Tastes

This is what EC18 should be. Very similar, but much more balanced and not as oak-heavy. There's a lot of oak and tobacco up front but it's well done with a nice balance of just a touch of all spice and vanilla. The oily mouthfeel and finish is where it really shines for me- where the EC18 just got woodier, this continued to evolve for a long time. I'm not into oaky flavor profiles- but this is a perfect balance between the proof, oak, and sweeter flavors trying to peek through. This is a wonderfully balanced bourbon and if you like oak, this is the perfect pour-- it loses points for the price and secondary hype for me. Between this, ec18, and kc18- the KC18 wins hands down (despite also being overpriced to me).

First ever Heavens Door - pleasantly surprised! Incredible nose full of sweet caramel, baking spice, maple and vanilla which translate to the pallette. Subtle oak appears just before it crescendos with a nice kick of heat at 117 proof. Smooth with a nice spicy finish, I keep coming back to it. Salute To Heroes CGX bottle 2022

Had this side by side with EC18. The KC18 was much better to me, but I found both incredibly underwhelming for the price. On the palette there's a brighter flavor like chocolate cherries, that fades into vanilla pralines. The finish evolves long after you've sipped, but not with any real complexity. Overall it's very smooth and enjoyable, but a bit "boring" for the price tag. I didn't find it to be an oak bomb like other reviews, but I did it next to the EC18 which was an absolute block of wood so may have affected my detection of the woodier flavors.

If you like oak, you'll love this. Thinner than I like. It's incredibly smooth, but teeters on the verge of boring. There's something interesting on the front, but it's so quickly overwhelmed by smokey oak that I can't place it. The oak fades into a spicy finish. The flavor sits on the tongue for a while and devlops subtly which I've experienced with most stuff over 10 years, but mostly just tastes like different flavors of wood.

This would receive a much higher review if it didn't cost 3 times as much as some of my favorites. Very smooth, minimal ethanol burn with in your face cherry/fruit on the front, followed by a strong toasty vanilla finish that really lingers on the best way. 30 seconds later it was still "evolving" on the palate. Overall a solid, viscous, delicious bourbon. However, aside from the finish there's nothing special to it and the price tag brings it down to just mediocre territory.

Not overly complex- it starts off with a creamy sweet, slightly tart fruit taste- almost like yogurt covered raisins that quickly fade to an oaky finish with minimal spice. A little lighter in viscosity than I like, but it works well with the proof. I was pleasantly surprised after all the hate this gets.

Way over hyped but that's what you get with a badass bottle. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Blanton's- it's just not worth "searching" for. If you see it at retail, get it. You won't be disappointed but you wont be blown away either. For me it seems occasionally spicier than it's proof due to the finish. Nice oily texture. Palate is a bit boring to me with just your expected vanilla/caramel flavors with a touch of woodiness. The finish lingers but not too long.

Yikes. Absolutely no body to this- like drinking distilled water. Palate was very floral but more in the realm of an old air freshener than anything I'd like to drink. I'll let this one sit a while before trying again, but really disappointed in this pick.

Great texture with a mix of subtle sweet flavors- syrup, vanilla, candied fruit- with just the right amount of oaky flavor to balance it out. Love the finish on this-just as the other flavors channel off, a perfectly timed kick of heat reminiscent of redhots candy hits deliciously.

This surprised me. I'm not huge on ryes- this was up front orange/citrusy with a bit of a soft minty finish. None of these are things I really gravitate towards but I've never had a bourbon that blended flavors like this in such a positive way. Very unique- my bottle was a mini. Would love to find a full size of this to keep around!