Tastes

Drinking this neat, neck pour. The nose is very strong cherry cola surrounded but a caramel sweetness. Walnuts or macaroon nuttiness come out near the end of the nose and I get a bit of banana foster too. The pallet is very smooth, more cherry and dark wine fruits. The lighter proof makes this drink a bit sweeter. Very full bodied, you could cut it with a knife. Oak on the finish with some hints of wine fruits, the sherry finishing is present through and through on this one. I love the idea of this bottle. So many times we see collaboration beers on the market that are amazing, I could see the same thing becoming a popular trend in the bourbon/whiskey scene as the mid/higher end bourbon markets saturate. With all that being said, I hope those bottle end up being barrel proof. There is a lot I feel like I’m missing in the nose that being full proof may help bring forward. My final thought, this is for sure a porch pounder bourbon.

Drinking this bottle neat, beak pour. I put this side-by-side with 12yr to see how the extra 3 years comes through. To state the obvious there is oak. But there is plenty of dried fruit to balance that oak out. It’s actually quite remarkable, I would describe the nose of 12yr to be filled with much more oak. I love this sweetness though. It almost like being at a bakery with the smell of donuts in the air. Basically, there is lot of sweetness layered with envelops of vanilla. If the nose missed a bit on the oak, some worry, the pallet makes up for it. This is very dry/bitter. It has a mild burn; it doesn’t last. Very easy pallet for a 15yr bourbon. The finish is pretty much tobacco maybe leather. So I said in another review the 12yr is a great value pour, I think could make the same argument about this 15yr. There are plenty of MGP 10-12yr that can cost a healthy penny. There are plenty of duds at $100, this is not one of them. I will say, if I had a choice between 12yr and 15yr, I would pick 12yr for the price but putting price aside, this pour slaps.

Drinking this neat, bottle kill. Pour opens up with plenty of oak and trace amounts of ethanol. The nose is further layered with vanilla and caramel. Not a ton of fruit on this one but I managed to pull out peanut. It might be a stretch but the best way to describe the nose is like tres leches cake. The pallet is oily with mild heat. Tons of black pepper. It is tannic from the oak, this pour picked up plenty of the barrel. Finish has more pepper and hints of tobacco. The mild heat does hang in there and this time brings up peanut shells. There is some hint of rye spice but it diffuses out pretty quickly. Overall, fun pour and at around $60 retail, it’s at the lower end of the 12yr bourbons these days. So I find this to be a great value pour. It has definitely made in my house favorites.

This is my thanksgiving pour and top pour of the night. Finally got around to opening this bottle and you definitely wouldn’t want to start a flight at this proof. This SJr is batch 14, 130.2 proof. I’m drinking this neat, neck pour. So of course I’m framing this from the Mash Bill 1 perspective. I get warm apple pie and brown sugar which makes sense. Not too different from ER at first take. The proof definitely hits the nose and I’m also getting a good amount of oak. I think the age is about 8-9yrs but drinking more like 12yr. I don’t have batch 12/13 to compare which I’ve read are “phenomenal” but in my option the nose is good, but kind of predictable. The pallet is a wallop of spice and sugar cane matched equally with an impressive proof/burn. This hangs around for awhile and as they say will put a little hair on your chest. After awhile, I finally get the oak again and char. Not many pours where I am more impressed with the pallet/finish than the nose. For all the fanfare to get one of these bottles, I think it is on par EHT SB or ER with just a little more punch. It a good well rounded pour and an absolute must have off the MB1.

Drinking this neat, second pour. This is a store pick, warehouse H, floor 3, 124.7 proof. This one was one of those ones I didn’t know how lucky I was until I got my hands on it. S/O to my local honey hole. I had a jump on this one and immediately poured one out. Alas, I’m reviewing after bottle has been open for a couple weeks. It doesn’t disappoint. This one hits you with aromatics like licorice. There is a fantastic sweetness here like confectioners sugar or taffy. Behind the sugar you may get some nuttiness but it is no profound. The vanilla comes in layered with caramel. Finish is buttery with a long burn. You get the oak and leather at this point but trails off into plum or even cherry notes. The cherry hangs around until the burn dissipates they builds again. This is a solid bottle. Embarrassingly, I haven’t tried all the OFs, but this drinks well above the 1890 and Statesman. I plan on comparing side by side with 1910 but the fact this is full proof might give it an edge.

Drinking this neat, bottle pour. This hits hard with cherry up front with a nice butter cream. If I can be honest, I’m really loving butter cream notes lately so that was exciting to find here. Automatically bumps it up a notch. There is also that typical weirdness I’ve started to notice in Dickel. My cousin gave me a good tasting note for it: chewable vitamins... of the cherry variety. Finish has that classic Tennessee smoothness with leather, charcoal and oak flavors. I tasted a 9yr SP before this one. Suffice to say, this is still my favorite Dickel. I think this would be a good bottle to pull out to change it up for those who may need a break from the 100+ proof bourbon heat. Cheers!

Drinking this neat, neck pour. This is a store pick, barrel number 144, 51.5%. I’m getting light banana, but also cherry? That’s confusing.. Charcoal mixed with nail polish remover? Tons of oak on this one. The finish is buttery smooth as expected with the charcoal filter. Again I get oak and also a leathery tone. Im not sure this was exactly what I expected, but thats the gamble you take with SP and not to mention Dickel in general. I’m going to follow up this tasting with the 2008 fall release 9yr and see the comparison.

Drinking this neat, neck pour. Nose starts with apricot big light caramel, light oak, hints of vanilla, toasty. Maybe a tinge of white chocolate. Finish is tobacco early with a bit of oiliness. Come through on the sweeter, honey side. Overall good, I hope to try cask strength from years past soon to compare. Not sure if the bottle price warrants, especially if MGP <9yr average.

Drinking this neat. First pour. I bought this to see how Bull Run has changed since they parted from MGP. I did a review for a 2019 12 yr MGP finished in Pinot Noir casks the other night so now I want to see what a true mash build of Bull Run from the watershed is tasting like. Immediately I got hit with banana bread which I actually like a lot. It even gives a good nuttiness like bar nuts along with cloves which is making me want to bake banana bread to pair with this pour. Sifting through further I get notes of apple and honey. The 25% rye is definitely coming through as I get brine and citrus zest as well. Mouth has more apple and baking spices Light finish almost like water, latent warmth. Overall, a solid pour if you’re looking for an easy drinker with a surprising amount of flavor. I look forward to seeing this distillery progress a bit more in the bourbon world. They’ve made quite a splash so far in PNW, not all my favorites, but there seems to be a solid flavor profile they are developing. Hoping to see some 7+ year bottles if there aren’t already some one the shelves!