Tastes

Nose:neat: caramel, creamy slightly burnt caramel, faint tobacco. Candied orange. Chocolate cherry cordial even water chestnut as it opens. Body: medium-short Palate: light pepper, caramel, vanilla. Very sugary sweet, which is nice. Finish: medium to long which is nice, but more sweet than smoky. Note: another 1.5-2 ounce taste from don. He was quick to let me know this is not available in MPLS MN markets. This is supposedly one of the best value bourbons on the market. But even before I taste it I find it hard for any thing to compare to ER 10 as best value. Let’s see. This is tasted after a dram of doc Swinsons 15 year old at 107.2 proof which I found very enjoyable. Not as flavorful as the nose would suggest. Falls a little flat after the 15 year old swinsons. The nose is quite nice but the flavor falls short.

Nose: neat. oak, cinnamon, almond, salted caramel. Baking spice. Sugared orange. Body: medium Palate: caramel, smokey caramel and candied orange. Finish: moderate to long, smoky caramel. Much longer than the initial sip suggests is coming. Note: this is for the 107.2 proof (53.6 ABV) batch. initial sip, this is good. I really like this. A taste from Don. Extremely smooth with a lengthy smoky finish. This was very nice for a spring break vacation dram up north. Word on the street this is 15 year old knob creek. Either way it’s very good.

Nose: peat smoke. Sea salt. Sweetness from something... maybe sherry? A light tobacco. As it opens more sweet Cherri starts to sneak out. Body: this is thin to medium but the palate and finish over compensate Palate: charcoal dipped in sherry but basically camp fire smoked tobacco. Finish: ever lasting, incredibly long “that’s what she said”. Further in it has a little more sherry sweetness. I feel like I should be sitting next to a camp fire watching someone cook fish. Note: an ounce from Jared. Tasted after three shots of bourbon for what that’s worth. Very smoky and long lasting. A perfect dram for February in minnesota. This is actually pretty good but setting and drinker dependent. If you like smoke but with out iodine and a dryness to the smoke this is your jam. Like drinking a charred stick from a camp fire. So smoky, but for an ounce or two in the right setting with the right people this is perfect. Not my particular jam but I appreciate this.

Nose: all caramel. Just caramel for days. Palate: all caramel Body: light Finish: caramel. Not as short as I was told it would be. Note: a cool taste from Jared of a fairly regular bourbon but this is cool cause it’s 42 years old... like me. This was a fun dram. Tasty. Pretty simple but tasty

Nose: caramel, chocolate, cherry, vanilla, later some oak came through along with rye. Palate: caramel with rye pepper but not spicy. Sweet rye. Cherry and vanilla. Body: medium Finish: medium long and smoky caramel Note: sample from Jared. I’m very much looking forward to this. Tasted neat. Bright and sweet, with a wide array flavors and impressive finish with the carmel smoke I like.

Nose: a thick caramel, nuts, classic vanilla. Palate: definitely oak forward, caramel and vanilla follow nicely. Nice light peppery rye which adds a nice flavor and is not harsh. Later bright blackberry Body: medium Finish: medium. Ok finish. Not long enough or smoky enough but good none the less Note: sample from Jared. Prior to tasting I heard it was woody and not as good as the 12 year version. I haven’t had the 12 year though so I won’t be able to say. I am looking forward to tasting this though. This was good. Not as woody as I expected but definitely oak forward but it let up to more traditional flavors.

Nose: Neat - vanilla, caramel, berries (black), floral (I don’t know what kind but images of roses come to mind) Palate: a light vanilla, light caramel, sweet berries like the nose mainly a black berry. Body: medium Finish: medium and a little smoke which I love. Note: this is a delicious and light dram. I’ve not delved into Tennessee whiskey so much but I think I like how the charcoal filtration mellows the whiskey. It has a gentle Kentucky or in this case Tennessee hug. Crazy mellow.

Nose: malty bread, caramel, oak and a Whiff of caramel & vanilla Body: medium Palate: lot of oaky, ripe fruit, old banana, caramel, vanilla. Finish: medium to long but more like medium, nice old smoky banana dipped in vanilla. Really it’s good. Note: an ounce from don. A nice dram. Not amazing but good. 2/2/22: I was able to buy a bottle and I cracked it. I found I liked it a little more than my original assessment. Nose was still classic caramel, oak, vanilla. I do get some peanuts this time around. Body still medium. The palate is as above but their is late smoke that lingers into a nice long smokey finish which I really love. I was update the finish to long and more smokey than I recall. I’d update this to 4/5

Nose: oak, caramel, vanilla, baking spice, pencil shavings Body: light Palate: very dry, tannic, oaky/woody. Light vanilla. Not what I was expecting but smooth and deliciously different. Finish: short to medium. A lot of wood and mild vanilla Note: an ounce from don. This is good but not great. Very woody. Sweet oak really

Nose: crystallized carmalized carmel, marshmallow, vanilla, cherry Body: medium-light Palate: classic caramel, vanilla, some cherry. Very mild rye pepper Finish: nice length for such a smooth dram. Nice slightly smoky caramel lingers. Note: an ounce from don.