Tastes

Line drive up the middle for bourbon profile but adds pecan note that makes it interesting.

Very sweet sugar and sweet oak combination product. At 121 it doesn't drink near it's proof in the palate but gives you a warm Kentucky hug. Excellent nose that I could sit with and sniff for days. While I like to add water to many of these releases, this one is excellent neat. It's more reminiscent of Evan Williams full proof (doesn't exist) than Elijah Craig which is a great batch variation for me. Wish I had a backup bottle - Cheers!

Nose has great oak, brown sugar and sugary coffee creamer and a touch of banana laffy taffy. Palate brings cherry coke, granulated white sugar, banana runts and brown sugar. Finish is oak dominated and brings some clove and sweet caramel that stays with you for a nice mellow chest warm filled with some nice pecan and cinnamon flavors. Before Jackie Zychan bolted from Old Forester she mentioned that the 100 proof barrels were short barrels. This was a total wine pick from warehouse G which I believe is one of 2 warehouses that does not have heat cycling. It's best attribute is how balanced it is across the sip bringing great oak, sweetness and spice.

Pick named "Boomin' Nova" from Cassanova liquor in Hudson, Wisconsin. This one is 9 years and 2 months old. Nose is awesome. Oak, caramel sundae and graham cracker dominate. Palate is very refined for a 120 proof bourbon. This pick is much sweeter than I was expecting. Knob Creek can be really good within a wide range of years but they can be really sweet and desert-like when it's a little younger. Flavors are just simple but bold with Oak leading the way. There is some cherry, simple syrup, carmel, toffee, brown sugar and nougat. Finish is a little fleeting, but it gives you a little leather and oak with a little maple syrup. My chest is getting a great warmth from it but you'd never ever guess from the palate that this is 120 proof whiskey. Really great bottle!!!

I finally decided to pick this one up yesterday as I was always curious about it and hear about how great it is on the bourbon junkies. Clearly my palate doesn't align with theirs very well. Just a mess right now as I contemplate picking up some ginger ale to wash it down. I will come back to it and see if it opens up some but right out of the gate this is not good whiskey and I really love Heaven Hill products, but I'm struggling to see how this one gets good reviews. Edit : this has opened up now and is very sweet. Raising the score to 3.0 due to the off flavors disappearing but the finish is so short.

I guess I will be the first to be the fan boy of this one and give it a perfect 5. I can taste the best parts of Bakers, Knob Creek, Bookers and Old Grandad in this whiskey. It is hard to blend 7 different whiskies together and truly showcase something from each one, but I think Freddie did it here with chapter 7. I'm usually a type of guy that will claim a good $60 bottle of bourbon will get you close to some of these special releases but I can say that the way this showcase's the amount of flavors and the concentration of flavor is nothing but impressive. I paid MSRP at $150 and would do it again if given the chance. The viscosity is awesome, and whiskey has zero harshness or ethanol for a 118 proof whiskey. Combine that with a nice little kentucky hug on the finish and it is a great whiskey to sip and tease out all the flavors one by one. Excellent job of blending by Freddie here. 5 star pour for me.

At first I did not care for this when first opening it up. It pretty much was just a simple medicinal cherry and oak. But after being open now for 3 months..... Nose: Oak and I still get some cherry, but floral aroma dominates and mixes in with some smarties candy note or a sweet cherry Kool-Aid packet. Palate: It is creamy for a six year, and I don't get the cherry anymore that I smell. Instead, there is a lot of lemon flavor followed by leather and there is a mingling of more oak and floral. I don't get any vanilla or caramel which are so traditional in bourbon. Finish: It is dry with some leather, allspice, oak and lemon. I really enjoy it other than it is too dry which hurts it's score a little. I feel like batch variability will be common here. This one is 11% floor 5, 40% floor 4, 31% floor 3, and finally 18% floor 2. But this one is really pleasant, and a real changeup compared to most KY bourbon flavor profiles. The bottle I got was really tight and one-note when I first cracked it but it is now morphed into a unique experience.

Nose has heaps and heaps of nutmeg. There is some candied orange slices and mint mixed in there as well. Palate is filled with honey and clove. Brown Sugar and vanilla make an appearance as well as some lemon bar show up as well. It has a lot going on for such a young rye. Finish is shorter and has the tendency to fall off a little too quickly. This hurts it's overall score as the nose is interesting and the palate is a treat. There is a little oak and cinnamon but it is fleeting and drying.