Tastes

Nose - oak, leather, stone fruit, vanilla Palate - toffee, creamy vanilla, cinnamon, cooked fruit Finish - medium, a bit on the dry side but with some lingering sweetness from the sherry influence. What a I really like about this is the balance between the sweetness, spice and oak. I haven't been a huge fan of some of the other WT expressions I've tried, too much pepper/heat; but for me the sherry finish here smooths out the rough edges without completely taking over. If anything is a bit of a letdown it's the finish, it just doesn't have the richness that some higher-proof bourbons do on the finish. So I have to take a 1/2 star for that and say this is a solid 4.5

Tasting the standard OBSV release (not a barrel select). On the nose - caramel apples, vanilla, chocolate, and a faint whiff of varnish On the palate - sweet and fruity with creamy vanilla up front, before the spice builds into the finish along with some oak and heat. Finish is pleasant but doesn't really linger. Really solid bourbon for the money, looking forward to trying a barrel-proof private selection in the future if I can find one.

Oak and vanilla on the nose, Palate is dominated by oak with some underlying sweetness, ending with a dry/tannic medium finish. Pretty disappointing given the price. It's by no means terrible, but there are plenty of other options that are not only better but also cheaper.

Tasted in a Canadian glencairn with a chip of ice Nose - caramel, honey roasted nuts, and a hint of leather and spice Palate - sweet up front, with a rich mouth feel followed by nuts and spice. Finish - long, lingering finish of oak and spice, but without the astringent tannic notes. The finish is really nice, probably the high point for me. Surprisingly smooth for the proof It wasn't especially complex, but it finishes on a high note.

No barrel pick, just the standard SiB with the old label. Nose - pretty standard bourbon notes of caramel, vanilla and oaky spice along with some ethanol Taste - Spicy, with cinnamon and baking spices up front with pepper following on mid-palate. Medium finish with lingering heat. Adding an ice cube tamed the heat and spice, bringing out some of the sweetness. Not a standout for me, but solid bourbon especially if you like the 'Kentucky hug' and favor higher proofs.

Color - leather Nose - toffee, chocolate, oak and leather Taste - rich mouth feel, with maple, brown sugar up front followed by baking spices and oak Finish - long, with lingering coffee notes

Color - medium-light copper Nose - caramel, vanilla, oak, and a fruit I can't quite place. Also a little more heat than I would expect for this proof. Taste - A fairly rich mouth feel, with caramel, vanilla, and baking spices and a hint of that fruit. Finish - medium with oak, tannins, and some lingering spice. A pretty decent bourbon for the price.

Texas Total Wine & More stave selection 2 x Maker's 46 4 x Roasted Fench Mocha 4 x Toasted Fench Spice 110.3 proof Nose - Apples, cinnamon, vanilla and oak. Taste - caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and hint of fruit followed by baking spices and oak with some lingering sweetness on the medium finish. This took a while to open up. On first taste this was underwhelming, initially there was a lot of alcohol on the nose and the palate. A chip of ice and some breathing time improved things greatly. It definitely has more spice than Maker's 46 (I miss the cherry notes from that), I'm guessing due to the stave selection.

Nose - apricots first, followed by pipe tobacco Taste - caramel, oaky spice, and a hint of mint on the medium finish. This was a single barrel pick by Whiskey Cake restaurant