Tastes

This is my first Tennessee Whiskey after Jack, so I'm still learning the style. But after almost polishing off a full bottle, I've really come to love the style. This whiskey opens up with a strong green apple, maple, and caramel nose, along with some bready doughy notes. It does hit you strong with the ethanol, but that disappears after a minute or two. For a whiskey that I've been mostly drinking on the rocks in a rocks glass, smelling the remainder in the bottle gives it room for the alcohol to dissipate and allow the real notes to emerge. I'm shocked at the sweetness of the aroma. Not bourbon kind of sweet, more a caramel and apple sweetness. On the palate, it's harsh at 45.5%, but has a distinctly grainy, almost roasted note. It's smoothes out quick as you salivate, but really doesn't have an overwhelmingly strong profile. Reading another review, I'm noting that it's the wheat that's giving it the strong grainy, bready character, and the Lincoln County process giving it the maple sweetness. It is incredibly oaky, yet the wood still falls to the backdrop. Some light leather and peppery grass. The mouth feel is surprisingly thin, which is perhaps why it doesn't hold up too well with ice (it's been drinking very mild on the rocks). The finish is fairly boozy, but likewise dissipates quickly. Oak remains, along with some dry and not spicy black pepper, and a touch of leather. I'm not finding much apple in the finish, but overripe dehydrated apple skins are present in the finish for me. The finish is disproportionately dry to the nose and even the palate. Overall, it's very nice and far more interesting than Jack. However I'd love to expand my experience and knowledge of the style to better situate this among others.