Tastes

Copper color. Nose is a bit faint with notes of vanilla, candied orange peel, lemon drops candy, Juicy Fruit gum, and hints of cocoa powder. Creamy mouthfeel. Great palate with lots of dark fruits (raisins, dates, dried figs), caramel chews, vanilla bean, cinnamon spice, faint bubblegum, wintergreen, and peppery oak. Finish is medium length and dry, with lots of wood/raw oak, red hots candy, burnt sugar, and lingering wintergreen. Overall, a weak citrusy nose that hides an explosion of dark, fruity and spicy flavor on the palate, then fades to a minty finish with just a little too much of the raw wood note.

Batch B2/19 55.8% ABV Honey color. Nose has intense notes of sweet red apples, orange zest, vanilla cream, honey and burnt sugar. Rich, oily mouthfeel. Palate brings more vanilla and burnt sugar, butterscotch, dried fruits like raisins and goji berries, and hints of spicy oak. Finish is long and peppery, with lots of influence from the sherry casks, more dried fruits and oak. An exceptional pour and incredibly easy to drink for cask strength.

Light amber color. Nose has vanilla cream, dark cherries, cinnamon graham crackers and a touch of oak. Rich, oily mouthfeel. Palate is hot with notes of cinnamon sugar, cherry cola, and oak. Finish is long, hot, and dry with brown sugar, cinnamon and oak. Excellent, but not quite as good as batch 12.

Amber color. Fantastic nose with pipe tobacco, caramel, cinnamon, spearmint and leather. Creamy mouthfeel. Palate has lots of oak, charred cinnamon stick, oatmeal raisin cookies, and a hint of black pepper. Finish is long, hot and dry, with more oak, tobacco, cinnamon and allspice. This may not be the best ECBP ever, but it's damn good!

Gordon's Private Barrel Barrel 0275 Rickhouse A Floor 4 Deep copper color. Nose has a lot of burnt caramel, Juicy Fruit chewing gum, cinnamon and browned butter. Mouthfeel is a little lighter than I would like, but not watery. Palate is hot and spicy with a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a big up-front dose of oak tannins. It's quite grain-forward with very little sweetness driven by a little brown sugar toward the back end. Finish is medium-long, dry and oak-heavy.

Copper color. Tasting this while I have a head cold so not getting a lot on the nose, mostly caramel, vanilla and more alcohol than I would expect from a whiskey of this proof. The palate is quite sweet and peppery, with burnt caramel, ripe bananas, molasses, and vanilla bean ice cream, and reminds me more of a good rum than a whiskey. The finish is long and peppery, with caramel, some oak char, and a light citrus note.

Deep rust color with a pinkish hue. Enticing fruit-forward nose with notes of apple juice, grape soda, cherry pie filling, green pears, mulling spice blend and hints of cedar. Thick, full-bodied mouthfeel. Strong port influence on the palate, with dried apricots, dark cherries, golden raisins, honey, hints of cinnamon apple pie, and peppery rye spices kicking in at the back of the palate. Long, dry finish with more black pepper and rye spice, herbal grassy notes, grape soda and a touch of oak.

Dark copper color. Nose has a lot of vanilla, cinnamon, clove, leather and oak. Mouthfeel is dry and fairly thin. Palate has more vanilla, cinnamon and oak, along with notes of tobacco, pecans, caramelized plums, orange zest and white pepper. Finish is medium-long and peppery with lots of oak, notes of brown sugar and cloves, and a bright herbaceous, almost bitter, note that makes me think of wood chips. It's not bad, but my personal preference is for the higher proof and bolder flavors of the Antique 107.