Tastes

Holladay 6 yr BIB soft red wheat straight Missouri bourbon. Distilled Fall 2017, aged 6 years in new charred Missouri oak in Rickhouse 3, and bottled at 100 proof in March 2024. Tasting neat. Rosy copper and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is light and fruity, berries and a little sweet orange citrus, and then some vanilla and grassy spice way way in the background. Not much there. Tannic oak and ethanol "BANG" open in the mouth. Sweet corn syrup and honey, and then floral vanilla and citrus. Mouthfeel is thin and dry, even astringent. Pepper and baking spices come on in the finish, sweet grass and mint, and a little sour at the end of a long dry finish. The more I taste this, the more I think the finish may be the best part of this whiskey. An ice cube dampens the oak tannins and sweetens up the citrus/sour notes. Maybe better? Love the distillery's story, label, and bottle, particularly the old school metal screw cap. Why not! As a distilling company they seem to be doing things the right way, even though I'm not totally sold on the taste profile of this particular bottle. It's not the soft wheated bourbon I was expecting--more bite to it. That's ok, and I look forward to trying their rickhouse proof offerings. I have a feeling they're going to be more entertaining. And, of course, I'll come back and revisit this review if the bottom of the bottle changes my mind. Cheers.

Tasted neat. Brown copper and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is full of floral vanilla oak, sweet crisp apple, caramel, and grain. In the mouth, vanilla oak and tart apple, chocolate caramel, and a little grassy spice. Coating mouthfeel, little tannic dryness, slight ethanol burst. Finish has a little mint and pepper tingle surrounded by that soft fruit sweetness. Turns a little "sweet n' sour" in a long lingering finish. Very pleasant. An ice cube softens this, maybe too much and not necessarily for the better, taking the oak and tingling finish down a notch and letting the sour through. I've been a fan of the Woodinville whiskies, particularly the port-finished cask strength bourbon. Their Rye is ok too. I like their story and approach to terroir. This shows some innovative toasted stave finishing--especially using applewood. That's a welcome addition to the line. The price, though, is steep at $100. That's a bummer because this is a nice drink, but... premium priced??? Finally, over the years, I've become less thrilled with their signature chunky bottles--fit on a shelf nicely, but heavy, hard to pour and handle. Will revisit this as the bottle drops if I think it warrants.

Penelope Architect Series Build #8 [2024?]. MGP-sourced straight four grain bourbon whiskey (Corn, Wheat, Rye, Malted Barley) blended from three bourbon mash bills, aged four years, finished with two different french oak staves, and bottled by Penelope in Bardstown, KY at 104 proof. Tasted neat. Rose copper in color with strong coating legs in the glass. Nose is prominent and inviting: spicy grass/rye, sweet stone fruit, floral vanilla oak, tannins, and ethanol. Great first impression. Vanilla and tannic oak, brown sugar, and an ethanol burst open in the mouth. Cherry, sweet grain, and leather, followed by a peppery spicy taste that carries through into the finish. Coating mouthfeel that thins in a long lip-tingling finish. No sour or off flavors in this whiskey that drinks like it's higher proof than 104. So it's MGP Ross and Squibb whiskey from Indiana that the folks at Penelope have been tweeking and blending to good reviews. So good that Penelope is now owned by R and S, and as such that team will have even more access to the full range of quality MGP distillates. Yeah, quality. Big isn't always bad. MGP is making better whiskey than plenty of small craft distilleries, and doing so at scale for years. So instead of lamenting their "standardized" flavors that show up in so many other sourced whiskies (many that hide their MGP source, which is really the problem), acknowledge that MGP juice is better than what some of these "craft" distillers will ever make. High West in my state is a classic example of a great blender of MGP product that has ruined the brand by mixing in their own inferior distillate at jacked prices (and I'm being kind). Point is, plenty of people have taken MGP juice and tweeked it to good effect--Penelope among them--and others have just made their own poor "craft" whiskey that we regret buying in the end. Don't get me wrong, I love quality liquor however it's produced, and I celebrate small distillers risking it all to make amazing juice, but it all comes down to quality, not scale. Ok, done ranting. Enjoy whatever you choose to drink. This bottle will divide people over the French oak finish. I happen to appreciate that different flavor profile, and an ice cube changes it again, taming the tannins and ethanol and letting the oak shine. I'm going to keep enjoying this and see how I feel about it next week. Just another interesting day to be alive. Cheers.

Tasting neat. Light brown copper color and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is light: grain, caramel, and stone fruit with a little vanilla oak in the background. Caramel corn, cherry, tannic oak, and leather in the mouth. Rich mouth-coating feel and little ethanol. Bright rather than bold flavors. Grassy rye, pepper, and mint come on as we head to the finish, which is sweet, spicy, and long. Clean dry finish, not sour, which surprised me given the distinct cherry notes. Great mouth feel--oily and mint tingle on the lips. Maybe not the most complex bourbon, but hits the classic high notes with no real flaws. Well made and blended. I'm not attracted by the Country Music artist associated with it, but by the blending of whiskies from a top distillery and master. Maybe a little pricy at $40, but sips well and at 45 ABV should hold up well in a cocktail. I like the look/shape of the bottle and labeling also.

Another in my series of minibottle tastings. This one 100ml (3.5 oz) for $9. Labeling says it's aged a minimum of 2 years, bottled at 47.5 ABV. Tasting neat. Brown copper color and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is understated, light musty grain and fruity--cherry, Juicy Fruit--with a little spicy grass and burnt sugar. In the mouth, peppermint is overwhelming, with burnt sugar, stone fruit, and an ethanol burst. Thin mouthfeel. Finish turns sour--cherry, dill weed--and the mint note continues. Very little oak tannins, vanilla, or peppery rye notes. Ice just further thins the rye notes and accentuates the thin and sour/cherry/dill aspects. I opted to taste this as a 100ml mini given the cost of a 750ml bottle ($85) and my experience last year wth the Laws Four Grain Bourbon, which I did not care for. Glad I did. While the story of distillery production is admirable, the flavors leave me cold. This might be a better rye with more time in oak, but the thin sour mint is distracting.

I've been looking for this one for YEARS after enjoying the younger Straight Edge wine barrel finished whiskey from Splinter Group. Tasting neat. Rich aged copper color with good coating legs in the glass. Ripe stone fruit nose hits you from feet away--peach, cherry, over-ripe grapes, and sweet vanilla, with a hint of oak. Fruit, agave and/or light maple syrup, with vanilla oak and light leather up front. Grassy and peppery spice flavors show up in the middle and really bloom with light tannins through a long, dry, and fruit-sweet finish. This is a beautiful wine barrel finished whiskey, maybe too much fruit for some tastes. A soft mouthfeel and yet enough grassy and oaky tingle to keep it interesting. Not burnt sugar sweet, but fruit and maple/agave sweet. California wine country terroir, spot on. I've been sipping this for a week and enjoy it more every evening. At 9 years in oak plus time in Orin Swift California wine barrels for $40, found in the wilds of western Colorado, I wish I had grabbed TWO, but... I think there was only one dustie on the shelf. Better to savor.

Tasted neat. Bronze in the glass with no coating legs. Caramel, banana, and brown sugar nose. In the mouth, caramelized sugar, oatmeal, cherry, and charred oak, with some tanic leather. Soft, grassy, honey sweet. An oily feel surprised me given the thin legs. Finish is where the 60% rye shows up, dry, astringent, and light baking spices, but still sweet, and then it fades rather quickly. Very easy to drink, nothing challenging or unusual. Ice makes it even softer. I'm guessing at 100 proof bonded it will mix easily, but a pricy mix unless you're talking an Old Fashioned. Given the high rye content, this should be good in a Manhattan or an amaro/bourbon variant. Will let you know.

Been waiting to find this. Tasting neat. Rosy brown and strong coating legs in the glass. Chocolate malted milkshake on the nose with tart strawberries and heavy cream. Chocolate, malted grain, wine barrel residue, and soft smoky leather/oak tannins in the mouth. A little sour berries/grapes with some prominent herbal funky grassy marijuana flavors at the back. An oily coating mouthfeel--very rich feeling but not heavy. Surprising and unusual flavor profile at first taste, but it is consistent over multiple sips--that surprise-factor doesn't really fade away. In the finish, some dry cocoa and baking spices show up, sweeter rather than hot spices. Finish is soft, sweet and sour, oily, and relatively short. A classic American single malt style, but definitely unusual given the prominent pinot cask finish. I'm guessing that will/could be polarizing. If you don't like wine-finished whiskey then don't bother with this--the grape is strong in this one, and there's not a lot of tannins or spice to counterbalance. I guess that's what I was hoping for or missing. Very easy to drink at 45% ABV --seems softer/lower than that. Unusual, but not bad or broken. As always, I will revist this review as I sip this bottle down.