Tastes

This is a “not a bottle kill” review for Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Straight Rye which I am finally writing up at bottle kill. Woohoo - 3 bottles killed so far in 2020, this means I can open up something new, right? Mash Bill: Undisclosed (and sourcing unknown) Age: NAS ABV: 42.4% Barrel No.: 17L1580 (2017, yes? I guess I found a dusty bottle?) Price: $35.99 (this has now crept up to $40-$50 in my area) I know this is a Single Barrel release, but I get a fairly different profile compared to the Distiller chart. Nose: Mild and delicate, light and floral. Spearmint, star jasmine, honeysuckle, and vanilla. Sweet, light honey. Faint spice and some citrus like underripe orange. Palate: This really doesn’t exhibit “rich and full-bodied” to me. On the contrary, it’s light, thin, and a bit watery. Sweetly floral and mildly spicy, with malty, lightly buttered bread, hay, black licorice, and a bit of mint leaves. The light fruitiness on the nose doesn’t transfer much but you do get some tartness. Finish: Medium length and even, but still light (watery). Honeysuckle and honey sweetness, with black licorice fading out. Verdict: Light. Floral. Mildly fruity and spicy. Pikesville Straight Rye really takes this dram to task, and since a repeat buy would set me back $50+ (w/tax) this bottle will not be rotating back in for some time. I give it a point over Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon. A decent dram but poor VFM these days. 3.5 ~ 81 ~ Above Average

I have a friend who has a wife, who is kind of famous (infamous?) for not following through on doing what she says she will. It's kind of a running gag that can end in anything from laughs to eye rolls and heavy sighs, or outright frustration and arguments. After sending her to Total Wine with a mission to bring back either Green Spot and Redbreast 12 (you never know which will be in stock these days....) we were shocked to find this as her haul. How did Lazy River Bourbon take the place of our beloved Green Spot or Redbreast 12?! (This is why you don't ask for help at Total Wine unless you know exactly what bottle you are looking for. Because if you agree to their help, they will direct you to some "Spirits Direct" drivel they claim is exactly like the thing you are asking for, except its almost guaranteed to be anything but and overpriced for what it is. The plus side of visiting Total Wine is that if you do find what you're looking for, it's usually a few dollars cheaper than anywhere else.) So, since Lazy River Bourbon is what we're stuck with, let's see how it fairs.... Well, some internet sleuthing reveals next to nothing about this bourbon. It's distilled in Kentucky, and bottled in Fairfield, CA at 45% ABV. Frank-Lin Distillers doesn't even list it on their product page - what gives? It used to be aged for 4 years but Distiller lists it as NAS so that doesn't give me a lot of hope. My friend's wife paid $30. Was it $30 too much? Nose: The ethanol burn is overpowering and overshadows the sweet corn and vanilla hiding underneath. I let this sit for awhile but its still sharp. The corn has transitioned into corn bread and cold, vanilla-infused marshmallows intended for making rice krispies treats except they sat too long. Little bit of muddled spice. Unlike the two Irish drams I mentioned previously, there's a lot of heat, little balance, and no fruitiness or other facet to be found. Palate: Thankfully not as much heat as I was fearing. Mouthfeel is a bit softer than I was expecting - low rye mash bill, and perhaps some wheat? I don't know of any distillers with wheat in their mash bills that would offload this though, so I'm going with low rye. It has a cheap, toffee sweetness (I'm calling it cheap because it doesn't have the rich, decadent, buttery sweetness I'd like to see in toffee). There's something off-putting in the midpalate that reminds me of really raw peanuts. Not the musty peanut shells I've tasted in Beam products, but something greener or under-ripe. There's a quick pulse of spice but it's not the duration or intensity I'd like to see, and an utter lack of fruitiness or other flavor profile . Simply put, this is sweet, vanilla heat with a bit of barrel and spice. Finish: Medium length, with lots of heat on the return. The sweetness lingers, along with woody astringency and some barrel char. Verdict: This is not terrible, and it certainly wasn't $30 burned, but to be honest, this is pretty lackluster bourbon. Excessive heat and devoid of complexity or character. I imagine this would be perfectly acceptable to sip in the summer time with an ice cube, but I don't think it would stand up to mixing and I'm bored with it neat. I'm glad it's 45% ABV, because any lower and you might not be able to tell what you're drinking. I'm torn between a 3.0 (it's pretty average, 75+) and 2.75 (it's also pretty boring, <75) so I'm going with a 3.0 and 74 because I don't think it rises to the level of the other drams I've rated 75+. This puts it at roughly the same score as Balcones Baby Blue - a quality dram for what it is but something I'd get bored of quickly. 3.0 ~ 74 ~ Average

Following up my review of Evan Williams Black Label, I wanted to see how the Evan Williams Single Barrel would stack up against it.  Would the extra $15 per bottle, years of age, and 0.3% ABV make a difference?  Let's find out! Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, 10% Rye Age: NAS (but between 7-8 years) ABV: 43.3% Price: $24.99 (typically $25-$32) Nose: By comparison to the EW Black Label, the nose seems extraordinary.  Sweet, rich caramel.  Cherries, red apple, vanilla, toasty oak, and cherry blossoms.  Faint red licorice, mild spice, and pink bubblegum.  Surprisingly concentrated for only a 0.3% ABV bump over the EW Black Label - that's clearly some quality barrel time showing.  Palate: Wow.  What a difference over the EW Black Label.  Sweet, oaky, and fruity - all well-integrated.  Rich and mouthcoating.  Toffee and dark caramel, oak char, cherries, red licorice, and spice.  Mild herbal, floral, and salty notes.  I think this bottle has even improved a bit since opening a few week ago.   Finish: Medium length.  Dominated by sweet, dark caramel, then drying oak and char astringency with salty minerals.  Yum. Verdict: Yep.  That extra $15, ABV, and time in the barrel makes a huge difference.  Way more going on in this dram.  I might ruffle some feathers saying this, but I think this was better than the last Four Roses Single Barrel I had.  However, it's not quite a 4-star dram for me...yet.  I wish it had just a bit more "oomph".  46%?  48%?  Could be lights out!  As it is, it's very good (though my bottle was apparently not to the outlier caliber of Rob Morton's of Distiller  - 96 seems a little high). In any case, this bottle offers excellent VFM with the caveat that it is a single barrel release and some variation is to be expected.  Recommended.  3.75 ~ 86 ~ Very Good

This review of Evan Williams Black Label is a simple head-to-head tasting against Jim Beam Original (White Label) - two bottom shelf, entry level, budget bourbons that can be found pretty much anywhere. There's a bar not far from where I work that does a rotating happy hour special for people having bad days - for $6, you get to pick your combination of poison: a beer + a shot.  The last time I was there, you got to choose between a can of Modelo + a shot of Jose Cuervo, or a can of PBR + a shot of EW Black Label.  Now, if I really wanted to recreate what the bar was going for, I would have pitted this EW Black Label up against some Jose Cuervo, but they rotate the bottles and cans of poison every now and so in theory, Jim Beam could be up against EW Black some day.  So it got me thinking - which would win out between the two?   (And let's be honest - I've tasted some terrible whiskies in my time, and yet I don't think any of them have come close to the appallingly repulsive dumpster fire that is Jose Cuervo "Especial".  I'm staying away so I don't feel horrifically "especial" afterwards.)  Enough tangential backstory, let's see what this budget bourbon has to offer.  Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, 10% Rye Age: NAS (at least 4 years and thought to be between 4-7 years) ABV: 43% Price: $9.99 (typically $10-$17) Nose: Still fairly weak like the Jim Beam Original, but this is a bit brighter and more lively. Fresh, dark caramel and corn with vanilla. Rye spice, anise, and barrel char.  Artificial cherry candies.  Palate: Fairly thin, with dark caramel and sweet corn mirrored from the nose.  More vanilla, anise, and rye spice, with woody astringency.  A bit more richness and oiliness by comparison to the Jim Beam Original.  Finish: Short and thin.  Watery sweetness and oak dominates.  Verdict: Well, this is about as brawny as a prepubescent.  And while it's not a total game changer, the extra 3% ABV really makes a difference and helps this stand out from the Jim Beam.  I picked the PBR + EW Black combo that night and split it with a buddy - now I know I'd do the same again if Jim Beam showed up on the list of choices next time.  I'm giving this 0.25 and a point over the Jim Beam Original.  2.75 ~ 73 ~ Below Average

This review of Jim Beam Original (White Label) is a simple head-to-head tasting against Evan Williams Black Label - two bottom shelf, entry level, budget bourbons that can be found pretty much anywhere.  This head-to-head was inspired by a bar nearby... but that's a tidbit I'll discuss in my subsequent review for EW Black Label.  Let's get to the details of this bottle! Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley Age: NAS (but at least 4 years) ABV: 40% Price: $9.99 ( typically $10-$17) Nose: Weak.  Vaguely sweet, watery caramel corn.  Thin vanilla, spice, and herbal notes.  The zest of underripe oranges and some musty undertones reminiscent of peanut shells.  It's so watery, I don't want to say the nose has "heat", so let's just say it has more ethanol than I'd like to detect at this proof. Palate: Anyone there?  This dram is packed with about as enthusiasm as store brand, budget vanilla ice cream or plain mashed potatoes.  Thin and watery.  The sweetness leans more towards confectioners' sugar than granulated. More watery vanilla, bits of wood, and faint herbal notes. Finish: Very short.  Watery caramel, corn, and faint oaky astringency. Verdict:  Well, I would pick this over JD.  While that may not be saying much, it costs about half of what JD costs so that's a fair bit of VFM swinging in its favor.  However, as will be detailed in my next review, I would ultimately pick EW Black over this if I had to pick a ~$10 bottle of bourbon.  2.5 ~ 72 ~ Below Average

This tasting for Jura 10 Year is another “impressions” review as it was a public tasting while at a work event. I’ve seen a bit of mistrust for this distillery due to inconsistent releases. What better way to provide an advantage to this questionable dram than by trying it for free and preceding it with Johnnie Walker Black? This event had an odd spirits selection to be sure.... Jura 10 consists of a mixture of peated and unpeated whiskies which are matured in bourbon barrels and finished in ex-oloroso sherry butts. It’s colored, chill-filtered, and bottled at 40% ABV. On the nose, there’s lightly medicinal peat and smoke. Sweet fruits (berry-like), heather, and coffee grounds. The palate amplifies these and adds a bit of spice, sea breeze, leather, cacao notes, and velvety tannins. It has decent mouthfeel, but in no way compares to the richness or intensity of many of its Islay neighbors. “Decent” in this case means, “wow, that’s not as weak as I was expecting for 40% ABV” - it’d be nice to see this higher. Finish is sweet, smokey, and a carries a bit of spice. I feel like this dram has more in common (character and flavor-wise) with some drams from the Highlands than nearby Islay. I think a bottle of this used to be quite expensive/overpriced, on the order of $50-$60. It looks like that has come down a bit, and can now be found for around $40-$45 (who knows how long that will last as the tariff effect trickles in). That puts it on par with Laphroaig 10, which is delicious and exquisite but also challenging. If you seek a less complex hybrid between Islay and the Highlands and want to try something new, perhaps seek this out if you can find it around the $40 mark and have tempered expectations. 3.25 ~ Average

Had a double pour of Johnnie Walker Black Label to start the evening at a work function. This was a step up from the Johnnie Walker Red Label they offered at the same event last year. As such, this is a quick hit “impressions” review which is colored with gratitude that there was something better than Johnnie Walker Red to sip on this time around. The nose is filled with honey and muted, watery smoke and malt. On the palate, it’s equally mild, with sweet, watery smoke and grainy malt, with some obscure fruits and a bit of creamy spice. It’s fairly inoffensive with the exception of the finish - that’s what really kills this dram for me. It starts fine and then fades into a copper-tinged metallic burn. Thankfully it’s a short finish. 2.75 ~ Below Average

I'm following up my reviews of 2 soft wheat whiskies with an (arguably) soft bourbon.   Woodford Reserve is a brand that (at least initially) built themselves on luxury and doing things differently. They priced themselves accordingly. They ferment their mash for 6 days instead of 2 to 3. They have their own cooperage. They distill 3 times instead of the usual 2. But does the end result justify the more elaborate means for Woodford Reserve Bourbon? Let’s find out. Mash Bill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley Age: NAS (but aged somewhere between 6-7 years) Batch: 3776, Bottle: 1764 ABV: 45.2% Price: $24.99 (typically seen for $25-$32) Nose:  So much mint it almost has a cooling effect.  Buttery brioche, apricot funk, honey, grass, and rye spice.  Fresh vanilla, which is almost odd considering the mustiness I've found on the palate,  For only 45.2%, there's detectable heat.  Palate: Rich and sweet, but with a watery mouthfeel.  It has more bite than spice.  More mint, apricot, candied oranges, tannic oak, vanilla, rye spice and barrel char.  As my bottle has evolved, I'm also getting more mustiness, which I consider a flaw and don't enjoy as much.  Finish: Medium length.  Sweet, spicy, and with surprising amounts of minerals (but not to the degree of anything by Dickel).  The tannins are a bit rough and clingy, like underripe bananas.  Overall Impressions: Woodford Reserve Bourbon is just "alright" for me.  It's a fairly easy sipper but it's also fairly unremarkable and unmemorable to me. I think I prefer Knob Creek despite the bitter notes I find in that.  It also drinks a bit hotter than 42.5%, so you may enjoy this better with a cube of ice.  For me, it soundly loses to Michter's and gets trounced by Eagle Rare.  There's lot of competition at this price point which keeps this from being a repeat buy. 3.0 ~ 75 ~ Average

Oregon Spirit Straight Wheat Whiskey is produced in Bend, Oregon by Oregon Spirit Distillers, a proud "grain to glass" craft operation that opened up in 2009.  They source their grains locally and mash, ferment, distill, and age on-site in charred, new American oak barrels.  I ran into this bottle while traveling through the Northwest over the holidays and hadn't seen it before.  However, a bit of research afterwards tells me at least some of their various offerings have nationwide distribution now so it may not be impossible to find if you wish to seek it out.  For tonight, I'm tasting this alongside Heaven Hill's Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey (my previous tasting). Mash Bill: Undisclosed, but described as "100% locally sourced grain" and predominantly winter wheat with "hints of rye and malt barley" Age: 4 years ABV: 45% Price: $39.99 Nose: Sweet and soft. The first whiffs hit you like you just opened a sweet, funky bag of raisins.  With time (I do recommend you give this some time and air), this opens up to reveal a surprising bouquet of charred oak, toffee, anise, buttered bread, new leather, and an earthy-botanical funk. It's definitely carries more heat (and funk) than the Bernheim Wheat Whiskey I'm tasting this alongside. Palate: Sweet, velvety, and mildly spicy.  A bit of heat.  Lots of toffee, anise, fennel, yeasty bread, charred oak, and more earthy funk.  The rounded, velvety mouthfeel is still light, but a bit more substantial and oily than the Bernheim.    I feel like there's more rye in the mix than they are letting on (perhaps our definitions of “hints” are different). Finish: Medium length, velvety, sweet, oily, and dominated by black licorice and barrel char.  Soft, friendly, mouthcoating astringency.  I like the balance of oak - while I was initially a bit skeptical of 4 years aged in the cooler climate of Bend, I'd wager they employ some quality barrels and barrel management schemes. Neither flimsy nor over-oaked. Overall Impressions:  I'll be honest, I went into this tasting with exceedingly low expectations.  And while this craft wheat whiskey isn't going to rock your world, its actually pretty good and I'm digging the uniqueness and funky bits. At it's unfavorable price point though, it's also up against some stiff competition, so you won't find much VFM here (but you will be supporting an independent, craft "grain to glass" operation that supports local agriculture and organic ingredients (where possible) if that's your thing).  I also (blindly) picked up a bottle of their bourbon and gin, but I may have made the mistake of starting out with the most crowd-friendly of those 3.  In any case, I'm really looking forward to contrasting the Oregon Spirit Gin with some of St. George's offerings, and further exploring the influence of Oregon Spirit’s esteemed Cascadian water. I’m floating between a 3.25 (Average) and 3.5 (Above Average), because I think it's worth seeking a pour if you can find it, but I don't think it's a bottle I would keep continuously stocked.  That said, I do know single pot still Irish whiskey and single malt Scotch are my preferred profiles, so I think it's a higher bar for me to keep an American whiskey or bourbon on my shelf.  I'm giving Oregon Spirit Straight Wheat whiskey a 3.25 and a point over the Bernheim for its uniqueness.  3.25 ~ 79 ~ Average

Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey is a Heaven Hill Distillery offering that launched in 2005.  It's claim to fame is being "the first new style of American Whiskey introduced since Prohibition".  I don't dabble in wheat whiskey too often, but I wanted something to compare to a recent travel pick up (Oregon Spirit Straight Wheat Whiskey; see my next review for this tasting).  It's named after the Bernheim Distillery, and by extension, Issac Wolfe Bernheim, an important player in the early Kentucky bourbon scene.  Contrary to almost everyone else in the industry, Heaven Hill first produced this wheat whiskey as an NAS offering and later added a 7-year age statement.  Cool beans.  Mash Bill: 51% Red Winter Wheat, 37% Corn, 12% Malted Barley Age: 7 years ABV: 45% Price: $29.99 Nose: Soft, light, and mellow.  Aromas of bread, light syrupy cherries, and vanilla combine to give the impression of something akin to cherry vanilla scones or cherry jam cookies alongside some faint buttery corn.  Sweet and very fruity, with a light cinnamon spice.  The ABV was so well hidden at first, you could stick your whole nose in the glass if you wanted to, but it slowly makes itself known as it opens up. Palate: Honey sweetness and very soft.  Lots of white bread, cherry syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon, with dashes of toasty oak and corn husks.  Those could sound like fairly typical bourbon notes (minus the bread) but the light mouthfeel, simplistic profile, and straightforward delivery tell you otherwise.  It's satiny, has little astringency, and doesn't pack much heat or spice.  Finish: Medium length.  Sweet and satiny, with a bit of cinnamon spice heat.  In a surprising turn, the barrel char and oak hangs on the longest, but it doesn't veer into unpleasant, over-oaked territory.  Overall Impressions: This dram doesn't scream character.  In fact, it's so softly spoken, it doesn't scream much of anything.  It's like the economical Macallan 12 of wheat whiskey.  But if you're in the mood for something light, mellow, and very easy to sip, it does offer good VFM for a 7-year age statement whiskey for under $30.  I'm fairly certain I would reach for this over the similarly-priced Woodford Reserve Bourbon (sorry for picking on you Woodford, I'm just finding you too musty lately).  With the exception of the soft mouthfeel (even then, I'd call Berheim's 'satiny' and Oregon Spirit's 'velvety'), this is different enough from the Oregon Spirit Straight Wheat Whiskey I'm trying it alongside, it almost feels a bit unfair to compare them. However, I did have an easier time scoring this dram, probably because it didn't stand apart so much. 3.25 ~ 78 ~ Average