Tastes

Powerful aroma for a 90 proof consisting of dried fruit (raisin, date, fig) potpourri, walnut, tobacco, pepper, and soft, subtle oak. No ethanol to speak of. Very inviting. Palate brings the dried date and raisin from the nose, along with chocolate, marzipan, cinnamon, licorice, almond, and toffee. Flavors are complex and punchy as hell for the proof point. Finish continues elements found in the palate. Short but memorable with chocolate, black cherry, sticky moist pipe tobacco, leather, clove, and wine-soaked oak chips. Spice level is low, which really lets the sherry finish shine. Mouthfeel extremely full bodied. Drying finish. A unique and delicious depression. You would never guess it’s 90 proof given the richness and decadence of the flavor profile. So sherry forward it’s ridiculous, but I found it to be a good thing. At $80, I regret nothing and could see myself rebuying.

My foray into Canadian Whiskey continues. Being very selective here; not looking to waste my time with neutral grain spirits with flavor added. From what I’ve read, this expression seems to offer a purer distilling experience so I thought I would try it. Nose offers lemon poppy seed muffin, spearmint, pine, vanilla, apricot, and bubblegum. More ethanol than there should be for the proof. Palate brings much brightness in the form of honey, lemongrass, caraway seed, white pepper, mint, and rye cracker. Everything is very soft and delicate. Finish continues the soft approach but also kind of fizzles out; some clove, tea leaf, and a wood that tastes nothing like oak. Walnut maybe? Found myself waiting for a hit of spice that never materialized. Mouthfeel has some effervescence but is also a bit grainy. There are some nice elements here and while I do appreciate the gentle approach, I like my ryes rough, tumble, and high proof, so it’s no surprise that this isn’t my jam. That said, it’s not a bad product and at the price of $29 it’s almost in “steal” category. VERY hard to rate. Since I wouldn’t rebuy at $29, has to fall short of a 4, even if I recognize the value when compared to the overall market. Could easily be someone else’s 4.5 though.

Nose is rich and complex with raisin, date, furniture varnish, black pepper, cocoa nibs, orange peel, dark honey, burnt caramel, and smoke. Very unusual for a rye. Some pesky ethanol detracts from a first class experience. Palate is wild; cinnamon, white pepper, toasted almond, nutmeg, creme brûlée, cocoa, barrel char, and oak. Flavors are punchy and unrestrained. Finish is crazy long with a spice bloom of clove, ginger, and allspice. Some herbal notes in the form of wintergreen, lemongrass, and anise as well. Oak provides support underneath. Mouthfeel is medium bodied but prickly and hot with unattenuated alcohol. A fabulous disaster. Big, bold, flavors with plenty of flaws. I enjoyed this for its unconventional nature; there’s nothing on the market quite like it. At $63, it’s unique and a steal.

Liquor Barn “High Corn 1”, barrel # 8267, 124.4 proof Finally got my hands on this unicorn; a Willett purple top!!! Is it all it’s cracked up to be? Read on… Nose offers buttered popcorn, vanilla, caramel, soft oak, and a hint of barrel char. Ethanol almost non-existent. The popcorn note is nice, but I’m going to be honest here; the nose is a little muted. Palate opens with the buttered corn from the nose, followed by some rich vanilla, plum, date, raisin, black cherry, cookie dough, walnut, and what can best be described as “funk”. No, I have to do better than that description; the funk is earthy, musty, and sort of root vegetable. (Turnip? Rhubarb?) Whatever it is, it’s pretty addicting, and is what is driving repeated sips. Complex and punchy. Finish is sweet and spicy with cinnamon, pepper, baked apple, nutmeg, and burnt caramel. Definitely what I am looking for in a bourbon. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and effervescent, with some alcohol sizzle. I’d say this lives up to hype pretty darn well. I traded a 2021 RR13 bought at retail for this so my cost was 69.99. Retail is well over $100 with secondary reaching truly insane heights. Is it worth retail? Undoubtedly yes. Secondary? Is this writers opinion, no. But definitely top notch.

Nose is soft and inviting with dark honey, vanilla bean, caramel chew candy, furniture varnish, new leather, black licorice, moss, and a hint of oak. Ethanol is pleasantly low. Palate opens with candied pear, honey, plum, hibiscus, citrus, and raisin. Heather, apple, and fig in the mid palate. Bright and bold. Complex but with a bit of a sharp, youngish taste. Flavors land solely on the front and sides of the tongue. Finish offers lots of anise, pepper, and chocolate malt, and astringent oak. Prickly heat. Mouthfeel is oily and medium bodied. I appreciated the boldness and complexity offered here, but there are some notable flaws and it lacks smoothness and refinement. At $50 this wouldn’t be an issue. At $160? It’s a huge problem. Jesus the Irish whiskies I could buy for that price that bury this (notably the “Breasts” and “Spots”) are many. Hard pass on the rebuy.

Nose features grass, fennel, freshly milled rye grain, honey, oregano, thyme, pumpernickel bread, caramel, melon, and pine. Ethanol a little intrusive at times. Nicely complex. Palate is spicy and herbaceous, which comes as no shock. Big black pepper notes along with vanilla, caramel, mint, and a hint of leafy herb from the nose (at gunpoint I’d say oregano) Finish bring some welcome sweetness in the form of graham cracker and chocolate (where did THAT come from?) The rye spice from the palate turns into a chili pepper vibe. Peppermint in there as well. Mouthfeel is deliciously chewy. Pretty much what I want of out of a rye; with nearly equal parts sweet, spicy, and herbal. I believe I paid $83 for this which I feel is fair. Very solid.

Holy crap, first review. I will lend the proper gravity this situation deserves. Aroma is decently pungent with some odd elements; ginger, butterscotch, soy sauce, scallion, cotton candy, sour tamarind, bubblegum, cola, and wood in the form of cedar. I know reading that it sounds kind of gross, but there is enough complexity that it kind of grows on you. Slightest hint of ethanol but I didn’t find it to be a big deal. Palate features traditional caramel and vanilla followed by big black cherry notes. If you ever thought you’ve tasted black cherry in a bourbon, you haven’t compared to this one. Almost cherry Coke like. Hint of Bananas Foster. Barrel char kicks in around the mid palate. Flavors are pretty darn rounded; an unexpected plus. Finish features more black cherry which is not a bad thing. Also cinnamon bun, fresh cracked black pepper, and sweet oak. Some youngish heat but I would consider it a minor flaw. Mouthfeel is nicely viscous while also being effervescent/prickly in a good way. Not sure where this is sourced from; part of me wants to say Barton because of the trademark banana note, but it’s pretty subdued. Definitely in the realm of Barton/Old Forester as far as flavor profile. I like this. Do I $80 like it? Grrrr…maybe not. I’d say it’s better than similar whiskei such as 1792 BIB, 1792 FP, and OF 1920, but all of those are $30-$40 cheaper. If this was $50 it’d be a no-brainer. At $80? Would be a 3.99 if such rating existed. Since it doesnt, a reluctant 3.75.

Single barrel Store pick from Pitch restaurant, Scottsdale AZ. 100.6% ABV, aged 9 yrs 11 months. As a fan of Bonesnapper X-ray, I’m intrigued. Nose brings everything I’m looking for in a rye; poppyseed muffin, lemongrass, caraway seed, snickerdoodle cookie, mint, thyme, and dusty oak. Ethanol is pleasantly low. Palate matches the nose precisely. Simply refer to the above. Flavors are well rounded and integrated, with no one element overpowering. Delicious. Finish is tasty but oddly short with lemon zest, white pepper, and peppermint. Some residual sweetness from the palate keeps it from becoming jarring. Mouthfeel is full bodied and oily as hell, which really elevates this to the next level. I’m going to be honest; I normally like my ryes 110+ proof and I want them to punch me in the face. This is more of a soft caress. But for a mid proof rye, there’s a lot to like here. Not only does it not have any major flaws, it borders on superior. I paid $90 for this and given the age statement that seems pretty fair. There’s only one small problem: I can get the bolder, higher proof X-Ray for $54 and frankly that’s exactly what I will do in the future. That said, this far from sucks.

Store pick from Total Wine and More, Phoenix AZ that I won the right to buy in a raffle so figured what the hell. (As I have reviewed this bourbon before, this review will focus on the differences between this and the standard offering. For my records and probably useless to anyone outside of the Phoenix area) Nose full of fruit and cinnamon. Not as much vanilla on this one as in past offerings. Palate finally brings the vanilla but fruit (apple, strawberry), cinnamon, and oak take center stage. Slow morph to the finish which brings a hint of chocolate which I really enjoyed. Probably the best Blantons offering I’ve had. Now the rub; this store pick version was up charged to $87. No way it’s worth that. I will give it the rating it deserves given the slightly improved flavor profile but overall, remind me to stop buying this whiskey.

Fiesta Liquor Store Pick, Mesa AZ. (As I have already reviewed this bourbon, this review will focus on the differences between the store pick and the standard. For my records only, and probably useless to anyone outside the Phoenix, AZ area) Bouquet is a little more floral and oaky than the norm. Also more ethanol which is not a plus. And it very much carries into the opening notes of the palate: Not sure what flower I’m getting (rose hips? jasmine?) Caramel, vanilla, and cherry ultimately make their expected appearance but it’s more in the mid-palate. Finish brings a lot of cherry (good) but also astringent oak (bad) Mouthfeel is typical bright coppery BT profile so no surprises there. Not a fan of this one as I’m not a big fan of floral profiles. At $39.99 the price was certainly right, but overall outside of the occasional honey bottle Eagle Rare continues to disappoint. Don’t ever pay more than $40 for this. Thank me later.