Tastes
-
Old Forester Single Barrel Bourbon 90 Proof
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed December 3, 2019 (edited December 11, 2019)Store pick from Liquor Express in Tempe Arizona. Interestingly, they had two picks available; a “sweet” pick and a “spicy” pick. I went with the “sweet”. On to the review.., Nose is primarily a vanilla bomb, with some caramel, orange, and a nice toasted oak note underneath. On the palate there’s caramel, vanilla, orange, and cinnamon and not much else. Very “traditional”. Doesn’t really change in the short finish, just more of the same with a hint of oak but you have to really concentrate on it to pick it out. Very mild on the spice level. Mouthfeel is thin. This is decent if you like traditional bourbon flavors (I do) and has zero off-flavors, but lacks any sort of pizazz or character. Just not enough going on. I purchased this on a Black Friday sale for $34, but the normal price is $45 and if I had paid that I would have been sorely disappointed. No way it’s a rebuy at that price with everything else out there.45.0 USD per Bottle -
Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed December 2, 2019 (edited December 6, 2019)*Already reviewed this whiskey previously. This review is more for my personal notes noting the differences between the standard version and a local store pick. Will be of little use to anyone outside the Phoenix area* Store pick from AJ’s Fine Foods in Scottsdale, Arizona. A sweeter nose with strong note of birthday cake frosting and Fuji apple. Less oak than the standard. On the palate getting some custard notes, oatmeal, more apple, and even some berry before finishing with a big spice bloom of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and some floral bitter astringency. I think I know one of the reasons they picked this barrel; the finish is quite long. Profile is a little disjointed, going from very sweet to totally spicy with jarring speed. Overall more interesting than the regular offering, but still not quite a 4.0 whiskey. A plus was scoring this at the same price as the regular EC despite being a store pick.27.0 USD per Bottle -
Willett Family Estate Small Batch Rye 4 Year
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 19, 2019 (edited February 17, 2021)Powerful aroma consisting of cinnamon, french toast, orange, dill, leather, and musty old books. If that sounds like a strange combo, it sure is but it's also delightful. Amazingly low alcohol presence on the nose. I could sit here and sniff this all day. Palate: some chocolate not present in the nose, cinnamon toast crunch cereal, mandarin orange, and a hint of pickle. The flavors are all very rich and bold. 111 proof lets you know it's there without becoming a distraction. Finish is very long and peppery (both chili and black) with additional notes of cherry and mint. Mouthfeel is thick and chewy which supports the rich flavors. A truly great and unique whiskey; certainly never tasted anything like it and well worth the $57. Sweet for a rye, but with crazy depth and complexity so it never gets cloying or boring in it's sweetness. Instant re-buy.57.0 USD per Bottle -
1792 Single Barrel Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 13, 2019 (edited March 18, 2020)Store pick from Sun Devil Liquors in Mesa, Arizona The nose is medium strength with banana, butterscotch, and pear leading the way. Waaayyy down in there is a whiff of cedar. Enjoyable. Palate opens with the butterscotch and banana from the nose, with the addition of cake frosting and a good amount of caramel. Some clove creeps in there as it heads to the spice laden finish, which is on the long side of medium with big pop of ginger ale, clove, and cinnamon. Drinks right at it's proof point, which feels right for the flavors. Medium body, but very oily (a good thing). I really enjoyed this; the aromas and flavor profile don't stray to far from what you'd expect from 1792 but this is probably the most balanced of the line that I have had, which may owe to it's store pick status. Sun Devil definitely picked a good one, no doubt about that. At $30, it's an absolute STEAL, and I will be going back for more.30.0 USD per Bottle -
Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Rye
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed November 6, 2019 (edited March 18, 2020)Aroma is soft and mild with buttered dinner rolls, white pepper, honey, and orange blossom. The softness extends to the palate; opens with honey, citrus, and vanilla which shifts into grass/hay for a moment before a peppery rye spice finish with a touch of spearmint that lingers for quite a while. Pleasant, but not terribly complex. Thin mouthfeel, but has some oil to it. Overall this was fine, but lacking richness and intensity. What's there is nice, but muted. And while I wouldn't want it to be medicinal, it could use few more herbaceous flavors to give it some depth. At $45, I can think of several ryes that I'd prefer, making this one fall a little short of a repeat purchase.45.0 USD per Bottle -
Old Forester 1910 Old Fine Whisky
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed October 29, 2019 (edited March 18, 2020)The nose on this is a pretty complex array; campfire smoke, charcoal, leather, molasses, cola, overripe black cherry, banana, and mahogany wood. These aromas are all present in the palate, with the addition of creme brûlée, milk chocolate, and nougat. The finish is where this really excels with notes of cashew nut, barrel spices, black cherry cola, oak, and toasted marshmallow. You do wish for it to go a little longer as it’s merely medium length. Mouthfeel on the lighter side. A delightful whiskey. But...(yes there’s a but) it does suffer a bit from a lack of punch due the lower proof. I would KILL for this at 107-110 proof. As it is, it’s a great dessert whiskey and worth the $58 price point anytime.58.0 USD per Bottle -
I admit, I like me some KBD/Willet products so let’s see how this fares: First of all, serious LOLS for putting a wax seal on a screw top! :) On the nose, the first thing that hits you is this smells exactly like Dentyne cinnamon gum. If you really struggle you can pick up a little apple and creme brûlée. On the bright side, none of the proof shows up in the aroma and you can really get in there and huff without singeing the nostrils. Palate starts off with caramel and toffee, but quickly switches to a big cinnamon and pepper spice in the midway through with none of the sweeter notes sticking around. Finish is nice and long with more cinnamon, oak, and a lovely barrel char note. Has some heat to it; this definitely lets you know you are at 107 proof. After everything else has faded there is a hint of eucalyptus. The good: no off flavors, long finish, spicy if that’s you’re jam. The bad: lacks depth and complexity, a little too much cinnamon running roughshod over the other flavors/scents. At $38, I’m going to have to say it’s not a big win for me. Just too many other options out there for right around $40 that offer more depth including it’s relative Rowan’s Creek and the far superior Old Ezra Barrel Strength.38.0 USD per Bottle
-
After trying a few others in the Woodford line, finally getting around to the entry level product. The nose is somewhat muted; feeling like I have to jam my nose in the glass and take a big whiff to get much and then I get hit with some ethanol fumes. What is detectable is orange, dried cherry, leather, brown sugar, and oak. The palate matches the nose well with the orange, brown sugar, and leather dominating. Finish is long and spicy, featuring cinnamon, ginger, and some lightly astringent oak. The downside here is that the astringency lasts longer than anything else so it’s sharp in the wrong place. It's not overbearing, but a flaw nonetheless. Mouthfeel is light. Overall a fairly run of the mill bourbon at a reasonable price that's not terrible but also nothing to write home about. Loses points for a weak nose and overly bitter finish. Better options available for the same price at any decently stocked store.26.0 USD per Bottle
-
First foray into both Balcones and 100% corn whiskey in general. Looking forward to something off the beaten path. Ok so before we get to far in, let me just say this thing is SWEET. And I mean really sweet, like a sticky bun with extra icing. (Not the flavor components of one, but just trying to illustrate the level of sweetness) The nose is powerful; even if you set the glass down away from your face you can still get the occasional whiff wafting from the glass from a few feet away. Rich scents of English toffee, caramel, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Underneath all the sweet is buttered popcorn. Smells pretty heavenly. The palate opens with the toffee from the nose, but quickly switches to various corn flavors. Getting sweet creamed corn as well as stone ground tortilla chips. Just before the finish there's a nice buttery flavor. The finish is where things take a downturn. I think the best way to describe it is that it tastes and feels young. There's a grainy harshness which doesn't compliment the nose or palate at all. It's not that it's terribly astringent, it's just not the finish you are craving after what’s already been presented; your tongue wants silky smoothness and instead it gets mugged and has it's wallet stolen. After the harshness fades, there is a lingering flavor of popcorn. It is a short finish and the mouthfeel is medium. I think I like the idea of this whiskey better than the whiskey itself. Overall, it's interesting and unique, but the juxtaposition between the palate and finish didn't work for me. That said, I am interested to try other Balcones products as I see where they are going here. At a craft distillery price point of $57, can't say I'd recommend this one.57.0 USD per Bottle
-
First sampling of a Bulleit whiskey. At a price point of $35, I decided to not mess around with the entry level product and just jump straight to the 10 year. Really nice nose on this one; getting caramel dipped green apple, snickerdoodle cookie, and lots of "baking spices" by which I mean nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and clove, in that order. On the palate it matches the nose almost exactly with apple and spices leading the way so I can't say I'm picking out any notes that weren't already described above. Reminds me of autumn in a good way. Medium length finish of rye and yet more baking spices with the addition of some toasted oak, but far less than I would imagine from 10 years in the barrel. I would describe this as a very "traditional" bourbon. You aren't going to get a ton of complexity here or anything unique to write home about; just solid, well crafted juice at a reasonable price point. Re-buy at this price but probably not so if it were much more. Based on this I am looking forward to trying the barrel strength version.35.0 USD per Bottle
Results 231-240 of 297 Reviews