Reviews

The expectations I’ve placed on Japanese whisky are unreasonably high. This is a truth i am forced to reconcile with and this whisky, while not the sole catalyst is the one that forced me to face the mirror. So while grappling with this I can only say that this was a disappointment but maybe it shouldnt have been. What i mean is for the price point and description it is pretty straightforward and delivers what it promises, which is not much. Its got a hint of buttery toffee and honey and perhaps if i am being generous i can add coconut to that paltry list but thats about it. Upfront is fine, delicate bordering on thin, the finish is weird and its only saving grace is the hint of that interesting mazunara woody aftertaste. That being said its not bad and it is probably quite pleasant and probably makea for a decent cocktail. I took it neat. Not the worst Japanese whisky I have tried but far from the best. It seems like a combination of byproducts cobbled together to make something palatable and saleable. Thats not always a bad thing but its not the most exciting either. That being said it is not priced unreasonably and the labeling and description is honest so you will get what you pay for and what is advertised. As long as you do not trust a hope for more you will not be disappointed. Would that I had acted accordingly I wouldnt feel the slight letdown I am currently experiencing. This is of no fault to the distiller but perhaps a result of my own interpretation of the Japanese whisky hype machine.

Enticing ad campaign aside, this is slightly above average. Its easy to drink, the bottle looks sharp, it's priced fairly as is everything the Russels seem to release...and despite their dabbling with Hollywood (which is a poor fit imo) this somehow barely avoids being gimmicky. I dont know about the mesquite claim...I find the wood level to be mild. Not Nancy Pelosi total shrinkage....I mean AOC mild. Wood level. D'o ya... see what I....never mind. Adding anything other than your lips to this glass will degrade the integrity. Its neat or nothing due to its barely-there backbone. But despite these frailties, its pretty good bang for your buck and perfect for parties full of people who dont understand whiskey and will drink your whole bottle and not seem to notice and you can be cool about it because it was inexpensive and then you can be the cool guy who lets his exotic whiskey get pounded down the gullets of ex-fratboy screamers arguing with the wind towards each other, and doesnt seem to mind so long as he gets to keep the empty bottle. That's you. Youre the cool one in that situation. Dont forget it. And in that scenario that could never happen to me but might you, this bottle is your ideal wingman.

First off I am not to fond of the regular ol' Jack Daniels. Something in the aftertaste brings forth a dizzying array of memories and nausea-inducing aromatics that hint of old escapades eagerly forgotten from the yesteryears in which coca cola and fast food takeout cups and placing my hands in places where daughters and fathers wage an eternal disagreement on the level of propriety and welcome that said hands should have would have and could have expected to meet had circumstances been more supervised. All that is to say I wish I could seperate memory from taste but in the case of Jack Daniels it is not to be. However this new offering somehow pulls it off. SOmething in the cherry coke sweetness lets you know, yes, this is Jack Daniels, but rather than giving away to sweet disipations this is more robust with a new beefier malt backbone that stands up to the challenge and remains whiskey. I am pleased with this and I expected to hate it. So if Jack D is your thing and you dont have memories of finger pie in the drunken afternoon of your teen years looming behind every whiff of Jack D, well then drink up! Today is a new day, a shiny profitable new day and d*mn the torpedos!

This is another banger from the series that sadly we will probably never see again Due to high West selling out to the soulless corporation that has destroyed so many labels before it however as a dying gasp and a sad Souvenir of what once was and could’ve been but now isn’t and won’t be again, this is an excellent way to end the journey. This series has been exceptional and this one is no exception, if you pardon my poor phrasing. Smooth, not too heavy in the sherry zone, it checks all boxes and retains that strong bourbon bite. I love this and I’m sad that I’ll never be able to have it again.

Knowing this is primarily a “bottom shelf” or “welll” label and knowing that it serves the role of a no frills work horse fairly well, I was intrigued when I saw this BIB label yet expectations remained low. The price tag tipped the scales for me though and I had to try it. After completion of the bottle I must say it did not overwhelm. The higher proof was welcome, and definitely made it more hardy but there simply isn't enough depth here to make it very interesting. Great for mixing cocktails at a party in which noone wants to talk much about whiskey and the price tag is blissfully low, but there simply isn't any real depth here to make it very memorable.

Let he who has ears hear the wailing death rattle of a once proud label. Witness her final hours of glory as the gates were opened and the last of the experimental wonderfully stimulating and inspiring concoctions from the simmering elixir marinating in the vaults of the highly esteemed High West label. Taste from her loins while you are able, for once these disappear down the gullets of the lucky few, it is over. These blends, these batches, these experiments mark the end of the road. One has to but to take a cursory glance at the new High West bottles to see the change. The label appears normal from a distance but up close you can see the pixelated cheaper ink, the thin paper, the vague non-information which has replaced the transparency of her recent past. The proud statements as to the age of the blends are distressingly absent. Constellation doesn't understand people. Nuance. We are numbers in their numbers game. As far as connecting with people and understanding why people buy and like what they buy and like, they are trash. League-worst. They prove it over and over again. How to take proud labels and destroy them in no time. It almost seems deliberate. They are the worst kind of soulless company. See Ballast Point for example. I don't blame the founders. I would retire too, tomorrow if i could. F*ck working unless you do what you love. It seemed like High West once had that loving touch. But its gone. Replaced by a plastic soul. But this experiment was a success. This bottle is fantastic. I bought all I could get my hands on. So should you if its not too late. But like many good things in the world this too is fading. I say it is largely because of brands like Constellation we are losing our soul. And our best whiskey. I would pour some on the floor to honor the fallen but this is too good. I will instead dump a bottle of generic “High West Bourbon” down the drain instead. For the homies. And for High West. RIP

This is good. Like really good. But its such a high plrice tag I cant help but wonder if its good because its supposed to be good. Are the expectations clouding my judgement? I dont know. But i do know I routinely drink whiskeys that i am pleased with and paid $40 for that sell in the secondary market for $500-$1200 that are simply not worth that kind of cash which for me is a finite resource. I used to sell them but bottle trade was shut down and now my only choice is to drink them all and to my surprise they are sometimes just as good as a $40 - $60 bottle. I feel the same can be applied here. Its rich robust and chewy and has a manly burn. But it is overpriced. There I said it, fight me.

That’s a mental mechanism that ride service whenever I percieve a product or label no matter the industry Is simply re-branding or slapping on an an old trick. I am very aware of how stupid And I being an average of humor and very wary of being tricked in such a fashion. If your apprehension is like mine Regarding this product it is an exercise in futility. This is a gorgeous dram. Nearly perfect. Warm, robust, silky amd. Invigorating.. Makers Mark continues to prove to be the most consistentt distillery in the country

How bad could a gimmicky little bottle of bourbon be? Turns out that question has much more depth than i would have thought. Depth like down deep way way down below whats acceptable deep in the poo pile. The landfill. The dump. Don’t know if this bottle was off but and no exaggeration i couldnt find a use for this. Its not quite revolution time so a molotov cocktail was out. Too many wood sugars to use as a cleaner or disinfectant. The only choice is to dump and i wont on principle so i guess its “infuse”. So yeah its now inside of a hollowed out pumpkin with a butt load of adjuncts. The result will be terrible but no doubt better than this as it is . Im not trying to be unkind this was literally my reaction . This cant be what the distillers intended to release.