Tastes

A friend came over last night with one of those older Willett wax top ryes (I think he bought this bottle about 6 years ago and then moved and forgot about it) and we polished off the remainder of the bottle together. I unfortunately didn’t take my usual photo, so here’s a photo of the empty bottle. Age: 4 years. Abv: 55% Price: N/A Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, shared with a good friend Nose: Caramel, rye, and cinnamon. Not hot at all for the proof. (18/25 points) Taste: Lots of rye notes, with MGP dill pickles and a little oak. There’s some heat, but in a pleasing manner. The high ABV provides a really nice mouthfeel. (44/50 points) Finish: A long, warm, spicy finish. Quite nice. (23/25) points) Conclusion: This is good stuff. I enjoy MGP rye, and having it at high proof is really nice. Definitely something worth picking up if you stumble across it, although I believe most of what one will find in the stores these days is now Willet’s own distillate, which likely won’t be the same. 85/100

I assume most on here are familiar with Rendevous Rye, but for those that are not, it is High West’s higher end, older rye (they also make a less expensive Double Rye, amongst other things). It’s sourced juice from MGP and Barton, but High West is very open about this and is a leader in transparency about its production process. Age: A blend of older straight rye whiskeys ranging in age from 5 to 19 years. Mashbill: 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP; 53% rye, 37% corn, 10% from Barton Distillery; and 80% rye, 10% corn, 10% barley malt from Barton Distillery. Abv: 46% Price: $53.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound dozing next to me. Nose: Big aromas of dill pickles and rye, with some secondary notes of cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar if you search for them. (21/25 points) Taste: Very consistent with the nose. Dill pickles and rye. (44/50 points) Finish: A medium length finish of rye spice and oak with a pleasant alcohol burn. I also get a flavor I’ll call mint, although that may not be the best descriptor. (21/25) points) Conclusion: If one enjoys pickles (as I do), then this is a highly enjoyable whiskey. If one doesn’t, then this probably tastes pretty vile. As such, I’d only recommend this to people who fit into the former category. Regardless, this is a well-made whiskey. All three components are solid, and it is just enjoyable to drink. It is fairly expensive for an American whiskey, so I won’t be in a hurry to replace my existing bottle when I finish it, but I am glad I purchased this bottle. 86/100

Mashbill: 70% corn / 16% wheat / 14% malted barley. Abv: 45% Price: $18.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound snoring loudly next to me. Nose: Apples, cinnamon, oak, maple syrup, and corn. Pleasant, but somewhat muted. (17/25 points) Taste: More of the same – apples, cinnamon, oak, and corn. Pretty standard bourbon notes. (42/50 points) Finish: Short. Oak with a faint metallic note that is a little off. (14/25) points) Conclusion: I’d rate this a serviceable bourbon, as I’ll happily drink it and it runs less than $20 for a bottle. That being said, it’s pretty average and unmemorable (other than perhaps that metallic note, which isn’t a positive). As such, I can’t really recommend this, given that there is so much superior bourbon out there. 73/100

E.H. Taylor is one of Buffalo Trace’s “premium” lines, and as such, it can be tricky to find in store (at least near me), as it suffers from the general Buffalo Trace-related hype. As such, I’ve only ever had this at restaurants or bars, and last night I had this in a tumbler rather than the usual trusty glencairn (I unfortunately also failed to take a photo, so stock photo time it is). Age: NAS, although since this is bottled-in-bond, we know it is at least 4 years old (and given the general oaky character, I would guess this is closer to 10 than 4 years old). Mashbill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (low rye) Abv: 50% Price: $11 for a pour at Relish in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a tumbler before dinner with my wife. Nose: Cherries, oak, maple syrup, sweet corn, and brown sugar. Overall, it’s fairly sweet, but not quite as sweet as Eagle Rare. I consider the nose the best component of this whiskey. (23/25 points) Taste: Largely the same notes as the nose, although cinnamon and toffee flavors show up as well. The proof provides a nice mouthfeel. (44/50 points) Finish: Medium duration. It has a pleasant warming sensation paired with some tannic, oaky bitterness. (19/25) points) Conclusion: Colonel E.H. Taylor is a solid whiskey and I’ve always enjoyed drinking it whenever I’ve ordered it. It shares a lot of similarities with Buffalo Trace and tastes like a slightly better version of it. I like Eagle Rare better, however, as Eagle Rare is a little more unique, while this just tastes like a well-executed version of a typical bourbon. 86/100

As most of you probably know, Jim Beam lets people do private selections of Knob Creek barrels. A group of bourbon lovers here in Houston periodically do barrel picks, which a few local liquor stores then sell. This month, they did a barrel of Knob Creek and a barrel of Knob Creek rye. I’m not much of a Knob Creek fan generally, but I heard great things about this barrel, so figured it was worth a try. This particular barrel is #6709, from Jim Beam’s Warehouse E, Floor 4, Rack 18, Tier 3, and was barreled on 3/5/08 and selected on 4/9/18. Age: 9 years Mashbill: Jim Beam Standard (75% corn; 13% rye; 12% barley) Abv: 60% Price: $42.99 at Rice Fine Wines and Liquor Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with two fat basset hounds next to me. Nose: Heavy Nutter Butters, with some accompanying oak and brown sugar. Potent and delicious, this is one of the best noses I’ve ever sampled. (24/25 points) Taste: Peanuts, peanut butter, oak, rye. Goes down surprisingly easily for how potent this stuff is, although it does pack some heat. Tastes pretty great. (47/50 points) Finish: Everlasting. (23/25) points) Conclusion: This is a fantastic whiskey – easily one of the best that I have ever had. I suspect this would have made a good Booker’s if it hadn’t been selected by the Bourbon Hounds. It has the traditional Jim Beam peanut funk, but dialed up to 11, and in an extra tasty fashion. It’s only real fault is that it is a little one-dimensional, but when the flavor is this good, I don’t view that as much of a fault. All that being said, you have to like peanuts, and if you don’t, this probably isn’t great. I’m a big fan of Nutter Butters, so I’m a little biased towards this flavor profile. I liked this so much, especially for the price, that I ended up going back the next day to grab another bottle, as well as a bottle of the rye. I’m pretty curious to try some Booker’s (which I’ve never had) and see how it compares. 94/100

I used to see Eagle Rare in the store all the time. Unfortunately, Pappy Mania has bled over to other Buffalo Trace products near me, such that I don’t think I’ve seen Eagle Rare since at least last fall. I foolishly never purchased a bottle, but a friend came to the rescue with a sample. Age: 10 years Mashbill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (low rye) Abv: 45% Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound half on me. Nose: Cherries, oak, powdered sugar, dried fruit, apples, and bananas. Very sweet, but I love it. I could huff this all day. (24/25 points) Taste: Cherries, oak, corn sweetness, apples, coca cola, vanilla . The mouthfeel is rather syrupy, like cough syrup. I wish my actual cough syrup tasted like this (although then it would probably need to be a controlled substance). (44/50 points) Finish: Fairly long duration. A pleasant warming sensation with vanilla, oak, and sourdough bread. Really quite nice. I don’t get any of the metallic taste that I’ve heard often plagues Eagle Rare. (23/25) points) Conclusion: I’ve heard that Eagle Rare has rather sizeable variation in quality between barrels, and I must have gotten lucky on the barrel, as this far exceeded my expectations and my resulting score is considerably higher than I normally give out. All three components are fantastic, and after polishing off my sample, I’m left wanting more. I’m quite curious to try a different bottle and see whether this is what Eagle Rare is truly like, or I just hit a unicorn bottle. I fully understand why this is so difficult to find these days, as for $25.99 (the theoretical price for it locally when it is in stock) it crushes most competitors in that price range. Next time I see this on the shelves, I’ll have to stock up on a few bottles. 91/100 After my original tasting of this, I was able to track down a bottle of my own. I like the whiskey a lot, although the sample was considerably better. I'd rate my own bottle an 86, versus the 91 I gave the sample. I'm getting a lot more banana in my bottle.

Price: $33.99 at Target in Orange County, California. Setting: Neat in a tumbler with my dad. Nose: Brown sugar and oak. Quite a bit more difficult to parse out individual aromas without my trusty Glencairn. (16/25 points) Taste: Oak, corn, peanuts, cinnamon. Kind of tastes like a better made Jack Daniels. (40/50 points) Finish: Medium-short. Caramel apple with a little heat. (16/25) points) Conclusion: I really wanted to like this, as I think High West produces some excellent whiskies and I really appreciate their openness about sources, blends, etc. Unfortunately, I just don’t think it’s that good – it tastes like a young, mass-produced bourbon. If the price were right, that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but for almost $34 a bottle, you’re competing against heavyweights like Four Roses Single Barrel, and it isn’t much of a competition. At least the bottle looks cool. 72/100

Mashbill: 70% corn / 16% wheat / 14% malted barley. Price: $16.99 for 375 mL at Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound snoring loudly next to me. Color: Copper Nose: Maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnabuns, powdered sugar, and oak. Potent and inviting. (24/25 points) Taste: Potent cinnamon, French toast, and buttered popcorn. A pleasant level of heat. (44/50 points) Finish: Fairly short. Residual sweetness and cinnamon with some oak bitterness. (16/25) points) Conclusion: I really like this. The nose is superb and the taste is great too. Both are reminiscent of a weekend breakfast. This is a big step-up in quality compared to normal Maker’s Mark. I’m eager to try the cask strength version of this. 84/100