Tastes

I liked this quite a bit but maybe not worth it at the price point? Nose: Very traditional wheated bourbon. Vanilla, caramelized sugars, grassy herbaceous notes, a little ethanol punch but not too heavy. Flavor: Sweet vanilla and caramel with roasted nuts like pecans. Buttery mouth feel. This definitely expresses why wheated bourbons take to long aging so well. Finish: Not as long as I would have expected with more sweet vanilla notes and some wood and smoke plus more toasted nuts. Overall this was a solid wheated bourbon but didn't knock my socks off. If this were a $50-$75 bottle and easily obtained I could see this being a regular pour but at MSRP over $130 and secondary well over $300 I'll probably stay away.

Not my favorite whiskey ever but not bad either. Super simple with basically nothing complex or surprising. Nose: Classic bourbon nose with heavy vanilla, brown sugar, orange peel, light oak, and some grassy notes. Just a hint of poached apple in the background. Flavor: Very young tasting with more vanilla, caramel, and a little more ethanol punch than I'd like given the low proof. The dominant flavor is candied orange peel. Very thin and watery. I think this would have benefitted significantly from a higher proof as it feels like there are more complex notes hiding in the background that I can't pick out. It has just a hint of mint, poached apple, baking spice, and barely a whisper of a cereal note. The only thing that really bothered me is this is WAY too sweet. Finish: Very short with some harsh bitter wood notes and more sweetness and just a tiny bit of hot spice. Finishes with a low level ginger flavor that lingers for a bit and then disappears just leaving a saccharine coating in the mouth. I wanted to like this more. I didn't hate it though. It's an easy drinker that is not complex but I feel like it would be significantly improved by some more time aging in the barrel and being bottled closer to 100 proof instead of 86. Honestly it reminds me a little of Tennessee whiskeys I've tried in the past.

A sample from dthom as part of the "Whiskey Transfer Program". This is a 60.7% Binny's barrel pick that was unfinished ie: no cask finish like the usual Magnus stuff. Nose: Very subtle caramelized sugar sweetness and woody flavors like cedar. A little bit of pine as well. There is more below the surface but it doesn't shine through until the first taste. Flavor: Wow. This one is complex. Vanilla, caramel, nougat, toasted nuts, dark chocolate, light dried fruits. Basically this tastes like a dark chocolate snickers bar. Oily, rich, and buttery. Finish: A long drying finish that somehow turns sweet at the end. More snickers bars with nougat, caramel, and toasted nuts. Lightly woody at the end. Truly one of the best bourbons I've tried. Shame once it's gone there is no more.

Wow. This one is as good as advertised. I always taste a whiskey with a lot of hype around it with a certain amount of distrust but this one delivers in a big way! Nose: Not as much alcohol punch as I'd expect with the high proof. The first smell that hit was salty peanut shells. This immediately makes me think baseball games with my dad as a kid. Also I'm getting toasted oak, toasted coconut, barrel spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, caramel, brown sugars, and vanilla. A very complex nose that keeps developing the more I smell and sip. Flavor: Traditional bourbon flavors like vanilla, butter, and brown sugar but with the dial turned up to 11. More salty peanuts and lots of barrel spices right up front along with some black pepper. Not nearly as strong on the alcohol as I'd expect with the proof. Buttery and oily in a great way. It took a minute for me to put my finger on it but you know what this tasted like? 100% it's cracker jack. I mean the caramel popcorn with salted coated peanuts. Wow this is good. Finish: Long finish with drying oak, more toasted salty peanuts, and barrel spice. This doesn't finish as sweet as the initial flavor suggested. This was great. Well worth the price. It's always cool when a whiskey brings you back to a particular memory and this hits on all cylinders. Well done Heaven Hill!

A whiskey sample provided by dthom as part of the "Whiskey Transfer Program". What a whiskey! Nose: Immediately I'm hit with vanilla cream soda. Then subtler flavors like orange peel, brown sugar, poached pears, toasted coconut, and a little bit of background grassy note. Flavor: Just like it smells. Brown sugar and vanilla cream soda, crème brulee, poached pears and apples, like tarte tatin. Finish: A short finish. Lightly oaky with a little bit of barrel spice and toasted nuts. A sweet finish that kept me coming back for more. Wow this is good. Definitely a dessert whiskey for me. I wish it wasn't so pricey. I keep seeing it for $110 per bottle. Not the most complex whiskey but I liked that about it. Sometimes you just want something that knows exactly what it is going for and hits on all cylinders.

A whiskey sample provided by dthom as part of the "Whiskey Transfer Program". This one kind of came out of left field and surprised me with how good it was. Nose: I've never smelled a whiskey that smells this heavily of bananas. Brown old bananas. Kind of liked dried banana chips. Also raisins and figs and dates. Heavy grain notes like corn flakes. With the sweet notes it's almost like frosted flakes. Taste: The banana is there but more subdued with dried fruits like cherries, figs, and raisins taking over at the front. Heavy caramelized sugars. Finish: Still sweet but the wood notes start to stand out. A long complex finish with oak, sandalwood, more dried fruit, and some spice. Heavily spiced with cloves and cinnamon standing out on the finish. Finishes very dry for such a sweet dram. Wow I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. Very complex and interesting.

A sample as part of the "Whiskey Transfer Program" from dthom. Full disclosure: my first taste of a Four Roses item other than the standard yellow label stuff which I wouldn't use to degrease an engine. A barrel pick from Binny's in Illinois bottled at 60.2%. I don't hate it but wanted to love it as dthom thinks it is excellent. Nose: Heavy ethanol punch, light lemon peel, white sugars, musty wood, and a hint of olive brine. Taste: Sweet and surprisingly oily and thick. Wood heavy on the front which I found surprising. More citrus peel and a little more olive brine on the flavor. Finish: Medium-long with quite a bit of rye spice and a little more olive. I'm getting a lot of olive brine all the way through this whiskey. Weird. Not a bad whiskey but a little one dimensional and too much rye spice for me on the finish. Maybe I just don't like Four Roses? The olive flavors were a little off putting for me.

A sample as part of the "Whiskey Transfer Program" from dthom. Nose: Vanilla, baking spices, and honey in abundance. Quite a bit of ethanol punch as would be expected with the high proof. The first Wild Turkey dram I've tasted. Flavor: Very sweet with vanilla and caramelized sugars like crème brulee and shortbread cookies. A very simple flavor but maybe too simple. Finish: Punches you right in the face with heavy alcohol bite. Wow! That's strong tasting! Finishes short with wood, ethanol, and some more sweetness. This wasn't a terrible whiskey but neither was it great. Sort of bland and simple. It checks all the boxes for bourbon but doesn't excite or really do anything interesting or challenging either. For the price point I wouldn't recommend it. Even at a lower cost I still would seek something else out at cask strength.

A sample as part of the "Whiskey Transfer Program" from dthom. I really wanted to like this. Nose: Light vanilla, musty wood, toasted bread, grapefruit, stewed apricot, lemon peel, mint, black pepper, caramelized sugars, and some ethanol bite. This is VERY complex on the nose. Too complex maybe. There is sort of a background funk that I don't really care for. Taste: Very sweet initially with stewed stone fruits like peaches, apricots, and nectarines but without the acid. Fades fast though right in to the finish. Finish: I kind of hate the finish on this. It's so many overwhelming confusing flavors that I can't get my head around it. Cloves, cinnamon, heavy cardamom, fennel, black pepper, nutmeg, and some orange peel as well. This is just too complex. What I mean is that there are too many flavors going on and it's muddy and confusing. I like when a whiskey has clear flavors and intent and purpose and this seems like it's just going too many different directions. Sorry Compass Box but this one doesn't work for me.

A sample gifted from the "Whiskey Transfer Program" from dthom. Nose: The usual dried fruits like figs that come from a sherry cask finish with light sugars and a little bit of wood and wine. The number one smell? Lemon peel. Flavor: Sweeter than I would have liked with some wood flavors and slight raisiny flavor with more citrus peel. Nice oily mouth feel but the sweetness is too pronounced making this a little medicinal with the lemon peel. Finish: Medium length with a very tannic drying woody flavor that I did not particularly like. I appreciated the break from the sweetness but the finish was too tannic for my taste. Overall this was ok but I felt the flavors were way too sweet and then too dry and tannic on the finish. I like the green spot better.