Reviews

Four Grain Barrel Strength bourbon (74% Corn, 16% Wheat, 7% Rye, 3% Malted Barley) is blended from three different MGP bourbon mash bills, aged 4-6 years in new American oak. Uncut, not chill-filtered, 57% ABV. Tasting neat. Golden straw color and good coating legs in the glass. Nose is floral vanilla oak, grapes and strawberries, and sweet malted cereal grain, with a whiff of spice in the background. Sweet malted grain and caramel on the palate, with grassy rye spice, mint, and tannic oak coming on. Light ethanol bloom, but nice. Mouthfeel is light, sweet and dry. Finish is long, sweet and grassy spicy, dry oak, and tart cherry. An ice cube tamps down the ethanol bloom and tannins. Very similar to my tasting of the Penelope BP Batch 18. Not overly complex in flavors, but solid high proof four grain bourbon. Penelope has done such a great job blending quality MGP whiskies (and being transparent about it) that they are now a flagship MGP line. I expect more quality batches, and am already seeing sale discounts dropping the price. That's a GOOD thing.

MM wood finishing limited release series 3 of 5, The Stewards Release, aged at least 4 years with 10 virgin toasted American oak staves, bottled Feb 2026 at 56.65% ABV, Star Hill Farm, Loretto, KY. Tasting neat. Rosy amber copper color (beautiful!) and strong coating legs in the glass. The nose is maple candy, sweet corn, ripe fruit, vanilla oak, and a little grassy spice and ethanol in the back. On the palate, tannic oak and old leather, wood char, cherry, burnt brown sugar, but very dry with an oily coating mouthfeel and a little ethanol heat I was not expecting. Big aggressive flavors, grill charred stone fruit with some astringency, not just a caramel vanilla bomb. The finish rolls from that char toast toward toasted baking spices, on through dark dried fruit, maple, and grassy rye. A Loooong finish, turns a little mint bitter/sour at the end. Wow. Each of the wood finishing bottles gets better and better. This is not for the faint of heart. It's sweet enough, but has an oak char dry tannic backbone surrounded by dark dried fruits that makes it really interesting. Drinks a little hotter than its proof... which isn't a bad thing. An ice cube curbs that and opens up a really robust sipping bourbon. I'm comparing this to a Larceny wheated barrel proof I'm finishing, and this MM rules with it's more aggressive oaked palate. Too much? Maybe, but I'll admit I like that profile. Makes you work for it. The more I sip, the easier it gets, while holding its own.

Blend of straight bourbon, light corn, and straight rye whiskies, all aged at least four years, as well as a small amount of 15-year-old oloroso sherry. Blended and bottled at 92 proof in Kansas City, MO. Tasting neat. Dull copper color and light coating legs in the glass. Nose is sweet sugar corn and vanilla, with a whiff of spice. On the palate, light caramel, orange peel, vanilla oak, and some light smoky tannic flavors. Mouthfeel is thin and sweet. Finish sees some grassy rye and baking spice show up, but it also remains sweet and thin. Chocoloate coated orange sticks hangs around the edges of a short to medium length finish. Decidedly light and pleasant, nothing to challenge or offend, but therefore not unusual.

Distilled in CA, IN, and KY, a blend or 95% rye 5% malted barley, aged in oak at least 4 years in northern CA, bottled at 45% ABV. Tasting neat. Golden brown straw and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is fruity sweet, touch of oak, herbal with some grassy rye spice in the back. On the palate, brown sugar sweet, vanilla oak, tannic oak, leather, flash of ethanol, and white pepper. Mouthfeel is thin and sugary. Finish turns more to rye spice and sweet grass, then mint, citrus, as well as cherry fruit. Fairly long, but herbal rather than rich. An ice cube tames the ethanol and oak which weren't that strong to begin with. Tasted the cask strength Emerald Giant 2025 57.7 ABV side by side with this 45% ABV and the difference is stark. Much deeper flavors and herbal intensity in the cask strength, much more oily mouthfeel, and a real anise/fennel quality that I didn't noticed before. The Emerald Giant 45% ABV is fine, maybe better for mixing than sipping, but doesn't really stand out, even at $37. It's good, don't get me wrong, but the thin sweet mouthfeel drags it down for sipping.

Char 4, toasted medium, 4 yrs, 100 proof, tasting neat. Dull golden brown and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is light-- brown sugar, vanilla oak, and a whiff of spice in the back. Not as "charred/toasted" as I hoped. On the palate, oily and maple sweet, with vanilla oak char and tannic leather, baking spice, anise/fennel (?), but mainly sweet. Coating mouthfeel that runs through a long finish of spice, sweet grass, and tingly menthol mint. Dry and a little astringent, but also a light sour note. An ice cube doesn't hide the tannic toasty flavors, but does soften the astrigency and lets the toast shine through more clearly. I've had the Bourbon Toasted Barrel char 5 heavy toast #25-301 (more smokey and burnt orange peel notes) and the Rye Toasted Barrel 2 char heavy toast #24-304. Thought both were better, or just more nuanced, than this one. Maybe I prefer the heavy toast flavors over the char level? Maybe not. A little pricey at $60, but a fine toasted 100 proof 4 year bourbon.

Have had this in my cellar for a few years, time to taste it, neat. Dark golden brown and strong coating legs in the glass. Nose I can smell from 2 feet away--charred oak, vanilla, caramelized sugar like a creme brulee, and a whiff of spice and ethanol (62.55% ABV). On the palate, big charred vanilla oak, leather, chocolate, burnt sugar, and an ethanol bloom. Big and chewy, oily coating mouthfeel, but dry. The taste then turns spicy pepper, clove, peppery sweetgrass, and tingly mint, with a burnt sugar baseline. More spicy than I remember past bottles--quite spicy given there's no rye in this wheated bourbon. The finish is long and mint chocolate, tingly, clean, very nice. An ice cube tames the ethanol a touch, but this barrel proof powers through the melt and remains a really powerful, spicy, interesting bourbon. Wish I could taste test some older versions against this one, but... I really like the dark chewy nature of this beast. Just looked--Breaking Bourbon gave it a 3.5/5 and named it the best of the three 2024 Larceny lots, and Fred Minnock rated it the #7/100 best whiskey of 2024. Probably why I bought it and put it away. A good choice.