Tastes
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On the nose lemongrass, pepper, and ginger. It’s not the strongest aroma but a complete lack of ethanol on the nose allows you to get your nose deep in there. Palate opens with Graham cracker and shortbread sweetness, transitioning to ginger in the mid-palate before finishing with white pepper and a good amount of rye spice. Flavors have decent depth and richness. Finish is a shade over medium length, and it has a nice oily mouthfeel. Overall a solid rye with no major flaws. Proof point matches the flavors well. Bonus points for value as ryes of this quality are pretty hard to find at a $40 price point.40.0 USD per Bottle
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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B519
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed February 19, 2020 (edited July 3, 2021)On the nose is a pleasing array of toffee, leather, orange peel, date, and fig. Palate: WOW. Liquid cake batter/frosting up front. Cinnamon sugar peanuts and orange zest in the mid-palate. Prickly heat on the backend but it’s a feature not a bug and in no way overwhelms the flavor. The difference between what I got in the aroma and on the palate is very striking although not bad in any way. Finish is primarily oak and candied nut, which comes in nicely as the other flavors are fading and is of satisfying length. On the whole a nicely integrated and balanced experience. Mouthfeel is viscous. Overall fantastic and much better than the last ECBP batch I had. I think the lower proof actually worked to good advantage here, giving the flavor a chance to shine. Considering I got this for just a shade over $50 makes this just a fantastic value.51.0 USD per Bottle -
Stagg Jr Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch 13
Bourbon — Kentucky , USA
Reviewed February 15, 2020 (edited July 28, 2020)So I must say I had zero intentions on doing a separate review of Batch 13 when I had already reviewed the now infamous Batch 12. (See that review for full tasting notes) “Pffft. The difference between the two is probably imperceptible!” I said. After tasting them on back to back nights, well, what can I say...I was wrong. Bourbon community, you really know your stuff on this one; Batch 12 is the bomb. But what of Batch 13? Batch 13, while still very much Stagg Jr, is fruiter, spicer, and with WAY more barrel char and way less brown sugar/molasses. Is it still delicious? You bet. Still worth the money? Most definitely. Am I buying Batch 14? The moment I can get my hands on it.59.0 USD per Bottle -
Disclosure: normally I would have passed on an NAS, sourced bourbon with a cheesy media tie-in, but when my local grocery store knocked this down to $14 and everywhere else in my area had it at $35, I decided to take the inexpensive plunge on this 94 proofer. Bright nose with standard vanilla/caramel, peach, and new leather. The palate brings the vanilla, caramel, and peach from the nose with minor notes of Spanish peanut skin, and maple. Very sharp bordering on "harsh" mint and oak bite in the mid-palate. Short finish ends with some cinnamon and that newly tanned leather previously noted in the aroma. Watery mouth feel for 94 proof. This bourbon doesn't have any deal breaking flaws, but nothing about it excels either; basically it's a fast train to Boringville. Hard to rate; do I give it a rating based on it's normal price of nearly $40 or my bargain basement price of $14? Let's start by saying it is nowhere NEAR worth $40 or even $30; if I paid that for it I'd be pissed so if anywhere near that I would avoid. At $14? Quite possibly a re-buy when funds are light. I'll kind of split the difference with the rating.14.0 USD per Bottle
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Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed January 29, 2020 (edited January 18, 2022)(Primarily for my own records. Probably a useless review outside of the Phoenix AZ area) Barrel #6658 “Selected by Will Simpson for Sonata’s restaurant”. Confirmed with KC that was barreled in 2004, making this a 14 yr old pick. Review will focus on the differences between this pick and the standard “single barrel” release. Age difference immediately noticeable with BIG barrel char notes not as prevalent in the standard. More oak forward as well. Spicy finish but not as prickly as the norm, with the extra age taking off any lingering rough edges. Standard KC peanut and cherry flavors still dominate, but larger caramel presence as well. Finish is super long ending in peanut shell, cinnamon, and a hint of peppermint. Overall, a stunner. Too bad I am unlikely to ever find it again but if I did it would be an automatic buy at the $53 I paid.53.0 USD per Bottle -
Baker's Single Barrel Bourbon 7 Year
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed January 27, 2020 (edited March 28, 2020)Bakers 7 year, but this bottle is aged 8 years 6 months. Nose features a healthy amount of cherry, some vanilla bean, corn dust, campfire smoke, and a hint of bubblegum. A very faint nose for a 107 proof whisky. Palate opens up with caramel and cherry. As it turns to the mid-palate it smoothly transitions to cinnamon and oak. So far nothing to write home about. The finish...oh my god the finish! HUGE savory char flavor; I mean like the thick charred crust on a well done grilled ribeye. Proof also hits here with some prickly alcohol heat. The finish is of ungodly length, with the charcoal and ethanol almost blending into a mint long after the other notes fade (over a minute) Coats the tongue and settles in and hangs there with along with the flavor achieves a drying effect which invites you to take another sip. Hands down the smokiest bourbon I have ever had, almost edging into Scotch territory. Since I love char/smoke, I also loved this bourbon. At $57, I feel I got what I paid for big time. This being a single barrel product, I hope I didn’t just get a honey barrel. As it stands, a rebuy and a recommend. Edit from 9/26/20 - Grabbed another bottle, this one aged 7yrs 0 months. Everything is as above except take the oak down a notch and dial up the sweetness a notch. And it’s even BETTER. Only paid $50 for this one. Bonus! 4.25 on this bottle. Edit #2 Just picked up another bottle on 9/17/21 aged 7 yrs and 3 months and this one is literally perfection: peanut brittle, barrel char, and baking spices in perfect harmony. Can’t stop drinking it. 4.75 on this one!57.0 USD per Bottle -
Smooth Ambler Old Scout Straight Bourbon (NAS)
Bourbon — Indiana (bottled in West Virginia), USA
Reviewed January 23, 2020 (edited August 15, 2022)The return of SAOS, still MGP sourced with no age statement but supposed to contain 5 year juice. On to the review: Pretty weak nose, with some creamed corn, pipe tobacco, and vanilla through a thin layer of alcohol. Not particularly inviting, but not off-putting either. Palate opens with caramel, vanilla, and butterscotch. Good things are happening...wait...what's that in the mid-palate? Yikes! An astringent, earthy mint and pencil shavings that wipes out the initial sweet flavors entirely. Finishes with cinnamon and burnt oak trailing off into a kind of bittersweet chocolate which is nice. Finish is short. Mouthfeel is neither chewy nor watery, and is appropriate for the proof. Overall this is a weird one because it starts well and ends well, but the mid-palate experience ruined it for me. Maybe it's the young age coming through or maybe it's always this earthy at any age, but I found it to be very unbalanced and overall not my jam. Hard to recommend at $4343.0 USD per Bottle -
Tasted with a neat pour in a bar so not as in depth as my other reviews... Nose has some dill, mint, and pepper. On the palate the predominant flavor is ginger snap. Some spearmint on the finish. I enjoy ginger so I enjoyed it well enough. Mouthfeel was nice and oily and the alcohol was super well attenuated. Only the second MGP 95/5 rye I’ve had and I’ve enjoyed both. A solid value option.7.0 USD per Pour
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Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed January 6, 2020 (edited January 18, 2022)Store pick from Liquor Express in Tempe, AZ. On the nose getting a lot of banana and clove; reminiscent of a good Hefeweizen beer. Delving deeper we find dill, cooking herbs (sage? thyme?), movie theater butter, and snickerdoodle cookie. The level of ethanol in the nose is zero; something I wasn't sure possible at 115 proof so definitely extra points for that. On the palate, opens with rich liquid snickerdoodle, followed by a nice slow transition to a slightly herbal mid-palate, leading to a long and peppery finish. The sticky sweetness remains present underneath as it changes, making for a nice smooth ride instead of a jarring turn. I dig the journey. Mouthfeel is slick and buttery. Fits the flavor and proof perfectly. A definite winner. At $50, I feel I got what I paid for. The sweetness makes it more of a bourbon lovers rye. Those looking for a dill bomb or herb garden might want to look elsewhere. My area seems to be swimming in store picks for this expression so eager to try some other picks.50.0 USD per Bottle -
Angel's Envy Bourbon Finished in Port Wine Barrels
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed December 22, 2019 (edited December 25, 2019)I must be the only bourbon fan in the world who hasn't tried Angel's Envy. So here we go! The port barrel influence is immediately evident in the nose; which is mild but complex; cinnamon-sugar roasted pecans, tannic red wine, grape preserve, and vanilla pudding. You can literally touch your nose to the liquid and not get ethanol fumes. On the palate, the initial taste is that of liquid cinnamon toast crunch, followed by maple, orange zest, and corn in the mid-palate. Leather, wood, and some astringent char on the finish, which is quite short. The flavors might be lacking a little richness that might be found if this was a little higher proof. Delicate, silky feel on the palate. This was a hard one to rate. I definitely enjoyed it, but it has some flaws and is not the greatest value at $47 a bottle. That said, it's an interesting whiskey that kept me plumbing it's depths; I think it's one of those "the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts" bourbons. Just misses a 4.0 overall.47.0 USD per Bottle
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