Tastes

I get a faint caramel scent on the nose. Body had an incredibly sweet mouth feel, almost like a scotch. The only flavors I can pick out are syrup and powdered sugar. Finish turns into alternating flavors of cinnamon and cherry. That cherry runoff is delicious. This tastes like breakfast.

Fun fact: I bought this bottle at least a month ago for $38 at my local liquor store. There are still bottles on the shelf. 15 minutes away, there’s a liquor store selling the same bottle for $250. Don’t fall for it. That said, this bottle delivers for $40. Nose is floral and sweet, like honeysuckle. Body tastes like powdered sugar, and finish carries a nice cinnamon buzz. With water added: Body opens up a bit. I get more vanilla and less pure sugary sweetness. Finish is greatly diminished, and for my 2-cents-worth, not in a good way. I think I prefer this one neat, which is a bit unusual for me. If I could shoehorn the body once water was added, to the nose and finish when poured neat, that would be ideal.

Thanks to Liquor Barn for this barrel pick. I haven’t had the standard yet, but after this pick, I look forward to it. The overall thesis statement for this bourbon is its ease to drink. Low astringency on the nose, oily mouth feel on the body, and next to no heat on the finish. It’s a very smooth bourbon. There’s a bit of caramel on the nose. This transitions into a caramel apple body, and the tart really kicks in on the finish for true, sour green apple. I’ve had sweet apple and green apple, but never in the same drink before. Very interesting, and one of my favorites.

Big shout out to the Citywide Liquors group in the South Bend area for this store-pick opportunity. These guys did it right, and drove down to physically pick out the one they liked best, or so I was told. Technically, that makes this “small batch” a single barrel, though the proof still comes in at the standard 94. I get caramel and mild floral notes on the nose. Body is fairly simple but pleasant, with caramel and lemon zest. Finish trails off with a deep orange citrus note akin to some booker’s. Now I’m not trying this back to back with the standard small batch at 1 pm on a Saturday because I have a problem. I’m doing it for Science. Science. In general, from the nose to finish, this store pick is less muted and cleaner in the message it’s trying to deliver, which makes a lot of sense if you think about it. I wouldn’t say this store pick has a unique flavor profile as much as it has amplified highs and lows of the flavors you’d expect from a small batch. This store pick is good, but I don’t think you need to drive to South Bend to experience what I’m experiencing. And what I mean by that is this: if you’re an Elijah Craig fan, I do recommend trying a store pick at some point from your local store, but I wouldn’t fall for the sticker game here. Overall, this store pick is a fun twist on a classic bourbon, and I would assume that other store picks would be equally intriguing.

So for starters, let me just say that I’m pissed off that I genuinely feel privileged to have a bottle of this on my shelf. Now that I have that out of the way... I like this bourbon a lot. I went straight from an eagle rare 10 to this, and I think I prefer this; if for no other reason, it tastes more unique when compared to the other bourbons on my shelf. I don’t have a ton of experience with wheated bourbons, but there really is something different in the mouth feel. Whereas most of my bourbons activate a taste/feel combo on the sides of my tongue, this one is conspicuously silent. This forces you to pay attention to what is happening directly on top of your tongue and on the roof of your mouth. The nose is sweet and mellow, like a slice of honeydew melon. The body is almost as gentle as a scotch, with a traditionally-bourbon-caramel flavor. The finish starts out grainy like whole wheat bread, then takes a hard turn toward a bitter, nutty flavor. This sweet-to-bitter transition is more intense than I’m used to from similar caramel-to-nut bourbons, like Blanton’s. Overall, I’m happy to be drinking this. I’m proud to have this on my shelf. From a flavor standpoint, should this be harder to find (not to mention the markup from suggested retail) when compared to Blanton’s? No. EH Taylor Small Batch? Still no. Willet? Somehow, still no. Up the supply, stop the hype to reduce demand to reasonable levels, and the whole world will be happier with access to this unique, tasty bourbon.

On the nose I get a heavy banana scent. The banana flavor carries through on the body and finish, and though I can also get lemon and honey on the body, the banana is definitely the main flavor. It’s a good, unique bourbon.

This is exactly what you’d expect for the price—decent, drinkable, and great for mixing. Personally I’d rank this guy ahead of the entry level for almost all other distilleries out there, excluding BT and 4R. I get caramel and grain on the nose. Body is oily and full of caramel. Finish is lemony and really smooth. Not a ton of heat on the mouth feel on the finish, but there is some pepper flavor in there on the back end.

I can get caramel and raisin on the nose, and the body is RIDICULOUSLY smooth. The flavors are so subtle it takes some time to pick them out. The raisin carries through on the body, along with the flavors of sangria. There is literally zero heat and zero spice on the backend. It’s remarkable. The body hits and dissolves almost immediately. On this very dry finish, the sangria transitions to a lemon zest that lingers longer than I expected. Even now, I still have lemon flavor. Not my favorite entry in the Master’s Keep series, but genuinely complex and enjoyable.

I get a sweet melon scent on the nose, again far less astringent that I would expect for the ABV. There’s honey and lemon on the body, and I get a leathery, charred-oak finish. I don’t know how they do this, but I get an oily body and dry finish. Big fan of the mouth feel on this one!

It’s good. It’s one of the more drinkable barrel proofs out there. That said, you’re gonna come up to this little guy with expectations that Booker’s (for instance) just doesn’t have to deal with. Particularly: how does stand up to his big brother, Blanton’s standard—one of America’s most highly sought bourbons. The nose is not as astringent as you’d expect. I get vanilla. The body does have the Blanton’s flavors you’d expect (more vanilla and a nut favor) but they’re overpowered by the heat in a way that big brother isn’t. This spiciness comes to me via black pepper. What’s interesting is that on the finish, the heat fades quickly, leaving behind a nutty favor, with a bit of lemon. With an ice cube added, I can get the nut flavor on the nose and lemon on the body. Heat turns down quite a bit and finish gets even sweeter. I think I prefer this one on the rocks, and to date, Blanton’s Gold is the best of the Blanton’s gang.