Tastes

Mashbill: 51% Rye, 37% Corn, 12% Malted Barley Price: My friend brought this, but it’s $24.99 at the local Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, while playing Twilight Struggle with a friend Color: Copper Nose: I found the nose pretty faint. I picked up cereal notes and that was about it. I do wonder how long the bottle was open, however, as that may have muted some of the aromas. (16/25 points) Taste: I loved the taste of this. Peanuts, rye spice, cereal, and cinnamon, with a nice mouthfeel. Packs some heat, but in a pleasing way. (46/50 points) Finish: Medium duration. Maple syrup, rye spice, and cinnamon. (18/25) points) Conclusion: I really enjoyed this. It’s not particularly complex, but it has lots of flavor and tastes good. My friend who brought it over claims that it also makes a mean Manhattan, and it’s affordable enough to use as such. I don’t have much rye whiskey experience (I like High West but haven’t tried a whole lot else), but this was quite nice, especially for the price. I’ll have to pick up a bottle. 80/100

Designation: Barrel 23-4B Price: $32.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound passed out next to me. Color: I’ll call this russet. There’s a lot of red in there. Nose: Stewed apples, cherries, oak, and alcohol. Nice and potent. (18/25) Taste: Oak, apples, cherries, rye spice. Tastes fantastic. The high proof makes itself felt. (48/50) Finish: Everlasting. Oak that fades into cherries and rye spice. Really pleasant. (23/25) Conclusion: A fantastic whiskey, especially for the price. When I first opened this particular bottle, it tasted very hot, but it has mellowed substantially and is now well-balanced. It tastes delicious and keeps calling for one more pour. 89/100

This is a single barrel offering of Weller Antique that Buffalo Trace offered to Reserve 101, a whiskey bar here in Houston. Abv: 53.5% Price: $10 for a pour at Reserve 101 in Houston, Texas Setting: Neat in a tumbler. Color: Amber. Non-chill filtered. Nose: Apples, oak, vanilla, and cinnamon. Really nice. (23/25) Taste: Apples, oak, cherry, caramel, cinnamon, baking spices. Fantastic mouthfeel and great flavors. I’d never guess this was 107 proof, as it is balanced really well. (48/50) Finish: Medium-long. Cinnamon and a slight alcohol burn, with a chocolaty cocoa flavor that appears on the finish. The weakest part of this whiskey, but still good. I know a lot of posters on here have noticed a bitterness or astringency on the finish, but this particular selection didn’t have it at all. (19/25) Conclusion: This is a fantastic bourbon, and is almost as good as Old Rip Van Winkle. It’s sweet, but in a delicious way, and it’s surprisingly well-balanced for the ABV. I could drink this all day, and strongly recommend it. I'm curious to see how this compares to the normal Antique 107. 90/100

**Price:** $44.99 at Total Wine in Houston, Texas **Setting:** Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound passed out next to me. **Color:** Pale yellow **Nose:** Light and crisp. Salt air, smoke, band-aids, toffee, and as a green note I’ll call green apple. **(19/25 points)** **Taste:** Smoke, peat, band-aids, bacon, honey, chocolate, pop-rocks. Delicious and surprising bright and clear for the level of peat in the bottle. Nice mouthfeel with little alcohol burn. **(46/50 points)** **Finish:** Medium length. Some light alcohol burn with honey and chocolate notes competing with spicy and smoky notes. **(22/25) points)** **Conclusion:** Ardbeg 10 is another one of my favorite whiskies. A number of flavors move in and out as you drink, and as a result, it’s a fun whisky to analyze. It’s peated, but the peat is well balanced with the other flavors, to the extent that I often forget that it is there. It also has a strong quality to price ratio, and is well worth trying if you haven't already done so. **87/100**

**Price:** $42.74 at Richard’s in Houston, Texas **Setting:** Neat in a Glencairn, with a fat basset hound passed out next to me. **Color:** Copper. **Nose:** Apples, oak, cherry coke, and alcohol. **(15/25)** **Taste:** Cherry coke, oak, vanilla, sugar, corn, and peanuts. It’s sweet, but not overly sweet. It kind of reminds me of a better-made Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7. Tastes rather hot for a 47% ABV. **(40/50)** **Finish:** Medium length. Alcohol burn that morphs to brown sugar and a little nuttiness and cinnamon. The finish is a little too hot for my liking. **(15/25)** **Conclusion:** This is a decent whiskey. It has nice flavor and the bottle also makes a nice display piece in the home bar. That being said, you can definitely do better for the price, and I wouldn’t buy this again. I later added a little water to this after compiling my tasting notes and it definitely benefited from it. **70/100**

Very rarely do I sample a whiskey that lives up to the hype. ORVW did, and in fact, exceeded my expectations. The nose was inviting, the taste was delicious, and the finish was long and decadent. It wasn't cheap, but it was well worth the price. 10/10

Really nice. Has an alluring nose akin to a sherry-based Scotch that leads to an inital burst of sherry flavors, followed by a finish of smokier and earthier flavors. 9/10.