Tastes

Tasting neat. Copper color and average legs in the glass. Sweet grain, vanilla, and a hint of spice on the nose. Sweet grass, vanilla, and spice in the mouth.. Light mouthfeel, modest oak, little ethanol bloom for a BIB. Finish is average length, sweet and tannic oak, with grassy rye spice. Clean finish. An ice cube softens this already soft flavor profile even more. Not a bad bourbon: balanced flavors, BIB, 7 year age statement, easy drinking, probably mix well at 50 ABV. But nothing particularly special to set it apart or (especially) balance against the too-premium price.

Four grain, double single barrel, 115 proof: wheated barrel #8119653 filled 8/14/18, rye barrel #8986627 filled 7/11/18. Tasting neat. Copper brown and light coating legs in the glass. Light sweet grain and dried cherries on the nose. Some spice. In the mouth, ethanol wiff followed by sweet grain, spice, and then leather and tannic oak. Some light dried fruit but not over-sweet or strong vanilla flavors in this whiskey. Dry, oaky, and spicy finish is average length, with a little sour at the very end. An ice cube rounds out the tannins to a smokier oak flavor and maple sweetness that's quite nice, and tamps down the rye spice in the finish. An interesting four grain double barrel blended whiskey. Dark and complex. A little pricy but worth the experience.

2023 bottling of JD rye in their "Bonded Series," 700ml bottle. Tasted neat. Rosy brown, light in color, and thin legs in the glass. Dried fruit, cherry, sweet grain, and grassy rye on the nose. In the mouth, slight ethanol rush, but the light/thin mouthfeel holds that in check. Sweet vanilla and tannic oak, cherry fruit, and simple syrup. Spice comes on later in the mouth, but it's worth the wait. Bang! Great spicy and lip-tingling mint finish is long--keeps building and building--sweet, and clean. No sour taste here. The finish is the best part of this whiskey for me as a rye fan. An ice cube kinda ploughs under that finishing spicy tingle. Its overall lightness makes me wonder how this will mix. BreakingBourbon.com rated this 2023 bottling one of their Top Five Rye Whiskeys of 2023. The finish alone would convince me of that, but... seems kinda thin in the mouth. As always, will revisit my rating as I try this over time.

Old Grand Dad 114, Lot 1, Dec 2023. Tasted neat. Burnt copper color and good coating legs in the glass. Nose is caramel corn, floral vanilla, and citrus. Ethanol and sweet vanilla oak in the mouth, with citrus sour. Coating mouthfeel that leads into a tingling mint and grassy/spicy rye finish which is looong and lip-numbing. An ice cube smooths the ethanol burst and sweetens the drink, making this ultimately sippable. I appreciate the "Olds" bourbons for what they are (and aren't), and their price points make life easy. This is a good bourbon and a great mixer with enough umph to make an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan sing. And it's fine to sip around a campfire or on a quiet evening watching "White Christmas" on Netflix, like I am tonight. Relax. Try it.

MM BEP 2023, 109.6 proof. Tasted neat. Dark rosey brown color and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is floral grain, green apple, and light wood. Oak tannins and ethanol up front in the mouth. Sweet grain, white sugar, some vanilla. Rather thin mouthfeel. Spicy grassy notes and astringent, sour fruit appear in the finish, which is dry but isn't long. With an ice cube I found the ethanol less pronounced in the mouth and the finish more woody than tannic. Interesting experiment in wood finishing with virgin oak staves. Not sure how much this improves over the MM 46 base except in higher ABV. But pleasant if you like a darker/deeper oak flavor. Preferred the MM BRT-02, 2022 wood finish version. Going to revisit this another night.

Tasting neat. Nice box packaging (dark red and cream lettering), and gold lettering sprayed on the standard MM bottle (might deserve better). Whisky is dark copper with modest coating legs in the glass. Nose is dry peanut shells and apricot, burnt sugar, and vanilla oak, slightly tannic. Burnt sugar, cherry, vanilla, and some tannic oak in the mouth. Savory, soft wheated whisky, but lacks a strong coating mouthfeel. Cherry fruit flavor (headed to cough syrup) grows in the finish along with lightly acrid burnt oak tannic flavor and a modest ethanol bloom for the 101 proof. Some pepper and baking spice, but that's definately background and muddled. Finish is thin feeling and rather short. And lightly acrid. An ice cube softens the burnt and acrid toward a softer sweeter fruitier taste, and shortens a short finish. Well, I expected a lot more given the Distiller Pro's review and high rating. Or my taster is just way off tonight. So I'm going to revisit this in a day or two. MM 101 shares a similar profile with the regular MM at 90 proof, and is an interesting tasting bridge of sorts to the MM Cask Strength at 113 proof ($55). The 101 is good--nothing wrong with any of their wheated and wooded whiskys of late--and at this higher proof it will make a better mixer in my Manhattan. But... a 94? And at $40? Nah.