Tastes

Hmm...never thought I’d be saying this but it’s changed and after a bit of research I see the difference is they are using their own distilled juice instead of MGP stock and well...I like the old version better. Maybe it’s an aberrant bottle but this is a little too sweet and unbalanced. That strong backbone is gone and now I’m just getting sugary peat. Not bad but not very interesting and not what I’ve come to expect from these guys.

"Solid bourbon. I hate the packaging and the lack of transparency and not to mention I’m pretty sure it’s owned in part by the Rothschilds so I always skip this one because if it’s F me then it’s F you and it’s definitely F me so it’s definitely F you, but for the Normies it checks all the boxes for an above average daily drinker. Not MY daily drinker..but someones.

Caramel corn and toffee and fruit and spice. Its savory and balanced and a damn good whiskey. These dudes are weird organized geniuses. personally i like my geniuses to be scatterbrained and half-baked but whatever they are doing, its marvelous.

Giggity. I shouldn’t have started the evening with this. Now everything that follows is going to be diminished. It’s like Breaking Bad being the first television series you ever watched. It usually only goes downhill from there. This is excellent and fairly accessible. Peat is warm and soft... fruit is bright...oaky and pleasant. One of my favorite drams.

Solid rye. A bit on the thin side, can’t really hold it together when matched with a formidable foe from the water element aka ice cubes but it’s warm and pleasant and a solid entry level rye. Like building built post 1920 entry level. Ground floor. Not like those buildings built before that that are all flooded and filled in with dirt from the cataclysm that the government never told you about and have entry stairs that lead you to the 2nd floor. That’s not the entry level I mean. And with that Red pill being dropped there on the floor for approximately a whole 2 people to find I will now cackle like a villain and make a dash from this post, cape trailing in the wind.

This boy right got here got some value. Hopefully I sounded tough when you read that out loud.in your mind. But mos def not as tough as this lil sturdy lil sumbish right here. You can pour a 1/5 of the bottle in a tumbler of ice and she don’t skip a beat. Still strong,still leathery and spicy and musty and sweet...still a mans rye. I don’t trust the government for shit but they did a good job “overseeing” this as it bonded so hard in the bottle. Am I saying that right? Am I cool yet, bros? Please say yes.

Shoutout to the Russell’s for holding it down for an eternity, still rocking out consistent product, rarely falling into the realm of gimmick and most of all for having the foresight and confidence and ability to still blast that 10 year age statement out there. The juice is everything you should expect from a 10 year bourbon made by some of the boys who do it best. No frills, just excellent rye spice and wood sugars best enjoyed in a rocking chair on the front porch wearing nothing but overalls, with a middle finger gently waving in the air directed towards DC.

Really is excellent. Wood smoke, tobacco, salt water, chocolate, cherry, Apple, and a long ass finish. Want to know a cool trick? Add water to destroy everything I just said and re-invent muddy honey. But if you like excellent smokey scotch...you'll find that taken neat, this is one of the finest in the realm.