Tastes

This was given to me as a gift. I’m not really a malt whiskey or Scotch drinker, I’m very much a Bourbon drinker, so keep that in mind. I will say the aging process, or lack there of, has made me a little apprehensive. But this was a gift, so here it goes. The nose has honey, fresh malt, slight bandaid note and a very strong notes of tequila. Not something that I enjoyed nosing. The palate is sweet with notes of honey, tequila and vanilla. The finish is short with a little lingering vanilla and a slight bitter aftertaste. Like I stated before, I don’t frequent this category of whiskey, but it didn’t even remind me much of scotch or other malt whiskies. It just tasted young and one dimensional and for some reason that dimension was tequila? I know this company is “defiant” in their approach to making whiskey, but it didn’t work for me. It reminds me of how a child defies their parents, but in this case their dad is Father Time and he can’t be fooled.

The bottle I have is a store pick single barrel from a local store in Nashville called Frugal McDugal. They were the first on Nashville to get distribution of New Riff, so I was excited to pick this up a few months back and am finally getting to try it. This one comes in at 116.3 proof at 4yrs and 3mos. The nose has some brown sugar sweetness, baking spices, a little mint, light milk chocolate, caramelized fruit, and some wet hay/malt and a little nuttiness. The palate is sweet and slightly oily with wet hay, light fruit, baking spices, caramel and mint. It is slightly drying on the palate. The finish is spicey with a burst of that wet hay note that fades into brown sugar and then into a slight bitterness with some slight smokeyness at the tail of this shorter side of long finish. Really not bad. It’s hits a few notes that I enjoy. Though, one note that stands out to me that I’m not a fan of is the wet hay/malty note. So if you enjoy bourbon and some malty scotches, you might really like this one.

I own a bottle of David Nicholson Reserve, which I’ve reviewed. But now it’s time to try it’s wheated bourbon counterpart. The nose was somewhat muted at first, so I gave it a solid 15mins to open up. Now it has very dusty corn, sweet vanilla, light oak, honey, a grassy note, a light note of cooked stone fruit, and a little bit of some baking spices. The palate is bitter and a little sweet with a medium-ish body. There is honey, corn, light grass, wood shavings, and some spices. The finish is slightly bitter with lingering honey, corn and grass. After a while there is a slight peanut note that sticks to the checks. There’s a burn on the mid to back palate and the top of the throat. The burn lasts longer than the flavors. On the flavor side, it has a medium finish, but the burn goes on for a very long time. Not painful really, the burn just covers up the flavors, instead of enhancing them. Really not bad at all, but many more better options at this price point. It’s brother, David Nicholson Reserve, is the one to choose.

This is a different single barrel barrel proof pick from Vintage Wine and Spirits in Nashville, TN. Barrel #65 of 75 released in 2019. I have heard very little about Wathen’s or the Charles Medley Distillery, but after some research I’ve found that at the moment they are allowed full access to an unnamed distiller (Heaven Hill) to do their distillate runs using their own mashbill. It is then aged (I assume in KY because it’s a Kentucky Straight Bourbon), then bottled by them in California. Regardless this particular bottle has peaked my interest. The nose is sweet with notes of white vanilla frosting, caramel, sweet corn, a slight grassy/mustiness, caramelized red apples and plumbs, barrel char, and milk chocolate. Very welcoming. The palate is sweet with a slightly thicker/oily mouthfeel, which a little dryness on the palate. There is sweet corn, hint of dark fruit, leather, vanilla, barrel char and a note of a can of mixed nuts. The finish first hits with that grassy not and then has lingering barrel char, caramel and sweet corn for a long finish. What a pleasant surprise! I really didn’t know what to expect, except possibly a Heaven Hill profile (which it totally has). It’s like if you took Heaven Hill Bottled In Bond and made it barrel proof. I really like this a lot!

I know this one caused quite a stir in the bourbon world with being the lowest proof GTS to date, by quite a bit at 116.9 proof. But let’s see how it really tastes... The nose has incredible depth with caramelized fruits like cooked apples, strawberries and pears, rich dark caramel with some nice baking spices, oak, a hint of freshly baked bread and the pleasant aroma of old worn-in leather. The palate is sweet and fairly oily, with seem-bright red apples, caramel chews, oak spice, baking spices (cinnamon), nice leather. It tastes like it has some age, which it does! Very nice. The finish follows through with the fruit notes and spices from the palate for a shorter side of long finish. Man what a fantastic bourbon! I know some weren’t as happy with this release and argued that one of the Stagg Jr. batches (batch 12) from 2019 faired better. I’ll have to do a comparison, but for now I’ll have to disagree with that statement. As this one is very well balanced with a ton of depth on the nose and palate.

It’s been a while since I’ve had this, and never from an analytical standpoint. Let’s check out this classic (cheap) bourbon. The nose is sweet with honey, vanilla, light baking spices and rye spice, light fruit (pears), there’s a slight grassyness, light almond nuttyness and some youthful corn. Very Heaven Hill. The palate is sweet and light with vanilla, very light spices, and just a smidge of oak. The finish has a nice little burn at the top of the throat and tip of the tongue with lingering vanilla sweetness and a slight bitterness at the very end. Since this one is only 86 proof, I had to search a little harder to pick out the flavors. But overall, not bad. I tried this against their White Label (Bottled In Bond), yes the proof is a little higher and has fuller flavors, but the rye spice is way more pronounced on the White Label, not sure how that’s possible given it’s the same mashbill.

I’ve heard good things about this one, which is their bourbon with rye (they have a wheated bourbon as well). Let’s get right to it. This is batch 15F02 The nose has a light perfumey/floral thing going on, in a good way. Not in a grandma perfumey way. There’s vanilla, light strawberries, light corn, maple syrup and yeast rolls. The palate is sweet and fairly oily with a slightly dusty/grainy feeling on the tongue. There is sweet corn, vanilla, honey, a little bit of butterscotch, and a hint of rye and a slight bitterness on the tip of the tongue. The finish is medium in length with a slight bite of heat at the very beginning of the finish, but dissipates quickly. At first you get a big bump of rye spice and then it goes to a lingering sweet vanilla on the back of the palate/top of the throat and honey on the mid palate. This is a very enjoyable bourbon. This one really benefits to resting in the glass for 10+ mins. It kept getting better as I came back to it. Though it’s youth is somewhat obvious, it’s not harsh or off putting at all. This is a sweet gentle bourbon that touches on the lighter side of the spectrum of flavors and then finishes with a slight rye punch.

This batch is from 2019 and comes in at 129.3 proof The nose has green apple, milk chocolate, raisins, maple syrup, a hint of baking spices and baked bread. The palate is sweet and oily, but not too thick. I get green apple, chocolate, buttery caramel, a little bit of leather, oak. It is fairly drying on the palate, which is to be expected from a high proofer. Very tasty. The finish is nice, long and sweet with lingering rich caramel and green apple, while the tip and side of your tongue tingles. Wow, this is very good. I love how it sticks to the E.H. Taylor profile, but just bumped up a lot.

For my 150th tasting, I’m happy to finally get to try this one. I have the regular Sazerac Rye (baby Saz), which is the same mashbill as this one, just a much lower proof (90 proof). Let’s check out this 6 year old 125.7 proof version of Buffalo Trace’s rye mashbill. The nose has rich baking spices (especially cinnamon and clove) that pop out, followed by caramel, freshly baked bread, light leather, toasted marshmallows, and cooked red apples. Not a ton of rye specific spice coming out in the nose, just the tiniest bit. After the first sip, further nosing bring out this very strange cardboard box note, very weird. The palate is semi-sweet has a rich oily mouthfeel. The rye spice defiantly comes out here along with vanilla, apples, caramel and leather. On later tastings, that cardboard box note I got in the nose becomes present, but like a slightly sour cardboard box. Weird. The finish tingles in the tip and front sides of the tongue with rye and vanilla hanging out for a bit with a slight bitterness on the back end. I really like this one. But that obscure cardboard box note that didn’t become present until after the 1st sip or so is boggling my mind. It doesn’t ruin it for me, but it is very odd and something I’ve never experienced.

I have had every single offering in the Weller line except this one, until now...This was a sample given to me during a bottle trade. The nose has wheat toast, rich milk chocolate, dark cherries, cooked red apples, spicey oak, and old leather. Almost like a chocolate covered cherry (which is not my favorite thing to eat, but this nose is amazing!). The palate is sweet, thick and oily with a drying effect on the tongue. I get dark cherries, a little apple, caramel sweetness and some leather. The finish is long with tingling on the tip of the tongue and a little burn in the middle of the chest. Cherry-vanilla flavors linger on the tongue. Wow, very good and well balanced. This is my first WLW and I’m happy to say that I am a fan!