Tastes
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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.32.0 USD per Bottle
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Sweet floral lemon and bitter lemon peel on the nose. Thick and sweet in the mouth, floral lemon. Just a bit of bitter bite to temper that viscous white sugar sweet. A nice digestif, a little on the sweet side, but in style for imported Italian limoncellos. Still prefer Luxardo's less sweet more acidic profile. Also tried this as prescribed in a cocktail (1 oz with prosecco) and can recommend. But then I love "champagne cocktails" in general.17.0 USD per Bottle
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Old Grand-Dad 114 Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed December 11, 2023 (edited December 22, 2023)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.30.0 USD per Bottle -
Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2023 BEP
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 28, 2023 (edited December 20, 2023)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.65.0 USD per Bottle -
Been a LOONG time since I had any Jager, and even though I went to university in Wisconsin, I managed to avoid Jager shots and toddies and bombs. Mostly. Wisconsin Old Fashioneds?...yeah, I had my share of those. Now I have a Jager mini. Tasting neat, and room temp. Cola color and nose, with licorise and sugar, savory herbs and mint. In the mouth...yeah, there it is. Licorice herbal packed with sugar, more sugar, and just enough ethanol to notice. But then... thin, one and done, and gone quickly. I'm sure drinking this ice-cold is a no-brainer and leaves no afterthought or aftertaste. That's kinda the point I guess. It's like some local US amaros I've tried--high on the cola or root beer flavor and lots of sugar, but low on the bitter that makes real amaros so appealing to sip and mix. Nothing wrong with it, but so much more could be right. Instead of gulping this, I'm going to use the rest in a cocktail: Black Apple Old Fashioned Sother Teague, Amor y Amargo, NYC. 1 1/2 ounces Jagermeister 1 ounce apple brandy 2 dashes apple bitters --- Add all ingredients to an ice-filled tumbler. Garnish with an orange twist if you must. Yeah, would be better with Averna amaro than Jager. Too sweet...like Wisconsin Old Fashioneds.3.0 USD per Shot
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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.40.0 USD per Bottle
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Crown Royal Vanilla
Flavored Whiskey — Manitoba, Canada
Reviewed October 13, 2023 (edited October 14, 2023)At my in-laws. Couldn't say no to a glass without risking a shooting war. Tasted neat. Golden copper in the glass, average coating legs. Light floral nose--grain but not a lot of vanilla. BANG. There it is--vanilla and white sugar in the mouth. Sweet, floral, a little artificial/chemical, and thin. And that's the finish too... short, with a little rye tingle on the lips. I can see drinking too much of this under the impression that it's not 80 proof, whisky, or even alcohol. It should come with emergency flashers, but you can use the fabric bag to flag down folks for help. Seriously, it's just sweet Canadian whisky, nothing more, nothing less. Were you expecting more? If you’re mixing it with kind of soda pop just consider holding the soda and enjoying it as is--you won't know the difference... unless you're pouring 10 oz highballs. At that point, refer to use of the bag above. That's what my in-laws do, eh? -
Stagg Jr Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch 12
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 3, 2023 (edited October 4, 2023)Been holding on to this bottle way too long. Tonight's the night. Batch 12, 2019, 66.15 ABV, 132.3 proof, tasted neat. Dark brown copper in the glass, with strong coating legs. Nose is sweet corn and cereal, brown sugar, vanilla, and toasted oak. That follows in the mouth--sugar sweet, vanilla oak, leather and tannic, and dry rye spice. A little char smoke and ethanol, but not that hot given the proof. Full oily mouthfeel. Here's what I love--a lip tingling (even numbing) finish. Dry mint and nettles, with a smoky grain sweetness that takes you through a looong finish. An ice cube tames the ethanol and tannins to a degree, but leaves that lip tingling feeling intact. Yeow! Just gets softer and more savory as the ice cools and melts. Love that time-lapse transformation. Big and brawny, full of flavor, just like the other Stagg Jrs. Perfect on a cold fall evening--I can feel snow in the air. Breakingbourbon.com rated this their #1 bourbon of 2019. That's awfully high praise. I'm not going to argue with them--seems deserved.50.0 USD per Bottle -
Knob Creek Rye Single Barrel Select
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed September 21, 2023 (edited December 22, 2023)Single barrel select rye for Utah Dept of Alcohol Beverage Services. Warehouse 1, floor 4, rick 049, barrelled 12/16/2016, bottled 8/2/2022, 5 years 7 months, 115 proof. Tasted neat. Color is dark copper, average legs in the glass. Nose is earthy, sweet grain, dry straw, and oak. Light caramel and floral hints. In the mouth sweet vanilla and tannic oak, and a big burst of astringent ethanol. Earthy leather depth, but mouthfeel is thin and sweet. Rye spice comes on, but more grassy than baking spice or pepper. Mint and dry nettles tingle the mouth in a long finish, with sweet and sour notes. Kinda a push and pull set of flavors in the mouth, and ice doesn't sort that out. It's assertive, tannic, maybe more sour with ice. That's not bad, just distinctive. Loved the nose and the finish, and ice doesn't wash out that mint rye spice tingle finish. Nice. Nothing wrong with this that time and a few more glasses won't sort out, so...I'll revisit this over time.60.0 USD per Bottle -
1800 Reposado Tequila
Tequila Reposado — Tequila Valley, Jalisco, Mexico
Reviewed September 15, 2023Tasted neat. Light golden color. Light floral citrus and sweet grass on the nose. Taste is peppery, slight smoke and oak, tannic, and bitter minerals. Finish is long, mineral and a little sour.
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