Tastes

Spirits of French Lick The Wheater 90 proof wheated bourbon A blend of 7yr & 2yr old stock Nose: toasted wheat bread with honey and butter, vanilla poundcake, dried apples, apple turnovers with sugar icing. Palate: honey butter and brown sugar up front. On the mid glides a chalky minerality with notes of malt and wheat( chocolate and graham crakcer?). Ginger, all spice, nutmeg explode on the cheeks and the back of the tongue with some apple and banana sliding into home. Finish: creamy tobacco and apple pie drizzled in caramel and vanilla. Just a long pleasant finish and it begs you for another sip. Alan Bishop (distiller) preaches #respectthegrain and it comes through beautifully in this wheater. The barrel is an ornamental dressing to the main course of a wheated mash. It’s beautifully simple without being boring or forgettable or just background whiskey. A wizard working his pot still craft to all our delight. Get you some #CraftisKing

Baker’s 7yr Bourbon Nose: cherry cordial, cedar shavings, sawn oak boards, dusty grain sack, milk chocolate, caramel, nougat, barrel char. Palate: a touch warm on entry. The proof is evident but not overly harsh. Barrel forward with a healthy dose of sweet oak notes. Vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, chocolate covered peanuts. The proof really gets peppery on the backend and finish. A nice peppery spice coats the whole mouth from the back of the throat forward. Its oily and mouth coating and yet drying like a very tannic wine. The amber liquid clings to the glass slowly forming thick viscous legs. Finish: it just goes and goes. Cracked peppercorns, leather, oak shavings sprinkled in brown sugar. Cigar wrapper. Overall, it’s a solid Kentucky bourbon in the Beam style. A good higher proof bourbon but not great and for the price it faces some stiff competition...i’m looking at you Rare Breed and especially Ironroot Harbinger.

Treaty Oak Distilling Ghost Hill Texas Bourbon Single Barrel 47.5% abv 57% Texas Corn, 32% Texas Wheat, 11% American Barley Nose: dense vanilla, corn, sweet bread, tea leaves, strawberry poundcake, bright cherry, vanilla frosting, signature Texas Oak earthy and funky, cinnamon pecan twirl, Palate: smoooooth and sweet on entry, slightly oily and creamy, tea and honey with some fruity character then an explosion of barrel and proof spiciness. Drinks a little hotter than the 95 proof mark and that’s not a bad thing. Vanilla extract, caramel & brown sugar, berries, cinnamon. The mid palate is brief before the peppery barrel notes envelope your mouth from back to front and you get a nice dose of oak. Finish: vanilla cream, leather, sour oak, and a hint of mint cream swirls around. - [ ] It’s classic Texas... and it’s not. That funky Texas Oak is there but it’s not dominant. It adds just the right amount of oak to keep this interesting. The mid palate is really brief and there’s not a lot of complexity. It’s simple and forward. Oak dominates the back half and it gets a little sour on the finish. Puts me in the mind of Larceny Bourbon went for a horseback ride through Texas and came out like you would expect... dusty, sunburnt, and with a little attitude 😉.

Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky 45% Take a walk into a cake shop. That’s the nose of Nikka Coffey Grain. Notes of powdered sugar, white icing, peach preserves, candied orange, cake batter. All with a splash of finger nail polish remover. The corn grain is present but soft. A little stewed apples in cinnamon. A very slight metallic note reminiscent of Irish blends. Palate: oily, clinging, mouth coating. Fruity sweet with some clove and baking spice. Nectarines, canned peaches, karo syrup, kiwi fruit, bright metallic note. The finish tingles with some barrel spice. Its cloying, a little sweet and a little sour. There’s a funky note on the finish that all I can say is reminds me of biting into sushi. Slightly savory, slightly vegetal. Its an enjoyable, easy, sweet grain whiskey with the finesse of notes Japanese whiskey is known for. There is the slight metallic notes you often see in grain whiskies but its not sharp like you see in budget Irish.

Bruichladdich 2011 Islay Barley This whisky is an opus to younger malt and cask selection. Just vibrant and bracing. Puts me in the mind of standing on a mountain trail at the end of winter/first of spring. The sun feels glorious and warm but the breeze is still brisk and bracing. The first buds are busting on the maple trees and life is returning to the dormant earth. The sky is clear and you can see for days. Such is this whisky. Nose: vibrant, fresh, fruit and grain forward. zesty young malt, stone fruits, melon, papaya, tropical fruit medley, chalky mineral, citrus (five-alive), candied lemon, vanilla custard, apples with orange zest, there is a touch of brine mingled throughout. Palate: this just hits all the right spots. It starts immediately syrup sweet and transitions to a citrus sour before the briny notes take over with a nice explosion of oak spice. Honeyed malt, lemon candy, salted melon, white grapefruit, canned peaches, dried apricots, ginger and cracked pepper. Finish: seasalt, creamy vanilla, ginger and peach...finishes like a pinot grigio with bracing minerality and stone fruit. Sweet tobacco leaf. It all lingers for a while and you’re better for it.

Compass Box Tobias & The Angel Nose: this wonderful conundrum of sweet and savory. Faint smoke, vegetal peat, violets, pressed flowers, and floral malt. Salami, soy sauce reduction. Wasabi & soy sauce almonds. Soft oak. Notes of sherry and dark fruit start to work there way forward after a little time. Its just gorgeous and seductive....you just don’t want to pull away. It’s like a beach strewn with shells, the longer you linger the more treasure you know you will uncover. Palate: Exquisite. Soft delicate seduction. Nuance and complexity are the name of the game with the pedigree of its barrel ages controlling the show. Its a elegant balance of brine and sweet and savory. A touch of light honey and sweet malt dressed in sheer smoke. Rich floral, rose hips, bitter chocolate, almonds, the peat rolls in at the end more woody and earthy with a rich kick of gentle barrel spice. A kiss of velvety smoke ties it all up with a bow. Finish: sweet malt and smokey and lingers beautifully with a light touch of sour oak on the end.

I W Harper Straight Bourbon 82 proof. 73% Corn 18% Rye 9% Barley Nose: classic Kentucky bourbon. Very rounded and soft. Corn sweet, grain mash, blackberry jam, butterscotch, vanilla, cedar board, oak barrel, white chocolate fudge. The nose unfolds nicely in rich layers. Nothing smells out of place or incongruent. Palate: a little thin on entry like you would expect with the proof. Despite that there is a velvety richness to it. Not very oily. Fruity sweet transitions quickly to barrel sour and spice with a touch of char. Corn, blackberry, caramel, ginger, white pepper, smokey char, sour oak, a faint minty note. Finish: brief, peppery leather, drying, slight oak. There is definitely some older whiskey in the blend here that really rounds this out and adds some rich oak character. Overall its a gentle easy sipper and would be a decent gateway to classic kentucky bourbon. Well worth the $28 price tag and feels a touch classier. Despite the evidence of older whiskey there’s not much complexity. It is well rounded and nothing spikey. The nose out-punches the palate and the oak dominates the mid palate. It really transitions through very quickly. In all honestly for the money I would probably take Wild Turkey or Woodford over this. Nothing really stands out for a crowded market segment.

Crouch Distilling Straight Bourbon 2019 Batch 1 Bottle 177 46% abv No age statement so assuming its at least 4 years. Blue corn, Malted Barley, Malted Rye Mash bill Nose: roasted nuts, corn ethanol, chocolate malt, pan roasted corn, warm tortillas, vanilla and toffee cream, rye grain mash, mint cream, slight anise, sweet oak and leather. All 3 grains take turns making their presence known; not fighting with each other but each in turn. Palate: sweet corn, roasted chestnuts, chalky dark chocolate, oak vanilla, mint cream, Andes mints. Then the oak barrel really erupts on the mid-palate and just dominates after that. Charred oak, peppery barrel spice and a warm bear hug of proof. Finish: drying, chalky, chocolate mint, sweet and sour oak notes interplay, leather, cream soda. The finish is long and quite drying. If you love big barrel and wood notes as the dance a wild shag with the grain then this is a bourbon for you. The oak presence reminds me immediately of Woodford Double Oaked and OF 1910. But the mashbill and grain presence is quite unique. The corn is nutty and sweet, the barley is rich and malty, and the rye is minty but with a malted sweet roundness. Overall, it’s very enjoyable and unique as a bourbon. All local grains and aged 4 plus years in Satan’s armpit, aka Columbia, South Carolina. The heat influence and barrel presence are strong. Almost Texas-esque. The flavors are a touch spikey but not in a harsh way. A nice Carolina bourbon and worth a try.

Ironroot Icarus 2019 ed 52.5% Nose: its a merri-go-round for your senses. Top notes of sweet red fruit (raspberries) and sugar. Gives way to classic bourbon notes of vanilla and brown sugar with a faint whiff of smoke and peat. Eventually the character of the Ironroot corn mash comes charging through. Deep rich red fruits and sweet corn, candied bacon, ceylon tea...and then it all circles back around. Palate: beautiful, sweet, rounded, and wonderfully balanced. The port influence is up front with raisins and mixed nuts. That gorgeous rich corn and oak follows up. There is a very faint undercurrent of smoke and a touch of brininess as it closes out. Finish: tart fruit, drying leather, sugary port sweetness sprinkled with salt. As it spends time in the glass, more of the Islay begins to come through but never in any dominant way. Its gorgeously nuanced and provides a balance to the sweetness of the corn and port. This is the definition of integration and balance in a whiskey.

Teeling Irish Single Malt Nose: clean malt grain, juniper, sage...almost a hint of gin. Musty old books, chocolate, earthy white wine, sweet port. After a little time Madeira and Port take over the nose. Palate: sugary sweet on entry with malted grain peaking out after the initial wave of grapey sweetness, white chocolate, waxy nuttiness, sweet rich notes of Madeira, peppery tickle of oak and barrel spice. Finish: wine like, dark fruit sweetness and drying oak. The finish is quite astringent