Tastes

On the nose we get peanut brittle, barrel char, caramel, vanilla, toffee, butterscotch, and just a hint of wood. Ethanol surprisingly low for the proof. Palate offers peanut butter, toffee, red apple, cashew, cherry, vanilla bean, custard, and cocoa. If you’re looking for complexity this isn’t it as all the notes are on the sweet side, but what’s here is really nice. Flavors punchy and rich. Finish does not disappoint as it’s a gradual shift from the palate bringing in some balancing oak, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon but overall the sweet notes from the palate carry through. Bonus points for being exceptionally long. Mouthfeel is viscous. The best Larceny BP I’ve had to date. The nutty notes really stood out for me. At $79.99, I’d say this is a solid buy.

Nose is bold and very Brown-Forman with cherry, vanilla ice cream, chocolate malt, cinnamon sugar, orange slice candy, and sweet, subtle oak. It’s mostly sweet, but there’s enough depth and complexity to keep things inviting. Ethanol extreme low. Palate offers some significant differences from the aroma. The cherry is large and in charge, but also brings red apple skin, date, tobacco, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Finish has tons of barrel char, smoke, maraschino cherry, fresh green oak, nutmeg, leather, chili pepper, and wood varnish. Extremely long. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and could really use more weight and silkiness as it’s just slightly harsh. Overall a nice offering. At $119 (Costco), this is luxurious enough to merit the price tag but at the same time not something i would seek out to rebuy. A lot of the same elements can be had for cheaper with Old Forester barrel strength. That said, I would probably buy other Woodford Batch Proof at this price just for the experience.

Nose is initially full of ethanol. Fully aware that this is a 125 proof product but lots of other ECBP of the same proof or more didn’t have anywhere near this much. After the ethanol fades we find bakers chocolate, toffee, cola, nutmeg, pepper, peanut, flan, sawdust, and sweet smelling oak. Palate is of course very bold and has dark fruits (black cherry, plum), raisin, fig, vanilla custard, date, allspice, leather, and caramel. Rich. The bourbon equivalent of a Christmas fruit cake. Finish is more or less eternal with cocoa nibs, tea leaf, ice cream sundae, cinnamon, pink peppercorn, apple crisps, and well integrated oak. Mouthfeel is full and vicious to the point of being “sticky”; a real plus. Shortcomings in the nose made up for in the palate and finish. This is much fruitier than any ECBP I’ve had and it really worked for me. This remains one of the best values in bourbon. At retail of $80, any ECBP release is always an auto buy, full stop. I know these may not be what they used to be, but still damn good.

On the nose getting rich vanilla, corn nuts, toffee, hint of raisin, and Whoppers candy. Invites you to take a sip. Ethanol nicely low given the proof. Palate features the vanilla and toffee from the nose along with furniture varnish, leather, popcorn, and a hint of dried fruit. Flavors are robust, but lack complexity. Whoa Nelly…finish is hot hot hot with loads of cinnamon and plenty of unattenuated alcohol. Other than that we have walnut and continued sweet notes from the palate of vanilla, maple, and caramel. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and unnecessarily grainy. Hard to like a whiskey when it’s punching you in the face every time you swallow. This had such promise but ultimately was poorly executed. Feels and tastes very young, and I found the sherry cask aging providing a very minimal effect. This is going to be a chore to finish. At $80, this is highway robbery for this hot mess express.

14 yr store pick from GCM Liquor in Gilbert AZ (review for my notes and quite possibly useless to anyone outside the AZ area) Aroma is absolutely divine with cherry, caramel, vanilla, and sweet oak. It doesn’t have much else going on and quite frankly it doesn’t need to; sometimes classic bourbon notes in perfect harmony is enough. Ethanol nice and low. Palate offers more classic notes in the form of black cherry, caramel flan, vanilla custard, burnt sugar, walnut, and barrel char. Flavors are bold and balanced. Finish is a slow morph into cocoa nibs, cherry cola, red hots, and some of the sweetest, softest, oak to ever grace my lips. Lingers for what seems like forever. Mouthfeel on the thicker side of medium bodied and very oily. There is a sharpness to it which is the minorist of flaws. Absolutely fantastic. I believe I paid $80 for this and given the increasing unicorn nature of these 14-15 yr KC picks (this was bottled in 2019 and somehow I found it in 2022) I regret absolutely nothing. Liquid gold. If you ever find a KC pick of this age somehow floating around out there in the ether, do not hesitate to snatch it up.

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 plentiful. Hard pass on the rebuy.