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - pear, cereal grain, apple, hay, slight meatiness, bitter herbal and floral notes, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast and bright with bitter dry grass and young grain flavors. This tastes like cheap blended scotch, but not quite as good. It’s obviously very young; the bright graininess is front and center. The worst part is the meaty sulphureous thread that runs through the entire experience. The one saving grace is the lightning fast finish. At least that meatiness doesn’t linger for long.

Nose - caramel, pear, shortbread, honey, vanilla, cereal grain, floral notes, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - vanilla, caramel, shortbread, cinnamon, bitter floral and herbal notes, apple, lime, almond, cereal grain, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast and bright with caramel, bitter floral, and malty grain flavors. This tastes similar to other young, low to mid shelf Irish whisky offerings like Bushmills and Jameson, but not quite as good. It’s more akin to the quality of Tullamore DEW, which I rank below the others. Overall, it’s not bad, but rather young and very simple. There are a few aromas and flavors to easily identify it as an Irish whisky, but not much past that. This would suffice as a cheap mixer, but I recommend springing a few extra bucks for the Jameson. There’s really not much more to say about it.

Nose - apple cider, mint, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, rye bread, clover honey, grape, sweet tobacco, floral notes, wax, apricot, peach, and other stewed fruit, vanilla, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - apple, apricot, mint, ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, honey, spicy rye, leather, tobacco, licorice, caramel, floral notes, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium length and hot with rye bread, spiced apple, and mint flavors. This is much sweeter and fruitier than other 100% ryes I’ve tried, specifically Whistlepig and New Riff (which is 5% malted rye, to be exact). However, there’s enough herbal spice to let you know it’s not a barely legal rye. The spiciness is muted, though I wouldn’t say balanced, by the fruity sweetness. The nose and palate are a veritable potpourri of aromas and flavors; everything but the kitchen sink, so to speak. A more elegant whiskey would integrate these contrasting facets beautifully, but here it’s more mixture and less solution. That said, this is not a bad rye at all. Probably slightly above average, per my rating scale. However, the elephant in the room here is the price. At $50 a bottle, this is up against the likes of New Riff, Pikesville, and High West DR!, which are either much better (Pikesville and New Riff) or of similar quality and much cheaper (High West DR!) than this offering. This completes my Oregon Spirit review series. I was more impressed with this brand than the other Total Wine house brands I’ve reviewed. Overall, each of the three expressions (Bourbon, Wheat Whiskey, and Rye) has been average or slightly above average for me, but none is competitive in price against offerings in the larger market.

Nose - rich caramel, brown sugar, apple, strong cinnamon, berry, vanilla, marshmallow, powdered sugar, chocolate, spicy oak char, grape, leather, tobacco, cherry, custard, black pepper, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - salted caramel, cherry, apple, tannic oak, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, grape, black pepper, brown sugar, ginger, powdered sugar, vanilla, marshmallow, chocolate, leather, berry, spicy tobacco, cola, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with rich salted caramel, moderately tannic oak, cinnamon, and black pepper flavors. This is a really nice. The nose and palate are both rich and delicate with strong caramel, leather, and tobacco balanced effectively with natural fruitiness and creamy, marshmallowy sweetness. It’s a bit overoaked and bitter, but the lower-than-cask proof keeps it from veering into unpleasantly tannic and dry territory. It’s just really good bourbon, but not at all mind blowing. And I’d still pick my ECBP batches over this one if I was forced to choose. I wouldn’t call this a good value at $150 MSRP. Hell, I can get ECBP releases for $60 fairly easily near me. However, the last time the VA ABC had this is stock, there were lines around the building. Secondary seems to be in the $200 - $300 range, which is absurd. It’s absolutely not worth over $100, at least in my personal opinion. That said, it’s really solid and I’d be happy to have a glass of this any day.

Nose - Sun-Maid raisin, cherry, strawberry, apricot and other dry fruit, butterscotch, vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, sweet oak, brown sugar, apple, leather, nutmeg, peanut, licorice, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - raisin, grape, cherry, tobacco, leather, strawberry, apple, caramel, vanilla, spearmint, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, barrel spice, chocolate, peanut, licorice, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing fast and hot with dry fruit, oak char, caramel flavors. This is the whiskey version of trail mix. There’s some chocolate, nuts, raisins, and other dry fruit all brashly thrown together with no real elegance or finesse. It’s all just satisfactory, nothing exceptional. Compared to Oregon Spirit bourbon, the nose and arrival are not as good, but the development and into the finish are better, although there seems to be more youthful heat than in its counterpart. I’m going to put this one notch lower than the bourbon, because there’s nothing particularly noteworthy here, as there was with the bourbon’s explosion of flavor on the arrival. It’s, well, just average and that’s ok. But if I want to buy a bottle of just average whiskey, this wouldn’t be the one. There are better options for half the price on the shelves near me.

Nose - cherry, berry, Cap’n Crunch, licorice, clove, dill, salted caramel, cinnamon, peanut, vanilla, leather, tobacco, eucalyptus, apricot, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - prepared caramel, cherry, cinnamon bark, clove, leather, wine, red berry, sweet tobacco, dry vanilla, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing fast and bitter with sour barrel char, cinnamon, and tannic leather flavors. Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I’ve decided to embark on another tasting series of a Total Wine house whiskey brand. After the Winchesters I endured, I have very low expectations for this brand. I’m pleasantly surprised by the nose. It’s reminiscent of a young MGP rye, with the dill, licorice, and clove aromas, but this is much sweeter and berrylicious. Along with some of the classic bourbon notes, cherry and peanut make a strong entrance. The palate arrival is the nicest piece of the experience. Immediate rich, salted caramel and cherry shock my tongue. Is there wheat in the mash bill? Yep, just confirmed it’s a four grain with wheat as a component. Strong cherry notes usually coincide with a nontrivial percentage of wheat in the mix for me. After the arrival, things head south. The flavors muddle and that familiar, hot youthful sourness appears, quickly ending not with a bang, but a sour, dry whimper. Overall, this is neither terrible nor particular exciting, just slightly above average for me. If the finish wasn’t so disappointing, I could find it in myself to even call this good. Tune in next time for my thoughts on their rye and wheater. All things considered, I’m pleasantly surprised so far.

Nose - apple, plum, raisin, honey, strawberry, hay, Ovaltine, cocoa, peach, pear, cashew, grape, honeysuckle, sweet oak, subtle peat, mild ethanol burn. Taste - strawberry, pear, fig, green apple, honey, cashew, almond, ginger, cereal grain, black pepper, mint, dry oak, cocoa, clove, allspice, hay, creme brûlée crust, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with cocoa, tannic oak, and green apple flavors. Ten points to Oban for hitting me with another aroma from my childhood: Ovaltine! The 14 Year smacked me in the face with champagne gummy bears. It’s been close to a year since I’ve tried the 14 Year, but I think I like this NAS offering slightly more. The sherry influence is present but not overpowering, and integrates well with the classic Oban distillery character. I won’t be able to rate it extremely high, because the youth leaves the palate a bit malty and sour and the finish a bit short, but this is one I would absolutely drink with no disappointment. Unfortunately, a bottle is priced at $70 near me, which is too high and pits it unfavorably against some other delightful offerings in that range. Thanks to @ContemplativeFox for providing the sample. It was worth it just for that Ovaltine note which brought back some good memories.