Tastes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I'd say I enjoy 1792 products as a whole, and I am curious to see how this rarer expression stacks up. Onto the review... On the nose, butterscotch bomb for days. Also caramel, bubblegum, pencil shavings, cocoa butter, and an indistinct citrus. Pleasant to huff. Palate takes a distinct turn with banana, cream soda, stone fruits (specifically peach), white chocolate, and cinnamon. Flavors are decently rich. Really tasty nougat note in the finish; like inside of a three musketeers bar. The indistinct citrus in the nose finally presents itself as pear along with some oak and a cooling menthol that extends the finish to "long" when the other flavors stop at "medium" length. Thin and dry mouthfeel. Overall a pleasant experience. Lacks a little punch and body; I have a feeling that a little more proof would make this a smash, but as it is it's still solid. At $40 it's a decent enough value for what you receive. Scores an extra .25 for uniqueness.

My first try of a Dickel offering. I know many reviewers have found a uniqueness to Dickel similar to Beam peanut funk or Jack Daniel's banana flavor. Let's see what it holds. Initially some ethanol on the nose but after 5 minutes in the glass it's gone leaving a nice aroma of corn dust, toasted marshmallow, pencil shavings, tire rubber (uh oh), and mineral/vitamins (further uh-oh) On the palate there's some richness with predominant flavors being caramel, almost burnt buttered toast, oak, and marzipan. The finish? Well, crap. There it is; Flintstone vitamins. Specifically the peach colored/flavored one. There is also cinnamon, oak, and mint here as well but the mineral note really kicks your ass and not in a good way, which makes me thankful that the duration is only medium length. It is soft for the proof I will give it that. Overall, there's some decent things here in the beginning, but the finish ruins this for me. Just too damn weird. I can't say I'd recommend this, especially at the price point. But maybe I won't die of scurvy now having had my vitamins and all...

Nose hits you with some berry compote, caramel, oak, and a welcome hint of the Beam peanut funk. On to the palate we get some chewy bourbon flavors of burnt caramel, almond butter, raisin, and honey. Finish is pretty damn long and very very dry with tannic oak, dried cherry, tea leaves, and a hint of mint. Buttery mouthfeel. Overall, something about this leaves me a little underwhelmed. While I know it was blended by "master blenders" and all, but something about the marriage doesn’t work for me; the dryness and tannic bitterness of the finish are a little overboard. It's not bad by any means but I'd probably reach for something else given the choice. If there was a "3.65" rating that's what this would get but seeing as there isn't I will reluctantly round up.

Right after the pour a strong nose of cherries, vanilla, raisin, oak, and while some reviewers get orange, I got white grape. Definitely fruit forward. After it's been sitting a while, some buttered popcorn notes appear. Cherries and a date/fig flavor up front. Mid-palate features some peanut, rock candy, and smoky barrel char. Bold and punchy. Finishes spicy with cinnamon and clove. Remnants of oak after everything else fades. Medium length. Definitely has a sharp bite and brings an enjoyable slow burn especially for a 100 proof'er; drinks a little hotter than expected but that's not a negative with the flavor profile. Mouthfeel is thick and chewy. Very oily; coats your entire mouth. This one hit my palate just right; cherries, peanut and oak are always going to be winning combo in my book. While it lacks a little refinement, it makes up for it in flavor pop. At a $42 price tag it is a decent value; the only thing questionable is that you can score it's slightly superior big brother Noah's Mill for about $7 more so I would probably just go with that. But if Noah's isn’t available and/or if this was marked down a little? Oh yeah, re-buy all day.

My first foray into an MGP 95/5 rye. Nose has some interesting elements; some floral notes (lilies maybe?), and remember those orange slice jelly candies with the sugar on them? Lots of that. Light toffee note underneath. Palate opens with some brown sugar and nutmeg, but quickly switches to mint/eucalyptus mid way through. The finish is where this really excels. It’s a blend of nearly every kind of spice you can think of; black pepper, chilies, candied ginger, clove, spicy wood/barrel notes, and mustard seed. The only type of heat not in the finish is ethanol, which is gloriously absent. That spicy finish lingers for quite some time. Mouthfeel is nothing special, but does not detract. I would be remiss if I didn’t make mention of the fact that I have read other reviews on this whiskey and the results have been...not good. Lots of complaints of plastic and other off flavors, of which I got none. I don’t know what some of these reviewers tasted; it’s almost like they are drinking a completely different whiskey. Maybe I just got a good batch. Criminally underrated. Is it top notch? No. But is it solid for $27? Hell yes. Looking forward to trying more 95% ryes.