Tastes

This bottle came from a lottery win. I’m really surprised to not see more reviews mention cherry. I get a lot on the nose as well as a creamy sweetness. The cherry is also present at the beginning with a little citrus and apple, but fades to that crème brûlée middle. This is sweet and comforting. Finishes some nice oak and graham cracker flavor. Finish is a bit shorter, but that would be my only complaint. Of course this is extremely smooth and if I wasn’t concerned with how hard it is to find, I could easily do some damage to this bottle. Grateful for the lottery win!

I have been following the story of this company for over a year now, so I was very excited to give it my first try. I definitely get nice sweet dark cherry up front. There’s a little ethanol-y mid taste, but this rounds out well with smoke and coffee. Now I like the whiskey and the story!

Received this as a gift from a friend from his local distillery. It’s a really fun craft find. Rather simple and does taste a little young. Smooth for a rye. Lots of tobacco, licorice and black pepper throughout. There’s a little up front ethanol flavor and the finish is a little short. The rye flavor comes in towards the end. Makes a really good black Manhattan!

Picked this up on vacation for my dad (scotch drinker) and I (bourbon drinker), hoping for a good in between. Pretty successful mission. The toast avoids bitter and burnt flavor. Lots of oak and the smoke flavor brings forth tobacco and licorice flavors later. All this is on the back end as the initial taste is modest, yet smooth. Lastly, I get a little citrus at the very end which adds a lot to this experience for me. Overall, not my typical profile, but a great one to share with a scotch drinker.

I love the willett heat. This one is a little harsher than what I expected, but delicious none the less. The nose is full of caramel. The front end is very smooth and still caramel. Then once the heat kicks in, there is lots of leather and coffee. Great lingering warmth.

Super fun spontaneous find. Nose is sweet cream and caramel. Very soft oak. Extremely welcoming. Up front smoothness. I get the caramel from the nose in buckets. I get a little leather and molasses here too. I get a good amount of late burn, which I love, but may get a bit intense for some. The finish is great and long. Still lots of caramel and coffee. I get some tingling like Szechwan peppers. Very impressed and this is a very fun social whiskey. Great first go at this mix!

To be fair, this is not my typical profile and it’s pretty good considering that it isn’t. To me, it’s similar to Johnny dram and makes a good cocktail. Smooth and simple. Vanilla and mild oak. No smoke and really no heat. A little fruity (apricot).

This is a really nice $50 bourbon. It lacks a long finish, but the flavor is great and complex, consistent with 4 grain blend. Pretty sweet overall with modest heat. Buttery caramel and corn up front. Nice oak towards the tail end.

This is the dream bottle. So complex and lovely. Nose is vanilla and oak. Extremely smooth. Get lots of cinnamon and vanilla up front. Oak hangs on throughout the amazing finish this bourbon offers. Really that’s what sets it apart.

Tbh, this was a random pick to complete a flight. Very lucky pick! The heat is tempered by the fruitiness. Loads of vanilla. Super smooth. Heat is slightly lacking for me.