Tastes

Golden apples, French oak spice & astringency, deep olorosso Sherry on the nose, soft mineral brine, mandarin orange, sweet barley nuttiness, cinnamon bark, spruce, Meyer lemon, nutmeg, creme brulee, black & red peppercorns. More French oak than American, though the creme brulee from the American oak stood out. Hard to tell if the American was second fill, French oak spice/astringency is dominant as it usually is. Higher ABV gives this a bump, though it definitely shows the no-age-statement.

Quite sweet and approachable. Soft caramel, warming cinnamon, pink lady apples, buttery, English custard, light brown sugar, spearmint, star anise, pastry, cherry wood charcoal, toffee, animal crackers. Great introduction to bourbon, pretty soft with a well rounded classic bourbon profile. It does have a feeling of being a bit watered down, though. Little disappointed to see single barrel picks have become rare but the standard can still surprise during some years. Would recommend Murray Hill, Elmer T. Lee, Hancock's.

Buttery creamed corn, butterscotch, clove, rich custard, chewy apricots, fresh plum, raisins, warming cinnamon, lemon curd, pecan pie, hint of dill at the end. Would recommend McKenna 10yr, Baker's.

2019, 02 batch. Highland peat, juicy mint, grassy, morning dew, 70% dark chocolate, buttery, vanilla beans, pie crust, sultanas, baked apple, bosc pear, clove, a little toffee, nutty, roasted plantains. Quite mild, hardly any smokiness. Not sure what a hint of peat is, I guess they didn't use it to roast the barley like scotch? All in all, not bad considering the cheap quality packaging. Might try one of their other bottlings at some point, but this one wasn't impressive enough to ever pick up again. Too mild and fades too quickly. Opens up fully after about 3 weeks. Intense apricot, vegetal peat, plum, french vanilla, banana foster and butter intensify. Pretty nice. Would recommend Cardhu.

Toasted almonds, raw cereal grains, extreme oak tannins, marshmallow topping, mild white chocolate, mushy macintosh apple, yuzu.

Rich custard, tons of peppery French oak spice, a bit briney, fruit cake, poached pears, nutmeg, cereal grains, toffee, clove, red plums, peach, pancakes. Palate is a lot thinner than the nose. Opens up quite a bit with oxidation like most malted whiskies. Buttery chardonnay, soft caramel, and clove intensify. Raw oak tannin bite becomes more potent too, unfortunately.

Molasses, grassy rye, spearmint, nutmeg, fuji apples, chinese cinnamon, honied Graham crackers, creme brulee, rubbery vanilla buttercream, nougat, vague citrus note on the finish. Not bad, reminds me a bit of Black Saddle which might just be a MGP bottler anyway. Not a huge fan of nougat, though.

Super barley grains from start to finish. Dried apricots, sandalwood, kaffir lime, honied floral dew, plantains, peppery, creamy, strong but not an entirely unpleasant wood astringency. White nectarines and Macintosh apple lingers. A very strong orchard/stone fruit character to it. I don't think I could pick out the cedar wood, only that it doesn't have the usual oak notes, French or American. Eventually oxidized revealing fried plantains and gummy dried apricots. Feels like an imitation of speysides. Lacks the complexity and age of scotch but still way better than the few domestic single malts I've tried. Miyagikyo is still the best Japanese malt I've had so far.

Batch A121 @ 123.6proof. Far more approachable than other batches that carry a heavy oak tannin punch. Juicy apricots, candied orange peels, red plums, rich vanilla frosting, sweet tobacco, high rye grassy notes, saccharine southern tea, cinnamon, clover honey. Very pleasant considering the proof. Had a Sherry like quality to it.