Tastes

Finally some six year old stuff and I have been looking forward to trying it. Stopped by the distillery today and tried it at lunch. BBC has an outstanding restaurant. Visited the gift shop after lunch and got the last two bottles of the rye version and found none of the wheated. How can that be. Turns out that due to antiquated liquor laws, the distillery is on allocation and currently sold out. They are boxing it up over at the bottling plant but can't walk it over to the gift shop. Has to go through the distribution network. I digress. The nose on this one jumps out of the glass. Vanilla leads the way but there's brown sugar maple and apple. Everything straight forward, don't have to work to find anything but the alcohol is barely noticeable The palate is simple but pleasing. The typical vanilla-caramel from the barrel leads the way and there is a touch of fruit and baking spices in the background. It's a little thin and the finish could be a little longer. I think it compares well to Four Roses SLB and Russell Reserve 10. Mashbills are similar and there's a lot to like. It's solid and at an attractive price point (45). It's gonna be a regular around here.

Got this a couple of months ago based on liking a couple other wood finish series. MM has done a nice job developing different taste profiles using 10 staves of five different strains of oak. I like the way the stave combinations are printed right on the label. This bottle has been open for two months and about a third gone. Can't say I detect any difference in the tastings to date. It's got a rich amber color and quick forming tears on the swirl. The nose is tight with a little sweet bread and vanilla. A couple drops of water yields brown sugar. Very little ethanol. The palate is quite sweet and simple. The mouth feel is thin. Surprised to see it's 108.4 proof. Finish is short and dry, leaves me wanting more. It's been a while since I've had 46 cs but I'm inclined to say it might be better especially since this one is nearly twice the price

It's a cold afternoon in KY and I just came in from a brisk walk. There is about an ounce left in this bottle opened maybe a year ago. Poured it up an hour ago and been sniffing it. Fabulous nose that makes its way across the room. Vanilla and oak lead the way but a little bit of cherry creeps in there as well. Early on the alcohol gets in the way but it tames down after a few minutes. The palate is a tad hot, perfect for winter. There is maple and brown sugar, some malty chocolate. It's big on standard bourbon flavor but not overly complex. Not quite as chewy as I would like for its proof. The finish is wow. It's long lasting with bing cherry and caramel. Mouth drying but hangs on to the next sip. Slipping in a cube, there caramel finds its way into the nose. The palate picks up a lot of oak and the finish is shortened. I like this one and it delivers for its price point. Availability is a problem in my market except at the distillery where it recently went to $90. At that price, I find better offerings.

After a tasting event earlier this week, I decided to compare & contrast New Riff bib with Russell's Reserve. To my surprise, I have never reviewed RR10. The Price is similar as is the mash bill. But the similarity pretty much ends there. In re-nosing NR bib I kept coming up with an element I couldn't define. RR10 is buttered caramel corn forward on the nose with a bit of citrusy green apple and nutmeg in the background. Nicely complex. NR led with the funky thing and caramel apple in the background. Ultimately, I realized the funkiness is akin to band aids or adhesive tape. It was more in the background three nights ago. RR excels on the palate. Rich vanilla/caramel in the lead, and some butter too. A layer down there is green apple and citrus. Deeper down I get mom's leftover pie crust with cinnamon. A lot going on. I love the depth. The finish evolves and strengthens with sweet citrus. While I like NR bib bourbon, it lacks depth. 4 years vs 10 years explains that. The verdict is a reinforcement of why I find youngish craft products a mixed bag. Giving the devil his due OR produced Balboa Rye and Winter Whisky and I absolutely loved those.

Another bourbon geek event at the Ripy House https://www.tbripyhome.com/tbripyhome last night with Jay Erisman from New Riff. Jay is co-founder and V P of strategic development. He was a writer/reviewer at Whisky Advocate and spent twenty years opening and growing Party Source. Jay openly admits to knowing absolutely nothing about the distilling business when he got into it. He and his other co-founder just thought it would be cool to build a distillery in the parking lot. They did. The site is a few hundred yards from the Ohio River but their water source is a deep underground aquifer under the parking lot. It was most enjoyable hearing about the trials and tribulations of getting started and seeing his passion about his product and the future. He had WT 101 during the cocktail hour and noted that the WT mashbill is very close to his own. We tasted both the bib versions and sb's of his rye and bourbon. They make enough rye that they mash more rye than corn. My favorite was the bib bourbon. At four years, the ethanol is faint. He claims that this is due to the 110 proof barrel entry. Butterscotch is first to greet you on the nose and I get some nutmeg and green apple. The SB is similar with the alcohol more evident. Flavors are big vanilla and caramel, maybe a touch of cherry pie. Not much heat on the bib but the sb at only eight more proof is quite hot. A couple drops of water amps up the flavor. Finish is a bit short for my liking. Both are solid bourbons. The sb is about half again in price and offers me nothig but heat that I don't get in the bib. The bib is a bit more expensive than RR 10 so I think I will try them one on one. It was a great evening and I quite enjoyed the tastings and especially the stories.

The guy at the liquor store said (Try it you'll like it). So I got a bottle. The bar is not set too high since this is an NDP. As I research when I get home, it's Barton's mashbill. I don't care for their young stuff but this is produced from less than 50 barrels of 8yo juice. Nose is pleasant if tight, getting sweet corn, caramel/vanilla and a citrus element but it is really light in color. Palate offers basic bourbon simple and not offensive but nothing to write home about (so why am I writing a review?) It's not bad but I gave $37 and I've seen it for $50. Bottle is now gone so I'll pass at either price in the future!

Nelson's Belle Meade bourbons I enjoy, especially the reserve. It's sourced from MGP so I was anxious to try their own distillate. The label shows two+ years of age so I am leary. Quick whiff on the pour and I get a hint of caramel and oak. As it sits in the glass it goes grassy. After 15 minutes it's heavy on yeast light on barrel, it's very grainy much like Boone County's 5 year pot still release. It's not bad, but I am not a fan. It reminds me of my standard complaint to most of the new craft players that rush to market with a product that's not ready for market. The finish is an overwhelming grain/mash/yeast amalgam that's not to my liking. I'll stick with Belle Meade

So let me get this straight. BT can't produce enough EHT, Stagg, ER or BT such that we can find a bottle of any retail price? But they have enough to expand the Benchmark line? They have seriously increased production capacity and several new mammoth rick houses. Two years has passed since they introduced this (In Indiana only) so this fall this stuff should be ready for prime time? Enough of the rant and it is nice to see some affordable product other than the 80 proof bottom shelf stuff that barely qualifies as bourbon. It took me well over a year to round up the full line, but the product is pretty easy to find now. Every product in this line is an anathema to me. I have tried them all and like them one night but not the next. The top floor version had more flavor and fragrance than the old 80 but there is an off-putting paint thinner element. The small batch was a step up and fairly rich with traditional bourbon notes. I was hoping for a poor man's BT and it is if you can get past the little bit of turpentine in the background. Having read numerous reviews on the bib, I had great expectations. The 100 proof packs some punch and the typical dark fruit caramel is there. I was hoping to get close to the basically unavailable EHT smb but it's way off the mark with too much young ethanol on nose and tongue. Enter the single barrel. Now I like this one but ymmv as sbs do. It has an expressive nose with lots of caramel, candied cherries and a touch of nutmeg. The taste is true to the nose and it satisfies my bourbon cravings. I put it on a par or maybe above standard BT. It's youth is mostly in the background. The full proof is not a knock off of Stagg Jr and frankly does not even come close. It's difficult to get past the ethanol but a few drops of water helps. It's true to the family but won't make a regular pour around my house A year ago next week, I was in the hospital with covid. Lost my smell and tastes were screwed up. In the three months I was tasting these Benchmark offerings my smell would arbitrarily go away and tastes got weird. Hopefully, I sorted those out. Doc says this may go on forever. I know that I don't enjoy my bourbon as much as in the past so it will be a while till I try any of today's premium offerings. I will be sampling them through your senses so keep up the great reviews.

First tried this on my annual Florida trip. Of four of us tasting, I was the only one to like it, so Frank gave me the bottle, I brought it home and stuck it in the cabinet. Found it again today. While I like it, $100 is way heavy for what it delivers. So there's three 13 year old bourbons from IN, TN ans KY. I am guessing MGP high, Dickle and who knows on the KY component. Given what's in there, I expected more. It's got a nice rich vanilla-caramel nose but lacks depth. Same on the palate and the finish is disappointing, quite bitter. I like it but more like a $40 bottle.