Tastes

The nuttiness in this brings to mind Booker's more than it does Elijah Craig (I realize their shared yeast brings in the nuts). There's a sweetness there that is reminiscent of ECBP, but this is really just heat and nuts. It's not bad but, given my love for EC, is not nearly as good as it should be.

Sweet oak. Brown sugar. Slightly bitter. The nose promises a bit more than the palate & finish can deliver. I imagine some folks might be turned off by the amount of oak, and I wouldn't want to drink this all the time, but it's a pretty nice showcase of an old bourbon.

2017. peat. pepper. brine.

Peat & port is my favorite alliteration. This is lovely.

Delicious peat. A great showcase of Ledaig.

It's not bad, but it's incredibly thin at 86 proof and has a finish akin to vodka. Go for OF Signature 100 instead which is a solid daily drinker and only a few more dollars.

It's been maybe five years since I've had this but I recently picked up a bottle when my local was out of my regular dailies and I'm not mad about it. It checks all the boxes: decent proof, sweet, vanilla, a bit of spice, solid mouthfeel, and around $25. I can't complain about any of that and I think it might be more to my liking than current WT101 which has a tough-to-define dirt/earthiness to it that reminds me of Beam and doesn't do much for me. Makes me think I need to revisit other OF offerings.

Your usual MGP notes: dill, baking spices, slightly floral, and moderately sweet. No complaints for the price.

What was a nice, simple rye has become increasingly astringent over the last five or so years.

This is a really great rye for $35. I think it's better than HWRR as the makeup of that brand has shifted dramatically as they run out of 16 year Barton. It has more of a typical rye profile than Pikesville--which I think is great--but this is ~$15 cheaper. It can stand up to any of the overpriced Whistlepigs, including the laughable Black Prince; same with Michter's. It's infinitely better than Sazerac, which is about the same price but has declined precipitously in quality. In a crazy market it's bottles like this that prove you can still find great rye & bourbon at reasonable prices--which was one of the primary allures of these spirits to begin with.