Tastes

Tasted in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Clean and bright. Green apple, peanut brittle and chocolate brownie, adding a splash of water . . . I’m now getting a heavy vanilla custard while the green apple has taken a back seat. Taste - Neat - Quite nippy as to be expected at 57%. Green apple, dense fudge and an extremely faint smokiness I can’t quite place. Adding a splash of water . . . Nicely balanced now. Vanilla custard, light green apple, cool cherry on the exhale. Final thoughts - Rock solid, smooth sipping, tasty bourbon at barrel strength for under $30.00 ($24.00 at my shop). You can’t go wrong with this best kept secret!

Assessed in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Varnished wood, honeycomb, beef stew, very mild Armagnac and the tiniest hint of cedar smoke. Adding a splash of water and . . . Bitter honey and amplified savory beef stew qualities. Taste - Neat - Cereal notes, mild Armagnac Influence, bittered honey. Adding a splash of water and . . . a bit better now, Armagnac and bitter honey shine through. Final thoughts - Not impressed. I was expecting a lot more out of this being a special edition release at 50% and being finished in Armangac barrels. The nose on this whiskey is unremarkable at best and slightly off putting at worst. The flavor gets a touch better with the addition of water, but it’s certainly nothing to write home about. Had i been blind folded I’d never have guessed this was supposed to be something special.

Assessed in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Very old and sophisticated oak, stewed dark fruits, dark rum characteristic and Demerara sugar. Adding a splash of water . . . Now picking up a bit of dense custard and perhaps a very faint touch of banana. Taste - Neat - Very clean, quite nippy to be expected at barrel proof, tons of date and raisin, bold dark fruits and dark sugar, very refined oak. Adding a splash of water . . . This has softened the palate and allowed the aforementioned to really shine without the sharp alcohol nip. Final thoughts - Absolutely incredible. One of those rare whiskies that actually lives up to its hype. I have noticed that with whiskies I find to be very high quality, the addition of water does not so much change the flavor / aroma or thin it, but rather it manages to stay the same, but be amplified with the ethanol subdued. This definitely falls into that description. I will say, this reminds me HEAVILY of Old Rip Van Winkle 10 and I find it really goes toe to toe with it.

Tasted in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Honey, graham cracker, rock quarry, tawny port and Cognac. Adding a splash of water . . . Warm oak, mild cherry have developed along with the aforementioned. Taste - Neat - Sweet honey graham cracker arrival, mild oak a touch nippy at full strength. Adding a splash of water . . . This softens the palate just enough for those aforementioned notes to really shine. Final thoughts - This is just plain delicious. Honeyed graham cracker and sophisticated, refined oak with a Cognac-esque refinement. I have nothing nit-picky to say about this one. It’s absolutely delicious and highly recommended!!!

Assessed in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Distinctive and prominent rye bread arrival, oak, cherry lozenge, leather, tobacco and cocoa nib, quite a savory nose. Adding a splash of water . . . This has opened up a very faint and distant Smokey maple character. Taste - Neat - A bit on the thin side texturally - Quite oaky, mild brown sugar, extremely faint smoke and Prunes and dates on the exhale. Adding a splash of water . . . This hasn’t done the whiskey any favors in my Opinion. The aforementioned remains, but diluted. Final thoughts - I’m honestly a bit disappointed with this. The bourbon itself is actually pretty interesting in how savory it is, with few confectionary notes, but the overall flavors and smells you’re getting a just generally thin and require some hunting for. I would’ve rated this higher had it been, say, a 60 dollar bottle. But at 100 dollars a pop, you could do a lot better.

Assessed in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Dry tannins, immediate reminded of a Cabernet Sauvignon characteristic, Maple, slight Canadian bacon, light brown sugar and faint polished wooden floors. Adding a splash of water . . . Getting some tangy aromas now, black berry cobbler, key lime pie and more pronounced wood. Taste - Neat - Very hot as imagined, very robust rum cake, cherry, slight rye spice, bubble gum and plantain banana on the exhale. Adding a splash of water . . . That’s the ticket. Maple, sophisticated oak and cherry chewing gum. I’m finding a LOT of resemblances to Blanton’s here! Final thoughts - Dillute this one well! I ended up adding about 3 splashes of water before this one smoothed out. Spend some time with it, this ain’t your Old No.7 Black label! As a self proclaimed hater of Jack Daniel’s (based solely upon my experience with Old No.7), this has totally opened my eyes to Jack Daniel’s more refined expressions and I find myself now considering the purchase of that Sinatra Select. Definitely out of the ordinary and highly recommended!

Tasted in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Weird! , raw peanuts in the shell, very dense fudge, sharp ethanol nip and fried plantain banana. Adding a splash of water . . . This takes a turn toward the confectionary; Buttery candy-corn, cordial cherry and mild black tea leaf develops. Taste - Neat - Equally weird! , briny arrival, surprisingly gentle at 50.5%, again with plantain banana and unsweetened fudge (something like baker’s chocolate but more toward fudge). Adding a splash of water . . . A cacao nibs character has developed, bordering near espresso bean. Final thoughts - This is a funky little bourbon! It’s very complex and it reminds me of something unique, like a Campbell Town scotch. This would be an excellent purchase for the experienced bourbon drinker looking for something out of the ordinary!

Assessed in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - A bit nippy on the nose at 57.15%. First impression is STRONG cinnamon stick, Red Hots candy, I might be fooled blind folded into believe this to be Fireball! , light touch of vanilla custard and a bit of brown sugar. Adding a splash of water . . . This brings the wood and custard forward more and eases up the cinnamon. Getting a bit of a semi-sweet whiskey / rum cake. Taste - Neat - Prevalent but balanced wood, again with *powerful* cinnamon stick and Red Hots, very tasty but also very hot and hard to taste anything further. Adding a splash of water . . . Much needed. Still very prevalent cinnamon spice, black pepper-esque heat, but some more sophisticated wood and custard coming through now. Final thoughts - What an absolutely delicious and engaging bourbon. This one never gets dull and constantly engages your senses and demands your attention with every sip. The cinnamon stick heat is very bold and in your face in a really interesting and tasty way. Absolutely recommended, haven’t had another quite like it !

Tasted in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Very rich sap and resin, sophisticated oak, mild and slightly tangy blackberry and fudge. Adding a teaspoon of water and . . . This has really opened up the oak and fudge. I’m now getting freshly polished furniture and chocolate. Taste - Neat - Immediately noticing a characteristic I rarely find in bourbon but always love when I do, smokiness. There is a distinctive smoky, meaty quality to the arrival. Quite oaky, but not in a hot or sharp sawdust type of way. There’s a certain semi-sweet, rich, dense, waxy-fatty quality that isn’t quite opened up, adding a teaspoon of water and . . . This has opened up the confection here, as I’m now getting some chocolate fudge, but unfortunately it has also stifled the smokiness. Final thoughts : What an incredible tasty and interesting bourbon. I find myself enjoying this one a bit more neat than with water added. That being said, I recommend trying it both ways to see which you prefer. For those intrigued by idea of smoke in bourbon, I was immediately reminded of Old Tub by Jim Beam. It is certainly much less complex and tends to favor green apple over the more dense wood and fudge flavors found here, but for those that want to find a bourbon with some smoke on a budget, Old Tub is worth checking out. All in all, I’m loving this and totally find it to have earned the hype that surrounds it!

Assessed in a Glencairn Spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Definitely noticing the port barrel influences right away, slightly tangy / acidic grape musk, marzipan, shoe polish, rye bread characteristic, orange marmalade and sugary pie crust. Adding a teaspoon of water and . . . A strong oak aroma develops, stewed dark fruits, gentle sawdust and bright vanilla bean pod. Taste - Neat - Quite nippy undiluted, mild tannins, bittered honey, a sort of herbal bitterness coming through and unsweet Luxardo maraschino cherries. Adding a teaspoon of water . . . Speyside scotch resemblances, bittersweet chocolate, black tea and I find myself wanting to reiterate on the prominence of the Luxardo maraschino cherry on the exhale especially. Final thoughts : Definitely the most interesting Rye you’ll ever drink. I think they could’ve aged a bourbon in the same fashion and you’d have gotten a far less complex final product. The inherent savory / spicy characteristics of a rye really temper the sweetness picked up from the time spent in French port casks, and that combination is what makes for the more interesting notes such as shoe polish, black tea and Luxardo maraschino cherries. It’s very reminiscent to me of a good Speyside scotch. Definitely recommend giving this one a try if you’re a seasoned whiskey drinker looking for something unique!