Tastes

After discovering after all of these years that I do in fact like Wild Turkey 101 after thinking I hated it in my pre-whiskey appreciation life, I thought I’d give this one a try. The nose is vanilla, brown sugar, baking spices, and some darker fruit like a plumb. On the palate I get some really good barrel notes along with leather and some vanilla. The finish is great and long. For being Barrel strength you don’t get that harsher burn. It’s very balanced.

Batch A119 The nose is brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and light leather. The palate is a little sweet with vanilla and a big barrel/leathery note. And I also get a cola note. It almost seems carbonated for a second, which I’ve never gotten before from a whiskey. Maybe because it reminded me of coke? It has a thicker mouthfeel, but that gets lost with the dryness that happens to your tongue and cheeks. It really dries it out, like chalky almost. All in all I like this one, but it’s the first Barrell Proof Elijah Craig. So I can’t compare to other batches.

Someone had this bottle and let me have a pour. The nose is straight up bananas foster. Hard to get past that. It’s unmistakable. The palate is sweet with a continuation of the nose with a sort of scotchy back end. Very short finish with a little burn. I will say it’s very unique, but it’s one of those “one glass ever and I’m good” sort of whiskeys, in my opinion.

Alright, so I’ve seen dramatic differing of opinions on this one. Saw it behind the counter for a decent price and thought I’d see what the fuss is or isn’t about. The nose is immediately very christmassy. Cinnamon, cloves and other baking spices. Some fruitiness maybe raisins. Very reminiscent to my bottle of Rowan’s Creek (by Willett). The palate has a nice thicker mouthfeel that also feels juicy, interesting. It’s sweet with the exact same notes I got on the nose. The finish goes down fairly nicely with a shorter side of medium length. Conclusion, I actually am a fan of this. I can see how some might think it’s “an acquired taste”, but I really enjoyed it. I need to do a side-by-side with Rowan’s Creek. It reminds me of that one a lot and I’d be interested to see how they compare.

Saw this store pick at Pour Vous and for $35 I thought I’d check it out. The nose at first had some ethanol. But then letting it sit for 5mins the alcohol vapors move aside and allows vanilla, butterscotch, and some smokeyness to come through. The palate is semi sweet that has a lot of corn that jumps out. After the first sip, going back to the nose I get a lot more corn that wasn’t present before. The palate continues with a little bit of Barrel and leather. The finish has a little bite. And it’s on the dryer side. Adding about 5 drops of water this thing opens up really nicely. All of a sudden I get fruit on the nose. The palate is similar than before but I get some cherries this time. All in all, a really nice bottle and price, especially for a store pick. This is one of the rare times where I think I enjoyed something more with just a few drops of water.

I’ve been wanting to try this one after I learned that the owner of this one also owns Stranahan’s. I used to thing Tin Cup was just trying to copy Stranahan’s tip cup on top of bottle schtick, but they’re related. And I heard from the owner that the Colorado whiskey portion of the blend is in fact Stranahan’s. Anyway, the nose is sweet with some rye spice, vanilla, cola. I also get a tequila note as well. The palate is sweet and fairly light. Some vanilla and some rye. Not a ton on the palate. Then it has a shorter finish. I think this one is easy to drink. Only a few standout flavors, but they are present.

Finally trying this after looking for it for a while. This is batch 12 Because of the higher proof, I let it sit in a glencairn for about 20mins. The nose has a little alcohol burn, but not overwhelming. I get vanilla, brown sugar, and dark fruit on the nose. Similar to what I get on ER (same mash bill) Wow, the palate explodes with flavor! There is some sweetness along with a big fruity punch. I also get deep oak and cherries with leather. It has a thicker mouthfeel. The finish is fairly long, but it is surprisingly drying my mouth out a good bit. It could be the high alcohol whicking away the moisture in my mouth. Overall, I really like this one. It is stout and not for the faint of heart. But you’re rewarded with deep flavors.

In the nose I get rye spice with a decent amount of a note that I can only describe as a black sharpie marker. The palate is a little sweet with some spiciness and a generic cola flavor. The finish is on the shorter side. This on is ok, not the flavor profile I’m typically looking for.

I always considered Evan Williams as a lesser whiskey. But after hearing a lot of people talking up the white label, I thought I would give the Single Barrel version a shot. And I’m glad I did. The nose started off kind of Smokey whit some vanilla, and a light fruitiness and a hint of corn. The palate is nice, it has a somewhat thicker mouthfeel. You get some sweetness on the tongue with an ever present fruitiness that lingers along with some Barrel depth. The finish is medium length that goes down easy. I really enjoyed this one.

I’ve had it over the years, but now that I have a more developed palate I wanted to try it again The nose has Vanilla, Carmel a little green apple and somewhat stingy alcohol burn. The palate is a little sweet with vanilla slight fruityness and a little leather. Very solid. A little young tasting but pretty good.