Tastes

Surprised me from the first taste. I knew this was a highly rated barrel release (B520) of a highly rated bourbon (I have had/rated the earlier 2019 EC barrel proof A119 release), but... this one really sings an octive higher. Drinking out of a camp cup at City of Rocks Natl Reserve, ID, social distancing, no fire (cuz the whole West has been on fire), in the off-season cool of Sept. Maybe it was the ambiance but...WOW.  Nose is fruit, vanilla, and grain. Whoosh, in the mouth: big woody oak, char smoke, and burned brown sugar caramel candy popcorn, with grassy rye coming through later. Then on to an astringent mint and grassy rye, and then finishes a clean oat cereal. Great mouthfeel, silky, and good heat that doesn't overpower but lets you know it's there. Opens with a little ice to catch those taste transitions.  Have now tested this bourbon away from the campground where the sunset and quiet surely affected my judgment, but... it didn't. This is a big smoky sweet bourbon with enough rye coming through to give it character. Worth the search and price.

Citrus, brown sugar and cereal grain on the nose. Sweet vanilla, corn cereal, citrus, and then ethanol, with a little little little oak wood char and spice on the finish. Thinner than I expected, not as deep/rich/oaky, shorter finish, but a nice bourbon for sipping. I loved the 1792 Full Proof, but will need to think about this one some more. Distiller reviewer liked this one more than the full proof. So we're circling these two 1792 versions with slightly different preferences. Update: Opens and grows fuller with a little ice and the finish smooths, but flavors are not very deep. Still, a very sippible bourbon. BreakingBourbon.com ranked the 2023 single barrel release one of their Top 5 Bourbons of 2023

Mint and sweet caramel, floral vanilla and cereal on the nose. Spice and dry oak and vanilla, then brown sugar in the mouth. Medium body and mouthfeel. Ethanol and heat builds in a spicy grain finish. Opens up with a little ice/water, and lets some orange flavors show. This is a balanced spice-sweet-oak bourbon, making it easy to drink, yet still has teeth at 116.8. Not single barrel, but blended barrel proof, and I love barrel proof whiskeys.

Dark rich red color. Sweet cereal grain, fruit, leather, and pepper on the nose. First taste surprised me (and I like port barreled whiskies). Rich wine/port, almonds and fruit, cooked oats, leather tannin, and some mild ethanol in the mouth. Medium soft mouthfeel, subdued, not overpowering in flavor or body. Spicy mint/pepper, sweet port, and cereal grows over time in the finish. Long pleasant aftertaste for how subdued it is in the mouth. Been a long time since I had their bourbon (and rye), but this is much improved over my memory. A pleasant straight bourbon at 45 ABV that's smoothed by port barreling. Well done (beautiful to look at) sipper; add an ice cube and the richness grows as the wine comes out. Makes a crazy good Old Fashioned.

I've been slowly trying Dry Fly products over years as I visited the PNW. The company mission and ethic is attractive. This bottle. Sweet grain in the nose, light and floral. Sweet cereal, green apple, and then red wine tannins rise up in the mouth. Soft, light body, as befits a wheat whiskey, but with a ruby red hue. Short finish flows into a tannic aftertaste. Opens and softens with a little ice melt. Improves on their straight wheat whiskey, but I think time in oak is more determinate in improving all their better whiskeys (although 4-5 years is about max for Dry Fly). Here you have the standard 3 years plus 6 to 12 months in port casks. I hope they'll start making 4+ yrs their minimum and going up from there. The 5 year Triticale port cask whiskey was much better than this, but then the triticale is not just wheat and it was a limited production batch. I may have rated their straight wheat whiskey higher back when I first had it in 2013--taking it for what it was back then: the quality product of a young distillery. But I expected more of this version with another year in port wood and 7 more years of experience. To be clear, this IS a good wheat whiskey, easy to sip, but a little light to mix in cocktails. I just hoped for more. NOTE July 2021: see Dry Fly's new black bottle release, small batch straight wheat whiskey, aged 6 years, finished in port barrels (Townshend Huckleberry Port from WA?), bottled at 45% ABV. Expensive, but this is what they should be doing.

Beautiful bourbon, smooth and balanced sweet vs heat that opens up with splash of water or ice cube. Toasted cereal and leather nose. Sweet vanilla, grain, and oak on the pallet, with some modest heat at 60% ABV, but doesn't overwhelm the taste. Finish comes with alcohol and spice but finishes quickly. A little H2O tempers and lengthens the finish. Bottles vary by the single barrel selected--I got a good one.

Fruit and vanilla nose. Fruit and sweet grain in the mouth, to caramel and oak. Smooth finish. Great value in a 10 year bourbon with no real flaws.

Batch 20-01, 55.05 % abv. Sweet meadow grass, floral grain nose. Big fruit, vanilla, oak char, giving way to spicy rye in the mouth. Not overly hot, but an expansive first taste followed by a medium mouthfeel. Finish is char and eucalyptus, saline and pepper, lingering a good while. A really lovely wheated high rye bourbon at a proof that blunts the sweetness of regular Makers.