Tastes

A short and sweet review. Smells and tastes like buttered popcorn. For what it is its good.

The Aroma is just like a cigar humidor. One you walk into to select some cigars. So that means some tobacco & wood, perhaps cedar. As it opens smelled pretzel and a touch of sweetness. Bright & crisp copper in color. First sip makes me think this is a high rye mashbill. Good spice throughout. Biscuity, bitter & spicy. All in a nice way. One of the most bitter Bourbons I've tasted. Peppery spice on top with some balancing sweetness just below the surface. Three drops of water killed the Aroma and exploded the spice. Wow, the finish is so much bigger with the water. You have to be patient with this in the glass. Cocoa and chocolate flavors emerge and the balance of spice and sweetness hits the right spot. Definitely drink with water in my opinion. You can tell we are over 100 proof with the heat. It's good. Just not sure it's worth the elevated price.

OK, this is not a drill. I can't believe how much I Love this Bourbon. Just special and a must try. Parker's Heritage The Aroma is stunning and a background of sweetness with an oily orange peel out front. The balance of sweet and bitter here has met a perfect moment in the glass (in both Aroma and taste) Flavor has Cherry tucked underneath the perfect orange peel oils. Honey notes throughout. Long wonderful finish. It explodes in a perfect way with a few drops of water and the finish is just Fantastic. Sweet, bitter, floral and citrus. Balance and depth.. Apex Bourbon

Nothing wrong here. Just that there's nothing exciting either. Caramel with the slightest touch of spice. Minimal finish. Water actually helps quite a bit in opening this up. I get soapy notes (this isn't a negative and I'm still looking for a better way to express, but some Bourbons hit me this way. Maybe floral)

Rather light in color, brass like. Light Aroma, vanilla, toasted oak, moment of coconut. Touch of dry grain. Flavor better than Aroma alludes too. Toasted biscuity note with some spice and a consistent vanilla bean. Sweetness lays just below the surface, but rounds out the flavor. Spice lingers quite nicely. Growing on me through the glass.

Unique, Distinctive are words that come to mind when thinking of Willett. Specially the Pot Still Reserve. I always here it's a love it or otherwise. Well apparently I built a house in the Love it camp. I think there is so much going on in this glass. In fact, every glass I've ever had from Willett. Aroma is of Cedar and sweet candy with lots of cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper. Cedar is interesting and also comes off as fresh cut wood from time to time. Really love the flavor which is very spicy. I trust we're dealing with a high rye mashbill. Pepper, cinnamon moments of Cherry and marzipan. Sweet notes and then a beautiful finish that's both spicy and warming. Like the perfect moment in a Fireball. Long wonderful finish. BTW, this bottle with a few others really confirmed the notion of a "neck pour" for me. In a bar, Loved it. Got a bottle and first pour was a bit disappointing. Then came back to it today (week later) and it's beautiful again. Just like I remember.

Started off promising, but didn't deliver in the end. Bright fruit in the Aroma. Fresh and bright. Vanilla and honey with some light fruit notes. Apple notes come to mind in the flavor, but didn't sense in the aroma. Some water really opens this with some spice on top of the fruit notes. Some moments of charcoal or very light smoke. (very light) The problem here is the lack of finish. It falls off so quickly. Any perusal of my Bourbon/Rye reviews will demonstrate the importance of a lingering finish to my total enjoyment of any whiskey. After all, this is key to the "savor" aspect of something wonderful. The journey continues...

So I really like this version of Macallan. Long before I became an American Whiskey fan, I dabbled in single malt (without really learning too much). Macallan 12 was my go to. (perhaps the Maker's Mark of single malt) Aroma is very fruity, some sultana (tribute to Ralphy) but all kidding aside, I did smell some grape notes. Vanilla and oak notes come out as it opens. Flavor is much more vanilla than the Aroma hinted. Like a vanilla cream with nice oak notes. This had an element of chocolate added later. Becomes a little toasted on the finish, which is nice. This will continue to have me explore whiskey from that side of the pond..

So, as I have the opportunity to try several different versions of the Booker's line, I'm frankly falling in love. This is good and certainly in the family of others, but it hit me that it just wasn't as complex or deep as some others. The day before having this I had some of the Granny's Batch and it was stunning. This one drinks hotter with some of the nice peanut notes. But it stays hot even with some water, where others bloom. It's good, but this one isn't worth the price.

As Copper in color as anything has ever been. Aroma has some sweetness and a lot of corn grain. Moment of Maple I thought to myself (fleeting). Oak notes emerge as it opens. Hints of light berry, perhaps raspberry. (OK, Maple returned with vanilla notes) Decent vanilla, corn grain in the flavor as well. Decent amount of spice. Good amount of both oak and spice in the finish. I've always enjoyed 46 vs the standard Maker's and it's all about this finish. I get white pepper here, which is different than black to me. Water causes to explode and in a mostly nice way. Spice comes up to the front seat. Vanilla really steps up and is reminiscent of creme brulee. A touch of marzipan as well. Deeper oak and the finish. I remain consistent and prefer this to the flagship brand.