Tastes

Nose is soft and delicate with graham cracker, raw barley malt, bubblegum, stewed pear, musty barn, leather, tobacco, and wet, green wood. Unique. Distracting amount of ethanol for the low proof though. Flavor continues the mild vibe with tea leaf, rice cake, butter, caramel, date, Granny Smith apple, and vanilla. Flavors are rounded but do lack punch. Finish is over in a flash but while it lasts features sweet tea, toasted oak, date, licorice, and nutmeg. I must mention the mouthfeel which is creamy and at the same time sparkly and effervescent to the point of almost coming across as being carbonated. Truly delightful and elevates what otherwise might be a very flat whiskey. Finishes very dry. As a lighter take on a malt whiskey, I found a lot to like but everything here is subdued to the point of being a bit muted. That said, it doesn’t suck but at $80 it’s just too darn pricey for what you get.

Nose is pungent and full with snickerdoodle cookie, mint, oregano, white pepper, charcoal, maple, sea salt, brown sugar, fresh milled rye grain, and oak. Some ethanol presence, but it diminishes after a while in the glass. Very inviting. Flavors are punchy as hell and matches the nose well with additional notes of banana, clove, vanilla, butterscotch, menthol, and graham cracker. There’s a good amount of sharpness here. Finish is extremely long and brings white chocolate, cinnamon, black pepper, bitter oak, and wintergreen. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly grainy, with prickly heat. Not for the faint of heart; everything here is turned up to 11. Somewhat lacking in refinement; this rye doesn’t whisper sweet nothings in your ear; it beats you up and steals your wallet. I paid a straight retail of $69.99 for this and at that price it’s well worth it, although it’s also very much a “have to be in the mood” whiskey due to a somewhat challenging profile, and I’d definitely have an issue paying much more. Rebuy a retail only.

Total Wine and More store pick, Gilbert AZ. 115 proof. Nose is sweet and nutty with cashew, peanut butter, and while I generally think the “aged at sea” thing is kind of gimmicky, I’ll be damned if I don’t get some salted caramel. Ethanol is 0.00%. There not a lot of complexity here, but what is present is very nice. On the palate: liquid Snickers. Caramel, heavy milk chocolate, vanilla ice cream, peanut, creamed corn, and cashew. Without a doubt the nuttiest whiskey I’ve ever tasted. Despite being basically a dessert whiskey, there’s an MGP brightness here that really works for me. Finish brings robust cinnamon heat, fresh cracked black pepper, oak, barrel char, and wood varnish. Mouthfeel full bodied and chewy and matches the flavor profile perfectly This was a hit for me in spite of the relatively simple profile. I am a big fan of sweet, nutty whiskies, and this one delivers. At 109.99, it’s hard to call this a value, but I have no regrets and may rebuy when in the mood.

Nose features Graham cracker, honey, nutmeg, fruit cake, white pepper, vanilla custard, butterscotch, banana, and hazelnut. A layer of ethanol underneath reminds you that this is a cask strength product. Palate presents almond, chocolate, raisin, orange peel, pineapple, vanilla, date, caramel, and leather. Flavors blend well and plenty of layers here, but there is a bit of sharpness. Finish brings the nutmeg from the nose, cinnamon, toffee, clove, pepper, and a lovely sweet oak. Also a musty, dried fruit sherry note. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, slightly grainy, and very oily. Wished it was just a hint fuller and smoother. Definitely the weakest part of this whiskey. I really enjoyed this, but from nose to palate there’s a bit of harshness and lack of refinement that keeps this from being a truly upper echelon product. A paid an obscene $179 for this because I literally never see it in the wild in my area, but even at MSRP of $120 it’s a fair value at best. Dont get me wrong; it is a good whiskey, but normally I’d rank the Spots over the “Breasts” but in this case Redbreast Cask Strength just might be the superior product at a cheaper price.

Delicate nose of lemongrass, fresh cotton, poppyseed muffin, rain water, light pine/spruce, and unmilled rye grains. Everything is light, clean, and airy. Zero ethanol. Thankfully the palate brings a little more oomph than the nose but overall still very “light” with lemon/lime zest, Ritz cracker, thyme, coriander, and maybe enough of a generic wood note to bring balance but not enough for you to say “oh yeah, there’s the oak”. The heavy citrus and overall flavor profile makes this an absolutely ideal summer sipper. Decently long finish takes things up yet another notch with cracked pepper, spearmint, mace, and clove. Mouthfeel is…you guessed it; light and airy. So light it’s like drinking a rye cloud. I did enjoy the journey from nose to finish as things got increasingly potent. More delicate than I like my ryes by a large margin but oddly satisfying as well. This is without a doubt the whiskey I would give to someone who has never tried a rye. At $58, the price is more than fair. A 3.75 that could rise to a 4.0 in the hot Arizona summer months.

Pungent aroma of honey, date, shortbread, melon, dried apricot, toasted coconut, vanilla, green apple, and a bit of floral potpourri. There is some faint ethanol, but it doesn’t ruin the experience. Palate mirrors the nose very well, with the dried apricot and vanilla notes standing out. Also getting cinnamon, pear, caramel, oatmeal raisin cookie, butter, pineapple upside down cake, almond, and chocolate. Flavors linger on the sides of the tongue. Definitely a lot going on here. Rich and punchy, but also quite sharp. Finish is long and spiky with white pepper, cedar, leather, tobacco, fig, gingerbread, the toasted coconut from the nose, and a light mineral tang. There’s some burn here which is higher than there should be at this proof. Mouthfeel is medium bodied but exceptionally oily. So, I wanted to love this more than I ultimately do; while I enjoyed the complexity and robustness, there’s some rough edges are that are hard to ignore, and I found myself longing for a rounder, smoother experience. Definitely not as good as both Yellow and Red Spots. A good whiskey but at the $179 I paid (yes I know more than retail) I wanted great. Rating this is difficult; ultimately ranking it a 4.0 because it IS good, but still hard to imagine a rebuy even at retail.

On the nose we get peanut brittle, barrel char, caramel, vanilla, toffee, butterscotch, and just a hint of wood. Ethanol surprisingly low for the proof. Palate offers peanut butter, toffee, red apple, cashew, cherry, vanilla bean, custard, and cocoa. If you’re looking for complexity this isn’t it as all the notes are on the sweet side, but what’s here is really nice. Flavors punchy and rich. Finish does not disappoint as it’s a gradual shift from the palate bringing in some balancing oak, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon but overall the sweet notes from the palate carry through. Bonus points for being exceptionally long. Mouthfeel is viscous. The best Larceny BP I’ve had to date. The nutty notes really stood out for me. At $79.99, I’d say this is a solid buy.

Nose is bold and very Brown-Forman with cherry, vanilla ice cream, chocolate malt, cinnamon sugar, orange slice candy, and sweet, subtle oak. It’s mostly sweet, but there’s enough depth and complexity to keep things inviting. Ethanol extreme low. Palate offers some significant differences from the aroma. The cherry is large and in charge, but also brings red apple skin, date, tobacco, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Finish has tons of barrel char, smoke, maraschino cherry, fresh green oak, nutmeg, leather, chili pepper, and wood varnish. Extremely long. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and could really use more weight and silkiness as it’s just slightly harsh. Overall a nice offering. At $119 (Costco), this is luxurious enough to merit the price tag but at the same time not something i would seek out to rebuy. A lot of the same elements can be had for cheaper with Old Forester barrel strength. That said, I would probably buy other Woodford Batch Proof at this price just for the experience.

Nose is initially full of ethanol. Fully aware that this is a 125 proof product but lots of other ECBP of the same proof or more didn’t have anywhere near this much. After the ethanol fades we find bakers chocolate, toffee, cola, nutmeg, pepper, peanut, flan, sawdust, and sweet smelling oak. Palate is of course very bold and has dark fruits (black cherry, plum), raisin, fig, vanilla custard, date, allspice, leather, and caramel. Rich. The bourbon equivalent of a Christmas fruit cake. Finish is more or less eternal with cocoa nibs, tea leaf, ice cream sundae, cinnamon, pink peppercorn, apple crisps, and well integrated oak. Mouthfeel is full and vicious to the point of being “sticky”; a real plus. Shortcomings in the nose made up for in the palate and finish. This is much fruitier than any ECBP I’ve had and it really worked for me. This remains one of the best values in bourbon. At retail of $80, any ECBP release is always an auto buy, full stop. I know these may not be what they used to be, but still damn good.

On the nose getting rich vanilla, corn nuts, toffee, hint of raisin, and Whoppers candy. Invites you to take a sip. Ethanol nicely low given the proof. Palate features the vanilla and toffee from the nose along with furniture varnish, leather, popcorn, and a hint of dried fruit. Flavors are robust, but lack complexity. Whoa Nelly…finish is hot hot hot with loads of cinnamon and plenty of unattenuated alcohol. Other than that we have walnut and continued sweet notes from the palate of vanilla, maple, and caramel. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and unnecessarily grainy. Hard to like a whiskey when it’s punching you in the face every time you swallow. This had such promise but ultimately was poorly executed. Feels and tastes very young, and I found the sherry cask aging providing a very minimal effect. This is going to be a chore to finish. At $80, this is highway robbery for this hot mess express.