Tastes

Nose: caramel, tons of wood on the second go, lots of dark fruit on the last nosing Palate: incredibly smooth, tons of wood but not an excessive amount, the dark fruit in the nose takes a step back behind the woodyness. Really and truly amazing. Just off the top of my head it reminds me a lot of the Elijah Craig 23 year, somethin special for sure. Finish: the wood slowly dies out and the dark fruit comes back in the very end to let you know it never went anywhere. Overall: absolutely love this!! Man I wish I’d have gotten some of their younger expressions. Would/will get a backup.

Passed on it time and time again. Had a buddy finally pull the trigger and as a bourbon (not rye) drinker....it’s dang good. Also, notes taken as smoking a drew estate mint java cigar si notes may be a bit off. Nose: sweet and creamy nose. Not much spice shockingly. Palate: still sweet! Rye comes through now but a solid balance. Finish: spice holds on but medium finish. Overall: solid and would like for my collection. WFE is good stuff.

Nose: super light and fruity. Very easy going nose. Palate: hot instantly! As the spice lingers some fruit comes through then some oak. Still very light flavors though. Finish: spice still lingering. Almost rye-like but sweet instead. Bit of oak but not much

Nose: rye spice and oaky flavor. Wonderful nose though Palate: very rye forward but good though. Leathery with a lot of mint too. A lot better than the regular crown. A lottttt better Finish: mint and leather

Nose: light caramel and fruit. Also some slight spice. Reminds me a lot of Blantons on the nose. Palate: very oily and a tiny bit of fruit and then a spice kick comes in hard. Like a very young Blantons to me. Finish: oily and fruity and very short. Overall: not bad but probably not worth the $50 I spent. If it was $25 it’d be a no brained though.

Nose: heavy caramel. Burnt chocolate and brownies. Some type of tangy note I can’t figure out. Palate: very smooth and oily. Lots of spice to it as well. The caramel from the nose does not transfer to the palate. Flavor reminds me a lot of woodford double oaked. It’s good but not amazing to me. Finish: oaky finish with some spice. Overall: a lot different than the small batch or any of their other offerings. It’s above average but I wouldn’t need backups I don’t think. Sort of similar to Michters toasted sour too.

Nose: very great nose. Creamy and vanilla. Some spices in there too. Palate: huge vanilla flavor up front. Some spices come through and the wheat is heavy here. Finish: heavy caramel on the end but falls flat quickly as well. Overall: not bad, similar to many private picks I’ve tasted. Definitely not worthy of a “limited release” especially after last years amazing bottle.

Nose: sweet maple syrup. Definitely a Canadian whisky off the bat. Palate: maple syrup and loads of cinnamon. Really good! And I’ve never been a big crown fan. Finish: more maple

Nose: burnt caramel. Heavy fruit. Some oak on the nose as well. Palate: at first very similar to OWA 107. But then a berry explosion happens in the middle. So much sweetness. Definitely drinks at 114 proof but the fruitiness shines through. Finish: oaky and caramel. Overall: like a very tame WLW. Really solid and glad it’s an annual release

Nose: a lot of cereal notes. Much like a scotch. Not as fruit forward as Yamazaki or hakushu 12 years, but there is slight pear. Palate: a lot of pear and cereal up front with a tiny tiny smokiness coming through the middle to end. Finish: smoky with the pear fading out. Overall: fairly impressed. I wouldn’t sip this daily or need a back up but I do like this and it holds its own against the hakushu 12 & Yamazaki 12.