Tastes

Jack Daniels Single Barrel Gibbys Bottle Shop Pick Nose: very sweet nose. Caramel and vanilla as well. Great nose! Palate: a bit minty and caramel. No fruit on the palate though. Some spice towards the end. Maybe a tiny bit of fruit on the second sip. Finish: light and caramel. Overall: not bad, a decent Jack Daniels single barrel pick I think. I don’t think I need to buy any more of these but I wanted to give it a shot. Definitely a good pick!

Nose: lots of fruit with a little spice. Great classic bourbon nose Palate: light and fruity. Spice comes in nicely. Little bit of mint, odd to see that. Could be my palate from today’s food though. Finish: medium to short and fruit continues. Overall: very good pick. Supposedly an OESO from 4 🌹 and I definitely can see the similarities and it’s very 4 🌹 esque. Maybe a bit more spice though.

Nose: very herbal nose but also sweet. Similar to M10 rye. Palate: great flavor. Strong rye but it’s not hot at all, only spicy. Pretty oily mouthfeel and not much sweetness. Overall, a decent rye I think. Finish: rye lingers a long time but it’s subtle. Not like you breathe fire with some ryes. Overall: well done I think. Not super complex and not overly “rye”. Good finish leaving you to want another sip rather than wait 5 minutes

Nose: honey and spice. Tiny bit of fruit at the end. Palate: a lot more fruit than I expected! Nice and oily as well. Somehow thin but coats the mouth nicely. Equal to the single barrel I think. Finish: spice and vanilla lingers for quite a while. Honestly very pleasant Overall: I like it a lot more than I thought I would! Good price, good flavor for 100 proof. Not much bite. Also, for being a super light colored bourbon it’s got a lot more flavor than you’d think

Nose: caramel and fruit. A lot more fruit than I thought. Not much more complex than that. Palate: initial sweet and then herbal notes kick in. Kind of dry and a dark fruit flavor as well. Irony taste but I’d imagine that’s the spice. Finish: dry and short. Overall: unique of course. But honestly nothing amazing. The past few releases have been decent but nothing to spend $100 honestly. Unless they come out with a non-finished bourbon, I probably won’t buy another in the future. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good finished bourbon but this one just doesn’t blow me away like some others.

Nose: lots of spice on this one. Nutty as well. Caramel and fruit after letting it breathe for a minute. Palate: Kentucky hug with some boldness. Also very oily and nutty. Good amount of rye shining through. Not a bad batch but I’ve had better being a huge Booker’s fan. Definitely drinks below its proof though which is very nice. Finish: unique for Booker’s. Lots of rye in this finish. Medium length. Overall: good, decent batch. Hate the price increase but I love Booker’s. This is the first batch I’ve tasted since 2018 but I have all the named batches! I probably would not get multiples of this one but it’s good.

OESO (11 yr 11 mo 111.6 proof) vs OBSO (8 yr 11 mo 116.6 proof). Recording the matchup here. Never had either recipe but I’m excited to give it a shot! OESO nose: very dark and sweet nose. Like pure strawberries almost. I can understand why people pay so much for this strain. Delicate but rich at the same time. OBSO nose: honestly very very similar to the OESO nose. Maybe a tiny bit more caramel and spice and a little less fruit forward. Some juicy fruit gum on the second go. OESO palate: holy cow. So rich and bold and super sweet. Very thick mouthfeel. Drinks right at its proof id say. Not as oily as some bourbons I’ve had but this is very good. OBSO palate: sweet initially but a big ol burn from the middle palate to the throat. Not overbearing honestly. Just the rye showing itself. Might be a bit thicker mouthfeel than the OESO but the spice definitely comes through and is significant. OESO finish: honestly a strange finish. A little on the bitter side. But medium/long length. OBSO finish: sweet and a bit minty finish. Medium length. Overall: both are very good bourbons. This matchup probably has the most difference between the two as opposed to the other recipes I’ve tried. For me, I enjoy a little pepper but it’s not my go-to favorite. The mellow sweetness of the OESO wins it for me. Still both are great

OESK (10 yr 3 mo 115.6 proof) vs OBSK (9 yr 10 mo 110 proof) matchup being recorded here. Never had either before this. OESK nose: light and corny. Some caramel as well. Looks like classic bourbon notes. OBSK nose: spicy initially. Little more rye on this nose. OESK palate: rich. Coats the mouth immediately. Very spicy, very bold. Some caramel on the second go too. OBSK palate: a lot more caramel on the first go. Spice is definitely there but not as punchy as the OESK. Orangy and zesty too on the last few sips. OESK finish: very long and spicy. OBSK finish: pretty long and spicy finish but not quite as long as the OESK finish. Overall: not too bad but not my favorite of the recipes so far. Both of these are fairly the same. I think the higher proof brings out the flavors a bit more with this recipe. Both sweetness and spice so I’ll have to choose the OESK.

OESV (10 yr 2 mo 103 proof) vs OBSV (12 year 2 mo 119.4 proof). Documentation here for the matchup. OESV nose: a little darker fruit than the OBSV. Not as full of a nose though. Still very rich. OBSV nose: very lighty berries. Lots of fruit. Rich as well. Strawberry cheesecake. Yessss OESV palate: straight berries from the get go. Kind of hot on the palate though. But I do love the fruit on this. Very enjoyable first time trying this strain. OBSV palate: rich and thick like a Booker’s but more sweet. Not much spice but it does kick at almost 120 proof. Very complex. Some rye does shine through on the second sip but this is very solid. OESV finish: medium/short and sweet. OBSV finish: medium length and sweet as well. Overall: first before I decide which is better I have to say the OBSV 12 yr is SO much darker than the OESV 10 yr. unbelievable how two more years made this one that much darker. I gotta say that the OBSV is also just better. Forewarning, This may not be the case always. The OESV is a generic NC ABC pick and the OBSV is a pick from Shortbarrel in GA (who does amazing picks) so this could go another way in other instances. Nonetheless, kudos to this OBSV pick. Very very good.

OESQ (9 yr 6 mo 114.4 proof) VS OBSQ (9 yr 8 mo 121.6 proof). Recording matchup here. OESQ nose: light cherries and heavy caramel. Overall, very light nose. OBSQ nose: much different nose on this one. A lot more floral on this one. Some honey too OESQ palate: hot on the mid palate. Not too much going on. Falls a little flat honestly. Maybe a tiny tiny bit of caramel but mostly flat. Not what I was expecting for my first ever OESQ taste. Spicy on the second try for this one. OBSQ palate: a little more flavor I think but not much. Also this one falls flat for me with an interesting flavor. Some black pepper comes through on the second try. OESQ finish: short and peppery finish. OBSQ finish: shortish finish and a little peppery but overall medium Overall: the OBSQ is higher proof and drinks about the same as the OESQ. Also seems to be a little more complex with a better finish. OBSQ definitely wins but this recipe is probably not my favorite. Very similar to wild turkey products.