Tastes

Nose features maple, brown sugar, burnt wood, cashew, fusel alcohol, and buttered corn on the cob. Even though there is ethanol present, it is more of an aroma and less of a nose-singing fume which is…interesting. Palate matches the nose but is also substantially better; the cashew nut morphs into more of an almond supplemented by vanilla, maple drenched pancakes, molasses, charcoal, tobacco, and some pretty astringent wood notes. Flavors are rich, but lack complexity and basically hit you over the head with a hammer. Finish in insanely long with ash/smoke, dark cocoa, mesquite, leather, and a chili pepper like heat which prickles the tongue. Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, and very oily. Hmmm…while nice in small doses, there’s a roughness and harshness here that doesn’t lend itself well to a review sized pour. Unrefined, maybe? I think I paid $80 for this which is too much for what’s offered. Falls short of rebuy status.

Nose is full of oak, cherry, caramel, vanilla, barrel char, dark chocolate, and baking spices. While that description doesn’t sound that thrilling, there’s a fantastic cohesion here with no one scent standing out above any other. Ethanol nearly non-existent. Oh wow. Palate features layer upon layer of soft sweet oak, along with creme brûlée, orange zest, nutmeg, French vanilla, and flan. Flavors are rich, decadent and well integrated. Once your tongue adjusts to the wood the other flavors really shine. Lengthy finish is a slow morph and features chocolate covered orange slices, cherry, the oak from the palate, charcoal, white pepper, and a hint of allspice. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium and dry as the Sahara desert. A masterclass example of what an ultra aged bourbon can be. While oak is the star AND the co-star, there’s enough of a supporting cast of flavors to keep you from feeling like you are chewing a tree. At the $225 I paid, this is stupid expensive but I don’t have any regrets as it offers a unique experience with the only other obvious comparison being Elijah Craig 18 and honestly, this is superior.

Nose is full of dried fruit; raisin, date, black cherry, fig, nougat, caramel, and the softest of oak. Ethanol presence is very low. Palate opens with fig promised in the nose along with sherry, orange zest, peach, vanilla, hazelnut, and shortbread cookie. Flavors are on the lighter side, but very well integrated. Finish is full of grape jam, barley malt, toasty oak, clove, mint, and a milk chocolate note after everything else fades. Truly delightful. Mouthfeel is light, airy, and velvety, suiting the flavor profile perfectly. Man, I love the Iberian series from Redbreast. Far from cheap but the series offers quality and complexity and this is no exception. Maybe not as good as the PX edition, but better than the Kentucky Oak. At $99 I paid, I regret nothing and can justify a rebuy.

Nose offers toasted marshmallow, root beer, banana, clove, hay, and cedar. Nicely robust and complex. On the palate we have bright MGP goodness with a hint of “darker” notes. Caramel, vanilla, apricot, barrel char, orange, and burnt sugar. Flavors very rich for the proof. Finish is longer side of medium with flavors slowly morphing into a spice bloom of cinnamon, black pepper, and allspice along with the cedar from the nose and some choclate. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and sufficiently oily to match the flavor profile well. I know that Jefferson’s Ocean is widely accused of being a gimmick, but so far the line has not disappointed. A “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” bourbon. I was pleasantly surprised as I enjoyed the cohesive, integrated experience with no major flaws. At $104 I paid it is neither a bargain, nor overpriced. Would rebuy budget permitting for the uniqueness of the experience.

Nose is interesting with lemon, brown sugar, banana, honey, hay, white pepper, oak, and just a hint of rye spice. Palate is much different from the nose opening with mint, apple, maple, charcoal, pumpernickel, green tea, cola, and nutmeg. Flavors punch above their weight with richness and complexity. Finish is medium length and features pepper, oak, burnt sugar, cinnamon, stewed pear, and clove. Mouthfeel is a nice medium bodied and very oily which serves this offering well. Complexity and uniqueness for days. A very untraditional rye that is hard to rate. As a rye? Meh. As a whiskey? Pretty darn good, especially given the price of $36. Maybe the new budget king. Easy rebuy earns this a 4.0.

A lot of good things going on here; poppyseed muffin, blueberry, black pepper, lemongrass, rye spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, leather, and citrus. Ethanol is low but not non-existent. Complex and inviting. The palate offers the muffin and blueberry from the nose, cinnamon sugar dusted snickerdoodle cookie, super sweet oak, clove, white pepper, cola, and dark chocolate. Extremely well integrated, robust, and balanced flavors. Finish is on the long side of medium and features toasted marshmallow, chocolate mint, burnt sugar, white pepper, cinnamon toast, and tobacco leaf. Mouthfeel is exceptional; extremely thick and velvety for a rye and also at the same time effervescent and tingly, elevating this to a whole other level. Phenomenal. As an aside, I recently brought this to a whiskey tasting with about 10 other bourbons/scotches and everyone agreed this stole the show. The fact that this is mostly available and not allocated proves the whole “whiskey tater” stereotype because one would be hard pressed to find a better rye. At $80, this is an absolute steal. 6 out of 5. Wait scratch that, it’s terrible. Hard avoid. Leave more for me. (lol)

14 year “Lost Dutchman” store pick obtained in Gilbert AZ. Much like the actual Lost Dutchman’s mine, this bourbon is a total mystery; extensive research shows no bars or restaurants called “Lost Dutchman” in the AZ area. Where did this pick come from? I will admit it kind of adds to the allure, especially considering these older KC picks are relics from a bygone age… Nose is absolutely amazing with cherry, sweet oak, caramel, vanilla, a hint of corn, brown sugar, cinnamon bun, candied ginger, musty cellar, and citrus. Wow. Ethanol crazy low for the proof. Palate is much oakier than the nose would indicate also bringing black cherry, cola, barrel char, bananas foster, leather, smoke, and orange peel. Flavors are robust. Finish is long and features flan, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, and more sweet oak. Mouthfeel is a delight; velvety and somehow prickly/effervescent at the same time . The perfect compliment given the nature of the flavor profile. Think I paid $79.99 for this and to say it’s worth that is an understatement, although back in the day similar picks could be had for around $55 (sigh) That said, this is pretty amazing and just misses a perfect rating.

Nose is big and bold with candied ginger, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, oak, Brazil nut, rye, melon, and…strawberry(?) There’s a hint of ethanol, but hey it’s barrel proof so somewhat to be expected. Palate offers peanut, toffee, cola, vanilla, cereal grains, sandalwood, and leather. Overall flavor is bright and snappy. Finish is long and hot with the candied ginger and cinnamon from the nose, light barrel char, apple, bitter oak, clove, and a hint of mint. Mouthfeel is full bodied and prickly; stopping just shy of “abrasive”. Not my favorite ECBP, as this one is much more “take EC Small Batch and ramp up the proof”, while I tend to favor the darker, sweeter profile from this expression. Is it still good and worth the price? Most definitely. I will always buy ECBP and quite frankly, you should too.

Nose starts off both fruity and nutty with apple, macadamia nut, cola nut, raspberry, sour grape, tart cherry, light vanilla, pancake batter, nutmeg, and pine. Ethanol is low given the proof. Really delightful. Palate is super bright and brassy with peach, ginger, fig, honey, clove, apricot, and cedar. Those things all sound delicious, but there is a bit of disharmony to the overall profile and it just doesn’t come together as well as I’d hoped for. Finish features toffee, cinnamon, more ginger, and toasted oak and is fairly short. Mouthfeel is thin bodied and acidic which does this whiskey no favors. A unique whiskey for sure, but this one kind of misses the mark for me. A little unnecessary sharpness here, a little extra bite there; I feel this could have been great but alas, it’s just not. I see what they are/were going for an applaud the effort, but at 79.99 it just didn’t tickle my fancy enough to warrant a rebuy.

Nose is nicely pungent with sweet oak tannins, vanilla, caramel, sweet corn, and cinnamon sugar. Very traditional. Palate matches the nose with again a very traditional palate of vanilla, caramel, oak, leather, tobacco, and spice. Everything blends well, but the overall flavor is on the simplistic side. Medium length finish is where things get interesting with sweet oak, a surprising and welcome cherry note, some nutmeg, orange peel, and white pepper. Mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied. Drying effect has you wanting another sip. Definitely the highlight of this whiskey. A bourbon which I think attempts to highlight an aged oak profile but might just be a touch too young still. Paid $90, and while the price isn’t unfair, it didn’t knock my socks off either. That said, this is a decent whiskey and I can’t wait for Wilderness Trail to get to the point of releasing ten year expressions, which just might be the sweet spot.