Tastes

I tried this at a bar for 11/pour. I ended up finding a bottle and bought one the next day. Nose has oak, brown sugar, cinnamon, very nice sweet leather, subtle apple and freshly baked bread. Palate has a light and slightly oily mouthfeel with cinnamon, rye spice, nice leather and oak. Finish is medium long with spices lingering and some faint brown sugar. This was nice. I love the spices and leather. I look forward to having this again.

Tasted at a bar for $28/heavy pour. Nose has toasted marshmallow, brown sugar, raspberries, cotton candy, oak, and light leather. Palate has a nice oily and creamy mouthfeel. Raspberries, brown sugar, oak, and a touch of rye. Finish is sweet berries, brown sugar. There is a slight ethanol note that comes up at the beginning of the finish, but it passes quickly. A very pleasant and long finish. I really enjoyed this. And I’m glad, it wasn’t a cheap pour. But now I know what I had been missing. Probably the nicest mouthfeel I’ve had, and the berry notes throughout are unique and very pleasant.

This one as beef very tricky to find, but my time came. Excited to see how this higher proof Buffalo Trace mashbill #2 bottle is. The nose is almost equal parts fruit and spice at first. But the more you nose it, the spicier it gets. I pick up cooked apples l, raisins, berries, a lot of baking spices, freshly baked bread, oak, leather and musty old barn. The palate has an oily mouthfeel and slightly sweet. There are a ton of spices that come through (baking spices, rye), oak, vanilla, and a little bit of leather. It dries the mouth just a tad, not anywhere near as much as some high proofs do. The finish is nice and long with a continuation from the palate. Tons of baking spices and a little rye as the burn slowly goes down your throat into your chest. This is a fantastic bourbon. Great nose and complex palate with a very pleasant long finish. This is probably my favorite of Buffalo Trace’s mashbill #2, but I need to to a side-by-side between the rest to be sure.

I had been searching for this bottle for a long time and finally got a chance to get it at a lottery at my local shop. I’ve been wanting to compare it to other Buffalo Trace mashbill #2 bottle and now I get to. But here is a review of just this bottle. The nose is very fruity, bright red apple in particular. There is also baking spices (cinnamon in particular), leather and oak. There’s also a brown sugar, a touch of vanilla and rye. The palate has a soft, light sweetness and slightly oily texture. I get cooked apple with baking spices, oak, vanilla and a touch of leather. The finish has some fruit and spices with a nice medium burn. It gets slightly bitter as it fades on this medium-long finish. I enjoy this one. A little more of a burn than I’m used to for 90 proof, which is not a bad thing. In my memory, this one seems like the fruitiest of the Buffalo Trace mashbill #2 bunch. I can’t wait to see how it stacks up side-by-side to the others in this mashbill!

This is a 9yr Single Barrel Reserve store pick from Discount Liquor in Nashville, TN. I have another pick from this store that is pushing 15yrs and is fantastic. Let’s see how they did ok this one. The nose has freshly baked sweet yeast rolls leaping out with vanilla, oak, dark cherries and rye. The palate is semi-sweet with oak, leather, dark cherries, brown sugar, corn and some rye. The finish is nice and long with dark cherries and oak lingering, with the sides of the tongue tingling. This is very good. Discount Liquor is now 2 for 2 on the KC Single Barrel picks. This is uniquely different than the almost 15yr old one that I have. Both are great! These have to be the best deal in bourbon for Barrel Proof Single Barrels.

14 year and 8 month old pick from Discount Liquor in Nashville, TN Nice dark color. Noticeably darker than another KC SiB I have (9yr). Nose has caramel, cinnamon and other baking spices, oak, brown sugar, red apple, and leather. Palate is rich and slightly oily with plenty of oak and baking spices. Nice old leather makes a nice appearance as well as a little rye and corn. I also get some of that Jim Beam nutty character, along with some cherries. It does dry the palate a little bit, but that’s common for the proof. Finish is long with lingering oakiness and a slow burn down your chest. This is fantastic! I would put this up against many other quality barrel proofs like it’s brother Bookers as well as Stagg Jr, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. At this price point ($45) it is unbeatable!

I’ve had Wild Turkey’s lower proof rye, but just not getting to try this one. Had this in a flight of other whiskeys. It was the first of the flight. On the nose, right off the bat there is rye, sweet vanilla and a little bit of oak. It’s not quite as dusty as the lower proof rye. The palate follows the nose. It is on the sweet side. There is also a light leather and cola notes in there as some anise. The finish is medium length with lingering rye and a little bit of vanilla. Not much of a burn for me. I though this was fine for a rye. Not a huge rye fan, but I enjoy them occasionally. I think this is a definite step up from the regular WT Rye. This one has bolder flavors, and also doesn’t taste like it’s been watered down, like the other one does for me.

This is the first Japanese Whiskey I’ve tried. I’m normally tasting Bourbons, so this will be a fun change. This was in a flight of whiskeys at a tasting. On the nose I get green banana, some floral notes, and a little vanilla. This reminds me of Scotch. It also really reminds me a lot of Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey, which is a totally different category, but it is reminiscent. The palate is a continuation of the nose. It’s a little sweet with some dusty notes. This has a medium short dry finish, with some floral notes fading away. Overall this was fun to try. It really does remind me of Scotch, though I haven’t had a ton of those either. It’s a fairly light and gentle whiskey and a good introduction into Japanese whiskey.

I’ve had a few high West products and thought I’d try out this particular rye offering. Price list is for 375ml. The nose has, wait for it... Rye! Also, I pick up cola, anise, corn some baking spices, vanilla and some sweetness. The palate is light and slightly creamy in texture. There is a good amount of rye, vanilla, slightly dusty barn, and a little sweetness. The finish is long with lingering rye spice and a slow burn on the sides of tongue and throat. Very nice. At this point, I wouldn’t consider myself a “rye guy”, but this is nice and enjoyable. It doesn’t actually have any corn in it after looking up the mashbills used in this blend, so it’s interesting that corn was a somewhat prominent note that I was picking up.

I’ve been looking for this bottle for a while with no luck, and then I found one. I wanted to compare it to Blanton’s (same mash bill, also a single barrel and very similar proof). The nose has bright fruit (green apple), baking spices, brown sugar and leather. (Blanton’s is more baking spice forward. It has some apple, but not as much as Hancock’s. In general Blanton’s is slightly subdued overall compared to Hancock’s). The palate has the same thing as the nose with maybe a hint more of rye spice. Very balanced from nose to palate with some sweetness. (Blanton’s still has more spices in the palate) The finish is on the shorter side of medium with dampened notes of baking spices and fruit. (Blanton’s had a longer finish with more of a burn, a good burn) Overall, I think I like this more than Blanton’s, which surprised me. Even with the slightly less proof, Hancock’s stood on its own and had bolder flavors. Blanton’s is nice, but maybe a little too gentle and subtle with what’s going on flavor wise, though it has a better finish. I can see why some people think Hancock’s is a more watered down (weaker punch) Blanton’s, but I think flavors Hancock’s offers are more interesting. As a reminder, these are both single barrels, so your results may vary.