Tastes

Saw this at a local gastropub while celebrating my birthday. My wonderful girlfriend bought me a pour of this to celebrate. It’s one of the more unique corn whiskeys I’ve tried. Ironroot is always experimenting with corn mashbills, and they make some of the best corn whiskeys in Texas. This one is full of body. It’s sweet, oaky, and has some peat to balance the flavors. I find stonefruits and berries on nose and taste. The peat is there too, but it’s mixed in with a strong oak/tannic taste that I like. On the finish, I get some of that corn dust. A few drops of water brought out more of the sweetness in this dram. This is certainly a unique Texas whiskeys, and I really enjoyed it! I’ll have to stop by the distillery and grab a bottle soon.

I was offered this blind. My first reaction was akin to drinking a high rye bourbon. It had strong vanilla, cherry notes like bourbons, but it was SPICY! Cinnamon, red hots, and white pepper. I usually prefer high rye bourbons, so I really enjoyed this pour. The finish was tannic and full of body from the oak. There’s some orange zest here too. I give this a thumbs up!

Young but very tasty bourbon. Had a double pour of this at a wedding in Wisconsin. I’ve never seen this in my home state of Texas, so I was eager to try it today. The nose is full of rich caramels, vanilla, some cherry, and oak. Typically bourbon notes, but it was quite dense despite its young age. There’s some ethanol burn too. The taste is same as above, but I also noticed some orange zest and spice. I love high rye bourbons, so I really enjoyed the peppery and grassy notes here. The finish is medium to long with oak and a bit of barrel char. Honestly, my favorite part was that sweet orange zest on the taste. It’s a fine bourbon for its age with little faults, and makes a great daily sipper. I bet it would taste fantastic in an old fashioned.

I really really like their 100 proof rye for its chocolate note. This cask strength version cranks up all the flavors. It’s a flavor bomb of oak, tannins, chocolate, and spice. I friend of mine brought this with him for a weekend trip on the lake. We killed most of the bottle. We both preferred to drink it on a big rock and let the ice cube slowly melt as the dilution would change the flavors. The spice gets tempered with water and you get more of that chocolate sweetness as the ice melts. Good stuff!

Had a pour in the Denver airport before my flight... The nose is pancake breakfast sweet. Syrup and berries. I’m reminded of IHOP’s boysenberry syrup with hints of caramel. The taste is full on chocolate, mint, spice, and wood. The finish is wood and dark chocolate. It’s not a subtle whiskey at all. The flavors are cranked up to 11. It’s definitely different than most eyes I’ve had. I would have loved to try this in a cocktail, but at ~$80/bottle, I don’t think it’ll happen. It’s good but loses points for being overpriced.

Toasty... I stopped by a coffee shop/bar in CO and saw this on the shelf. I really enjoyed Deerhammer’s single malt, so I thought I’d try a pour of their bourbon. Nose: It’s sweet. Chocolate, toffee, caramel. It reminded me of the Rolos candy I used to eat as a kid. Palate: Toasted bread, vanilla, maple, some corn sweetness, and a some heat. It’s surprisingly spicy despite not having rye. There’s a smokiness to this bourbon too.Must be that toasted barley in the mashbill. Unlike the single malt which had some fruit notes, I don’t get much fruit sweetness from this. Finish: Nutty then astringent. It leaves my tongue dry along with some oak and toasted bread. Not bad...

Solid workhorse whiskey! $22 for a 1 liter BiB whiskey. That’s equivalent to $16.50 for a 750 ml which is a good deal. Bought this for cocktails. It’s a decent base for an old fashioned and holds its own in a whiskey sour and hot toddy. On the nose, there’s caramel, some orange peel, and dusty corn. On the palate, it’s vanilla, oak, and some spice. The spice carries over into the finish with an earthy aftertaste. For the price, it’s a lot of bang for the buck. It’s a good everyday drinker and a solid mixer. My only concern is if it will be discontinued since Sazerac Co. purchased Early Times from Brown-Forman

My friend bought this and shared it at a party. While he intended to use them in Old Fashioneds, I didn’t mind drinking this neat. It’s sweet. Not sugary sweet, but a toasted jam sorta sweet. To balance the sweetness, you get that signature Wild Turkey spice. There’s some citrus here. The finish is nice with some oak but not overwhelming. It reminds me of a more well rounded Wild Turkey 101. It’s good! For the price I’d still stick with WT101 but this is still a solid pour.

Nothing too special. I really like the Jameson Caskmates Stout. When I found the IPA version on sale, I grabbed it. Hmmm it’s not that interesting. It’s very subtle in taste and smell. I noticed a lemony note on the taste with some pine. Other than that, there’s nothing else of note to comment. I think I’ll stick to the Stout Edition from now on.