Tastes

Poured neat On the nose, for me, it’s bold pepper spice and rye and then wintergreen mint. Little ethanol. Not as much as I’d thought for the proof. On the palate I get sweet brown sugar. Then it moves back to the bold rye and pepper spice which then goes back sweet again but this time with red hots cinnamon candies. The finish is long and brought along the cinnamon candy but only briefly before switching to charred oak and rye spice. Very good. I will keep this on my shelf at all time. One of my new favorites.

I let it sit in the glass for at least 10 minutes to “wake up”. Nose, for me, was candied cherries and then some chocolate notes. Near the end of the sniff I got the ethanol, which burnt my nose a tad, which was expected given the proof. Palate was big for me. I felt my eyes widen and my taste buds jump for joy. I got burnt sugar and caramel that shifted to toasted peppercorns that faded to oak. Tingly mouthfeel from the 115 proof. Finish was long with the peppercorns sticking around but only briefly. Then the chocolate appeared again along with some smoky char. Reminded me of a s’more by a campfire. This stuff is delicious!!

Poured neat. Nose was very mild which made it hard to pick the aromas. I did get some of the port wine and some oak, raisin and vanilla. Palate was vanilla and raisin but on the back end I catch a hint of the port wine barrel as the rye. The finish was short to medium length and warmer than I would have thought for an 86 proof. The finish brought back some of that port wine oak barrel and a lingering of leather. Not terrible but isn’t as good as I expected. Over hyped and over rated in my opinion. Edit: *After this bottle has sat in my cabinet for a while it has opened up and is better than when I first reviewed it.* Edited 8-7-2021

Nose I get some star anise, vanilla and orange peel. Palate I get dried cherry, vanilla and a touch of honey. Then the rye takes over and turns to a citrusy peppery flavor. Finish is short and spicy, as it mellows I get black pepper and some mild barrel char.

Lot going on here for me, which isn’t necessarily bad. First off the copper color is almost mesmerizing. The nose for me gives off a sweet fruit smell although I’m not real sure what fruit it would be. I also get an aroma of toasted black pepper. My palate gets a velvety texture and also fruity taste, maybe dried apricots, with some mild tobacco, vanilla and baking spice. The finish is nice with a bit of heat and then cinnamon, oak and spice hints.

On the nose I get oak and slightly sweet vanilla, the front palate is oak and vanilla and in the mid palate adds a bit of leather. The finish has an ever so slight heat then gives off that same oak and leather and ends with some rye spice. Overall a good bourbon for me. At first I wasn’t sure I liked the oak from nose to finish but the deeper I got into the glass I found a great appreciation for it. Will buy again when this bottle is empty.

Nose hits heavy with ethanol and then turns to sweet dried cherry and black peppercorns. The palate starts, for me, with toasted pecan and hints of maple syrup. Finish is shorter than I’d like but is nice and warm.

Nose hits of creme brûlée and light rye spice. Front palate I get caramel with sweet corn and then mid palate fades to cinnamon, oak and leather. The finish is medium with decent amount of heat.