Tastes

Nose is full of brown sugar, pine, barrel char, molasses, vanilla bean, custard, oak, clove, stone fruit, and leather. Very complex. Ethanol nearly nonexistent. Palate differs from the nose in the sense that much more traditional vanilla/caramel/cinnamon notes are prevalent, which is in no way a bad thing. Also more barrel char, almond butter, black cherry, peanut, and clove. Long smooth finish is where things really become elevated with a slow morph into creme brûlée, soft, sweet oak, charcoal, black pepper, tobacco, mint, and a delightful hint of raspberry. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with just a hint of graininess. My tongue wanted full bodied and silky; I guess you can’t have everything. Overall a delightful whiskey with no major flaws, and a nice example of “highly aged” bourbon. I paid $149.99 which isn’t crazy over retail but yet still pretty pricy. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I run out and buy it again for that price? Almost certainly not. Hard to rate since 4.0 = rebuy status for me but I can’t say that this is a sub 4.0 whiskey. I’m going to not factor in price on this rating. 4.25

Nose offers spruce, apple, light vanilla, cedar, allspice, and a hit of creme brûlée. Very traditional. Ethanol basically non-existent. Palate is full of barrel char and oak tannins. Additional notes of rye spice, black peppercorn, flan, peanut, cinnamon candy, and mint. Hardly any mid-palate to speak of; literally races to the finish. For 7+ year age, there’s a heat here that I wouldn’t expect given the proof. Everything is a little disjointed. “Minty oak” is the predominant flavor which I don’t really dig. Long finish brings more barrel char, oak, cinnamon, mint, with a hint of ginger. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, but has a grainy sharpness that hits the sides of the tongue in a manner similar to hot sauce. Oof. I thought I would like this more than I did, but ultimately disappointing especially for an LE and given that I usually enjoy Bakers. At $74.99, this is a huge “nope” for me. Not terrible but pretty far from great.

Nose gets us started with graham cracker, nutmeg, root vegetable, crisp spruce, apple (weird for a rye but it’s there), and…cookie dough? Is this really a rye? Whoa. Palate is out there. Chocolate, mint, golden raisin, black cherry, iced gingerbread cookie, the apple from the nose, and tea leaf. I’m shocked and delighted by how sweet and fruity this is. If I have a critique, it’s that the flavors are slightly subdued. Finish is medium length with ginger ale, white pepper, lemon cake, light cinnamon, musty barn, and soft oak. Mouthfeel is light bodied but soft and silky and easy on the tongue. Completely unconventional and It’s rare to get something this unique at the price point. As a rye? Questionable. As a whiskey? Delicious. Surprised me to the point of nearly blowing me away. At $47, it’s a no-brainer rebuy. Proof that something doesn’t have to limited edition or a bazillion dollars to be great.

Aroma is classic bourbon and classic WT; caramel, vanilla, baking spices, a hint of cherry, barrel char, and oak. WT101 is my staple daily drinker and there are some notes here not usually found, namely rickhouse funk, fresh cut hay, and sawdust. Ethanol is low, but it’s there. Nothing here is re-inventing the wheel; just a solid bourbon nose. Palate follows the traditional vibe with the caramel and vanilla promised in the nose, cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper, sticky pipe tobacco, and oak chips. Flavors are robust. Finish is where this expression most differs from standard 101. And man, is it good. Deeper, longer, and richer. Caramel flan/ice cream sundae with peanuts, cinnamon sugar, more oak chips, orange peel, and leather. Mouthfeel also elevated; on the lighter side of full bodied and slick and oily. A great expression with literally zero flaws. Is it a game changer? No. But if aliens landed on Earth tomorrow and said “what is Bourbon?” you could hand them a bottle of this in confidence. At $50, the real question is “is it $30 better than regular WT 101?” and to that I say…maybe? Complicating matters is the fact that I have had better bottles of Kentucky Sprit at the same price. Crap, just buy it if you haven’t already. I’ll probably pick up another at some point earning it a 4.0 rating.

Nose is full of woody aromas; oak (duh), but also cedar and spruce. More subdued notes of caramel, vanilla, apple, and nutmeg. Ethanol non-existent. Palate much sweeter than the aroma would indicate with creme brûlée, powered sugar, a fruity date/fig note, cashew nut, citrus zest, and leather, all riding on an underbelly of soft, sweet oak. Not the richest or most complex, but what’s here is nicely presented. Shortish finish turns moderately tannic with more oak (some sweet and some bitter), the nutmeg promised in the nose, black pepper, wet newspaper pulp, and candied ginger. Mouthfeel is on the light side of medium bodied and just slightly grainy. Definitely one of the best Angel’s Envy products I have sampled. I wished it was a little older and a little higher proof but it’s…nice? Note that nice is far from wow. At a retail of $69.99, it’s more of a “glad I tried it” than a rebuy.

Nose is lush and full with wintergreen, basil, rye toast, earthy damp cellar/root vegetable, brown sugar, oak, vanilla custard, and ginger root. Really nice. Ethanol appropriately low. Palate offers the brown sugar from the nose, ginger snap, black cherry, fig, mint chocolate, nutmeg, oak, barrel char, and toasted coconut. Flavors nicely robust for the proof. Quite atypical for a rye, but delicious. Finish is medium length and consists of smoke, toasty oak notes, black peppercorn, cinnamon, and orange zest. Mouthfeel is full bodied and creamy. Oh boy we have a winner here. Sweet and spicy is a great combo and this pulls it off. I know I’m gushing a bit, but this slays many a whiskey which are double the price. At $54.99 it’s an insane value and I’m going to buy a bunch of backups right now before the secret gets out.

Nose is full of vanilla, cherry, oak, cake frosting, marshmallow, and flan. No real spice to speak of, it’s all sweetness and wood. Ethanol is non-existent. Palate matches the nose quite well, so see above because it’s all there. Some additional notes of apple, strawberry, cinnamon sugar, and sweetened oak. It’s like oak soaked in cotton candy. It isn’t a terribly complex profile, but whats here is gooood. Packs in a lot of flavor for 90 proof. Finish is a slow morph from the palate bringing the cherry promised in the aroma, cinnamon bear candy, and more of that delicious sweet oak. Mouthfeel is an absolute joy; soft, silky, and nicely viscous, complementing the palate perfectly and greatly elevating the overall experience. Could be descirned as “short”, but when its this good i just don’t care. Ok it’s easy to see why BT bottles like this are hyped up; it’s great. The dilemma; do I rate it at the retail that I bought it for (thanks Total Wine raffle!) or what most people are paying? I certainly wouldn’t pay like $200 for this but at the $52 I paid? In that case it’s a 5.0 all the way.

Nose brings fresh, minty wintergreen, baked muffin, caraway seed, rye spice, white pepper, cinnamon, and lemongrass. Nice mix of sweet and spicy here. Not exceptionally herbal. Ethanol welcomely subdued. Palate continues the sweet and spicy with vanilla, the white pepper from the nose, mint, oregano, brown sugar, dill weed, and a surprising hint of peach and cantaloupe. Flavors are well integrated, albeit not the most robust. Medium length finish features rye bread, cinnamon, toasted oak, leather, and musty funk. Mouthfeel is full bodied and slick, which is a real plus. A nice offering with no major flaws and at $54, it’s a crazy value for 12 year MGP in today’s market. The elephant in the room for me is the proof; I just like my ryes bigger and bolder. A 115 proof version of this might be the best rye on the planet, but alas we have this one. That said it’s still very good and much better than the 2019 version which was significantly more dry and bitter. Barely squeaks into rebuy rating with a 4.0.

Nose is very herbal and spicy with aromas of mint, licorice, cilantro, thyme, white pepper, rye, fennel, and a hint of graham cracker. Ethanol is not bothersome, but it’s there if you huff deeply enough. A musty farm note comes out after it warms, but it’s kind of endearing. Palate opens sweeter than the nose indicates with chocolate mint, caramel chew, brown sugar, wintergreen, clove, coriander, sarsaparilla, and a generic nuttiness. There’s also a watermelon note in here which is wild. Rich and complex. Finish is medium length, and takes a turn back into the herb garden with green tea leaf, anise, sage, eucalyptus, and sour dill, along with cinnamon, orange marmalade, leather, sandalwood, and a hint of something floral (honeysuckle? jasmine? I don’t eat flowers often) Mouthfeel is very thick and oily; no graininess present which helps keep the herbaceous mess from becoming too harsh on the mouth. What a ride! A rye lovers rye. I really wanted to say it’s not worth it for the price of $119.00 that I paid, and I was about to write off the Heaven Hill grain to glass whiskies as overpriced marketing gimmicks, but I have a hard time being that matter of fact about it as this one is much better than the others in the series. An excellent whiskey and very unique. Would consider a rebuy even at the admittedly high price point.

Nose is ripe with cherry cola, berry, damp earthy cellar, root vegetable, toasted sesame (?), and astringent oak. Ethanol presence is pesky, downgrading the experience. A very unique aroma to say the least. Palate opens with cinnamon bear candy, cola, butter cream, cherry pie, allspice, tart berry, and brown sugar. Nice blend of punchy sweet and spicy going on here. Finish is quite nice and long with cinnamon sugar, vanilla creme, marzipan, pink peppercorn, chili pepper, bright oak tannins, orange peel, and barrel char. Hint of peppermint after everything else is gone. Flavors are felt almost solely on the sides of the tongue, leading to a slightly hotter character. Mouthfeel is on the fuller side of medium bodied, but dry as a bone, which I’m not sure matches the profile well. I’m going to cut right to the chase; like the bourbon, hate the price. I admittedly overpaid for this at $139.99, but FOMO is real. The obvious comparison for a 121 proof wheater is Larceny Barrel Proof from the same distillery. Would I rather that at an average price of $79.99 over this? Indeed I would. Sorry, not sorry.