Tastes

I was excited to try this as it's local to me and a super reasonable price for a barrel strength bourbon. These guys are using MGP with a high rye mash bill. Overall I liked it. I should point out that I have never tried their standard bourbon or rye even though it's local as it tends to be kind of pricey and I'd often rather try before I buy. The cask strength release was what motivated me to purchase as that is sort of my jam. Nose: Very floral and grassy with hints of vanilla and orange peel. Supposedly this mash bill has no wheat and is high rye but it smells a lot like a wheated bourbon to me. I get a lot of grass and herbal notes like dill in the nose. Flavor: Very unchallenging and mild up front with light vanilla and honey. Not super flavorful but nothing off putting either. For the high proof this doesn't punch super hard which I liked. Just kind of weird that it has such a mild flavor at cask strength. I'm not sure what to make of this. I would say it's very balanced in that nothing really stands out as a dominant flavor. Finish: The rye spiciness comes through at the end and sort of obliterates the rest of the subtle flavors. I wish this had less rye spice not because I'm against rye spiciness but because the rest of the flavors were so subtle that this sort of killed off the good notes I was enjoying after a couple seconds. A pretty short finish for cask strength as well. Maybe this could have used a few more years in the barrel. A good value at $45 for cask strength but I feel like maybe $15 more for Stagg Jr. is a better choice given that this is a sipping whiskey.

I was very fortunate to find this bottle at a local liquor store on the top shelf for $50. I don't think they knew what they had and I've been back a couple times and they have nothing interesting beyond a couple of faded bottles of Weller Special Reserve at $60. Meh. Update: Some time oxidizing in my liquor cabinet has greatly improved this and I like it a lot more. Nose: Amazing. Explodes with green apple, vanilla, baking spices, especially cinnamon, some oak in the background but mostly sweet and tart apple pie notes. Flavor: Rich and coating but with a strong alcohol bite up front which I barely got on the nose. Still delicious apple pie notes with buttery streusel crust. Finish: A little short but creamy vanilla soda and then a little wood and then nada. Not complex or long but delicious nonetheless. I kept going back to the glass for the wonderful nose and the strong flavors but was a little disappointed by the blah finish. Still a very nice whiskey.

This was outstanding! I always go in to trying an item from Buffalo Trace with the same self-talk: "I'm not going to just buy in to the hype because it's Buffalo Trace. Maybe this is the one I won't like." Once again...Buffalo Trace delivers. Now if I could just get my hands on that WLW bottle.... Nose: Raisins, vanilla, sugar, and...pumpkin? It smells like pumpkin raisin bread. Delicious nose. Taste: Even more like pumpkin raisin bread but with nuts, honey, baking spices, and a thick texture like honey that coats the mouth. Finish: Long finish with some spice, oak, baking spices, then changing back to honey and raisins at the end. Goes on for a long time. A great sipper. VERY impressed. Poor man's Pappy indeed! I've tried Pappy 20 and this isn't quite up to that level but a lot more obtainable (though hard to find). Pick this up if you can find it for a reasonable price. If I had to be "that guy" my one complaint would be that I wish it were a little stronger than 90 proof. I felt like some things may have been lost from barrel proof that I would have enjoyed. Now where can I find that Weller Full Proof bottle??

This is a great value whiskey. It's not going to knock your socks off with smooth flavors or be super complex but it is one of the best at its price point and it tastes great. Nose: Brown Sugar, orange peel, vanilla, and light oak. Taste: More brown sugar, mostly vanilla and toffee notes with some sweet red fruits like cherry and some of the banana flavor that I'd expect from a younger whiskey. Finish: Medium length, baking spices, and some rye spice, leather, some floral notes, some alcohol burn though not too heavy. Seriously a great value and a great whiskey to sip or mix in to a cocktail.

So...I really enjoy Michter's American Whiskey #1 and I really wanted to like this especially given the $130 I spent on the bottle. Very disappointed. Nose: Not much other than sugar and wood. A little alcohol burn. Flavor: Nothing challenging or interesting. Vanilla and wood. This doesn't taste at all like it smells. Super dry and not sweet at all. LOTS of wood. Too much wood. Also a ton of ethanol burn. It's like somehow this bourbon picked up all the wood flavor without any of the sweet complexity or reduction in burn that I've come to expect from something of this age and pedigree. Finish: Short and brutal burning my throat with more dry wood. Like sandpaper on my tongue. I should point out this is my second taste of this bottle as I gave it a couple weeks with the bottle opened before going back and giving it another shot. I was really hoping I was mistaken on my first try. I feel cheated here and will seriously reconsider purchasing any more Michter's products in the future. VERY disappointed. I would have given this a 2.75 if it wasn't for the huge MSRP. This bottle has MSRP higher than Pappy 15 and equivalent to most of the BTAC items. Truly a waste of money. Maybe someone will trade me something that is open and interesting? Here's hoping.

I should start off by saying I didn't intend to try this. I usually avoid scotch as I don't know enough to be sure what I'm getting and I don't typically like peaty smokey scotches. This was none of these things. I went to the bar to order a Blanton's neat and my coworker was already there offering to order for me. He'd had a couple and got my order wrong and I ended up with a double Macallan 12. It was excellent! It sort of seems a little too unchallenging but I don't mind. Judge me for my choice of drink? How dare you! Nose: Dried fruit, figs, cherries, raisins, some oak, and brown sugar. Taste: More dried fruit especially apricot, oak, vanilla cream soda, and a little salt. Finish: Sweet with walnuts and more dried fruit. A short finish for a 12 year scotch. I like this. So sue me. I will still avoid most scotch but maybe I'll try the 15 or 18 if I run across it? A good intro to unpeated Highland scotch for someone who isn't in to scotch typically. Like me.

This is a super high value whiskey. It's not going to surprise you with its complexity but sometimes that is all you want. Nose: Vanilla, slight orange peel, and (I realize this sounds weird) but honey nut cheerios. Some alcohol bite on the nose as well but this doesn't translate to the flavor. Taste: Vanilla, caramel, dried figs, lemon peel, and (also weird as I say it) brown sugar oatmeal. Not a lot of wood or oak. Very smooth with not a lot of punchiness from the alcohol which surprises me given the cost and relatively young age. Finish: Kind of short but this is to be expected with a younger whiskey. Mostly sweet and citrus. Seriously a great value for this product. Try it and you won't be disappointed. There isn't much nuance to it but it is very much a pure expression of American whiskey (almost bourbon but the barrels) with very balanced flavors.

I'd like to start off and say I'm not a huge fan typically, nor particularly experienced, with Irish Whiskey. I tried this as a recommendation and I have mixed feelings. Nose: Vanilla, brown sugar, and wood. Very pronounced ethanol smell which was hard to get past. Flavor: Vanilla, butterscotch, toasted coconut, and tasted a lot like shortbread cookies. Reminds me of chessmen cookies. I really like the flavor but I'm having a hard time getting past the alcohol bite. Finish: Green apple, nuts, more shortbread, slight citrus peel. A little short though. Overall I really enjoyed the flavors but I think maybe this needs a couple more years of aging to take off some of the alcohol bite in the nose and flavor and to extend the finish. I'd worry that this would remove the flavors I did like of shortbread cookies and toasted coconut. Maybe I need to try Yellow Spot?

I really wanted to like this more especially given how much I've enjoyed other Michter's products and how much I spent on the bottle. Nose: Heavy oak and not a whole lot else. A little vanilla and baking spices in the background. Flavor: Again, heavy wood. Also toasted coconut, toasted marshmallow, and baking spices. I kept feeling like I was just starting to taste the signature sweetness from the Michter's bourbon but the heavy wood felt like it was masking it. More alcohol bite than I'm used to from Michter's, probably due to the high bottling proof. The mouth feel was very drying kind of like a very oaky chardonnay. Not something I'm used to from a bourbon. Finish: I liked this the most. Toasted coconut and dark chocolate but it was too fast of a finish. Over all kind of disappointing. I've read that the 2016 release was better. I actually waited four weeks after my initial taste of this to see if I liked it better but not much had changed.

I like this. A lot. That said, it's a little confusing. Supposedly this comes from the same mash bill as Blanton's and is aged longer than Blanton's (rumored at 8-10 years). This is a much subtler and balanced bourbon overall and tastes basically nothing like Blanton's. It's like Blanton's is the devil on your shoulder and this is the angel. Where Blanton's hits hard with specific flavors this one sort of quietly introduces itself and gets more interesting as time goes on. Nose: Musty wood up front, slight leather, baking spices, and wild flowers. A very muted nose. I kept swirling and waiting for the nose to open up but it just didn't come through. This is the number one reason for the 4.25 rating instead of a 4.5 or 4.75. Taste: Light vanilla, some oak though not overwhelming, heavy poached pear and poached apple, baking spices. I can't tell if this whiskey is super subtle or if everything is just dialed up to 11 and is super balanced. Either way it's subtle and excellent. One thing that surprised me is that this isn't as coating and oily as I expected or wanted it to be given how many folks compare this to Blanton's which I find very coating. Finish: Some rye spice, light dried fruit, subtle vanilla cream. This is a long finish that changes as time goes on but with very subtle flavors. Definitely a sipper and it doesn't punch at it's weight (100 proof) and is super smooth. Overall I really enjoyed how much the flavors were in balance but wished some things would come through more especially on the nose. If this were a less expensive bottle and more readily available I could see this becoming a regular for me. I'm looking forward to doing a side by side comparison with Blanton's in the future.