Tastes

Batch 81, 4.5 years, 115 proof, Char 5, Medium Toast. I'm surprised by the lack of wood, oak, and toast flavors in this. Their impacts are there, but I expected more oak. The nose has a hint of oaky sweetness. The palate not too complex. The extracted wood sugars are at the forefront with sweet fruit notes and a little heat from the proof. The finish is more sweetness, a hint of vanilla, and then some light tannic drying.

On the nose it's light, sweet oaky toastiness. Sweet oak, fruit, and vanilla are greeted on the palate which fades to a lingering toasty oak. Throughout, the underlying notes which make it a Woodford Reserve remain, but with extra notes from the double oaking. I enjoy the notes from extra oak and wood sugars, making this an obvious improvement over a standard Woodford Reserve. However, the price gives me pause at nearly double that of the standard offering.

Limited Release, barrel # 18452. Peated Scotch finish. 100.4 proof. If you've had High West Campfire, this feels like campfire light. A mix between the sweet notes of double rye and the smokey peaty notes of a generic Islay scotch. The nose is light sweet rye notes with hints of mint; no peat is present. The palate and finish are where the peat comes forward. The taste is a light, sweet rye with a hint of vanilla followed by a peaty smokiness that is close to campfire smoke. The smoke lingers well after the taste and is a bit drying. Not bad if in the right mood like a fall evening.

While this batch wasn't as good as C922, this is still an excellent batch. The nose is sweet oak, spice, and cinnamon. The palate has the typical Heavan Hill oak profile, followed by sweet wheat notes with cinnamon, vanilla, and some caramel. It finishes reminding me of oaky, maple, pancakes. So far, for the price, these Larceny barrel proof batches are ceetainly worth the price.

For a young whiskey, this is a pleasant, light, sweet, easy drinking pour. The nose has a hint of grain and citrus notes. The palate is sweet fruit, vanilla, citrus, cherry, and a subtle hint of oak. The finish is short and sweet. The low proof point takes away from it's full potential, but this bottle keeps me interested in the brand.

This isn't your Old No. 7 Jack Daniels. On the nose i get primarily sweet caramel followed by some oak. On the palate it leads with more sweet caramel and some vanilla, followed by classic Jack banana amd some toasty oak. It finishes sweet with the banana, birnt sugar, and oak lingering. A very nice, inexpensive whiskey.

Barrel Nation pick. Barrel no. FB233-2, 104.8 proof, 4.5 years. Hint of heat on the nose followed by wood and grapey fruit notes. The palate tickles my tongue at first, but then rich fruity bourbon notes quickly wash over. Occasionally I get a passing nutty funk, but it's mostly fruit and oak. It doesn't drink hot, per se, but given the proof I'm surprised how it dances on my tongue, almost like some ryes I've had (triple checked the bottle, it's a bourbon). The grapey fruit notes that the finishing barrel give it are pleasant. It can get a bit tannic after a few sips.

Had this one after trying the amazing C922. While C921 doesn't live up to that rich impression, this is still a mighty fine whiskey. It's the perfect balance of sweet rich oak notes and hints of dried dark fruit. The proof is present but not overpowered. Really enjoy rhis pour.

Batch 130, 115.26 proof. Light and sweet on the nose, almost no ethanol is present which is surprising for the proof. The palate is sweet oak with a nice spicy rye tingle. That mix is what I gravitate towards in high rye bourbons and rye whiskeys. After the rye spice subsides a bit, I get some fruit notes, but it's the sweet, caramel, light oak notes that linger on my palate.

I saw another review that said this was just the regular Bulleit at a higher proof, and i have to agree. Theres nothing overly special about it. A little more oak, sweetness, and some spiciness. It's not bad, but at it's price point there are just too many other things I'd rather drink.