Tastes

The nose is dense and rich starting with whipped cream topped pecan pie, sautéed apples and candied fennel seeds then freshly baked pumpernickel bread and dark chocolate covered espresso beans followed by banana pudding, cherry pie and powdered sugar bubble gum that transitions to spearmint, freshly lacquered oak furniture and pipe tobacco with high ethanol burn. The taste is a syrupy rich mouthfeel starting with freshly lacquered oak furniture, sautéed apples and spearmint gum then a moderate spice that slowly fades to pecan pie, charred pumpernickel bread and spicy dark chocolate mocha followed by bananas foster, maraschino cherries and powdered sugar bubble gum that transitions to cloves, ginger and freshly lit pipe tobacco with high ethanol burn. The finish is long starting with a mild spice that quickly fades to banana pudding, charred pumpernickel bread and toasted marshmallow followed by dark chocolate covered roasted peanuts, spearmint, freshly lacquered oak furniture and pipe tobacco. This is a hell of a rye that the flavors are intense, bold and rich which strikes an incredible balance of sweet creamy fruits that are underscored by moderate rye spices along with well-aged oak notes that suffers from a mild youthful sourness but is otherwise an outstanding rye that could easily go head to head with some of the best ryes in the market today and hold its own against them. At a price of $70, this is an absolute steal IMHO and one that I think any high proof rye fan will highly enjoy.

The nose is bold and rich with powdered sugar dusted tropical fruits front and center that fades to mildly sour and sweet red berries with a light touch of sea salt followed by mild pipe smoke, slight rocky minerality and freshly baked pastries followed by dusty old books with low ethanol burn. The taste is a rich oily mouthfeel starting with caramelized tropical fruits with a pinch of cayenne pepper followed by balsamic strawberries and mild pipe tobacco smoke that fades to rocky minerality and charred hay bales that transitions to dusty leather-bound books with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long, leading with a moderate peppery spice that quickly fades to caramelized pineapple and mango that fades to the background of mildly sour red berries before transitioning into mild baking spices and dusty leather-bound books. Overall, this is a rich and phenomenal dram that has an enchanting nose, but the palate has an ever so slightly sourness that throws the balance off for me along with a finish that is a bit too spicy upfront before fading to those well-aged Springbank fruits and dusty books. Side by side with my OB 25-year Springbank (2020), the Impex is bolder and richer, but the OB 25-year comes together with a mild yet flawless balance without any of the jagged edges that seem present in the Impex edition. Personally, I can’t decide which I prefer and am settling on rating them the same score. At over $800, this is a dream dram to try that costs far less than OB 25-year Springbanks today and is up to the discretion of the buyer if it is worthy of the cost or not. Thankfully, this was a sample that was very generously provided by @ShatteredArm for me to try.

The nose is soft, subtle yet mildly rich with creamy orchard fruits leading that are underscored by tangy red fruits and surprisingly soft oak for the 40 years in a cask with an ever so slight pipe tobacco smoke emerging over time that all works effortlessly together with low ethanol. The palate is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy tropical fruits before a mild peppery spice that slowly fades to espresso and dark chocolate covered figs before mildly sour yet sweet fruits of lychee, balsamic strawberries and pears that transitions to light pipe tobacco smoke and dusty leather bound books with low ethanol burn. The finish is medium length starting with a mix of creamy tropical fruits and mildly sour red berries before mild baking spices, sweet pipe tobacco and polished antique furniture. Glenfarclas 40 year is a beautifully composed old single malt that has aged gracefully over the years polishing the flavors into a symphony of creamy citrus, light chocolate, red berries, mild spices and old oak that was incredibly well managed as those casks could have easily overpowered the other flavors like an over steeped black tea. Side by side with the Glenfarclas 25 year, the 40 year has more finesse and grace whereas the 25 has a slightly higher astringency but they aren’t all that far away from each other. At an asking price of over $1k, it’s an expensive bottle likely meant for celebrating the 40 year age milestone or to experience a 40 year old single malt. Thankfully @ShatteredArm was extremely generous to share a sample for me to explore and highly enjoy.

Heaven Hill offers a You Do Bourbon Experience tour at their distillery where you get to taste a special batch of Bernheim BP, Larceny BP, ECBP and possibly a premium batch, if you happen to be lucky, that are exclusive to the tour then decide on which batch you’d like to bottle your own of. This is the second time I’ve attended and was fortunate to try a premium batch of a 9 year single malt but found it rather astringent whereas the other three were richer and more refined with my favorite going once again to the ECBP batch Y723 which was bottled at 64.5% ABV. The nose is bold and rich starting with a mix of cinnamon brown sugar coated churros, caramelized bananas, sautéed blackberries and dusty leather-bound books then dark chocolate torte, salted pretzels and freshly lit cigar followed by apple streusel, strawberries and mandarin orange that transitions to spearmint, cloves, anise, and polished antique furniture with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich oily mouthfeel starting with a mix of dark chocolate mocha, butterscotch creme brûlée, banana fitters, blackberries and dusty leather-bound books then a mild spice that quickly fades to burnt marshmallow and freshly lit cherry pipe tobacco followed by apple streusel, strawberries and mandarin orange that transitions to spearmint, cloves, anise, and polished antique furniture with high ethanol burn. The finish is long starting with dark chocolate mocha and freshly lit cigar then light sweets of apple streusel, banana fritters, and blackberry pie that then turns earthier with spices of cloves, spearmint, dusty leather-bound books and freshly lacquered antique furniture. Heaven Hill is crushing these You Do Bourbon batches with this one topping my previous year’s bottle as it leans earthier with creamy dark berries that the sweets and earthy flavors work in perfect balance and never veers towards an overly bitter or cloying sweet profile. The tour guide said they select barrels from just one warehouse that they’ve found to produce the best barrels. Perhaps that was just marketing bs but this bottle certainly makes that seem more plausible and is currently my favorite ECBP that I’ve tried. Here’s hoping my next bottle from a future tour is even better. If you happen to be near Heaven Hill or will be journeying near by in the future, I’d highly recommend this as your first stop to try their exclusive batches that are far better than almost any allocated hyped releases today at a fraction of the price for a full bottle.

My friends and I have an annual tradition of meeting up in Kentucky to try as many unicorn and dusty spirits as we possibly could handle for a few days. On the first night we stopped by Neat bourbon bar which specializes in antique pours for rather fair prices. There we started with several of Wild Turkey Masters Keeps and then decided to try this international exclusive 12 year that surprisingly tasted similar to dusty old Turkeys and turned out to be our group’s favorite out of the Turkey lineup. Further exploration continued into other rarities but the 12 year Turkey never seemed too far from competing with those dusty unicorns. Obtaining a bottle took some time as these birds migrated from Kentucky to international markets for around $60 a bottle but seemed to boomerang on back to retailers in the US for over $200. I’m not one to happily pay secondary prices, but my patience began to wane until I found a bottle for $150 and decided it was low enough to allow me to revisit this modern day bourbon with unique dusty flavors. The nose is bold and velvety rich starting with a mix of maple cream cheese frosting, old machine oil and dusty old mahogany armchair then limestone minerality, freshly lit cherry pipe tobacco and dark chocolate torte followed by caramel apple dumplings, charred blood orange and blackberry jam that transitions to mild baking spices and high end vintage leather jacket with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a velvety rich mouthfeel starting with maple syrup drenched flapjacks, dark chocolate ganache and moderately worn catchers mitt then a mild rye spice that quickly fades to old engine oil, freshly lit pipe tobacco and limestone minerality then blackberry pie, charred blood orange and caramelized cinnamon apples that transitions to moderate baking spices and polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long starting with moderate rye spices and dusty old mahogany armchair that fades to creamy sweet orchard and mildly tart berries along with maple syrup covered flapjacks then light limestone minerality and engine oil. Overall, this is an exceptional and unique bourbon that breaks away from the traditional bourbon profile of rich sweets, mild spices and slightly tannic oak that brings these olden day funky notes of machine oil and stone minerality that I rarely ever find outside of antique bourbons. If you’re a fan of Wild Turkey, this is a must have in your collection that allows for a taste of what dusty antique Turkey is without the need to pay the premium prices that they cost today. For me, this is the best whiskey I’ve tasted from modern day Wild Turkey that could possibly even compete against dusty antique versions and one I will happily pay $150 to add a few more to my collection to hopefully never be without a bottle.

Ardbeg special releases have been rather disappointing over the last few years for me and I've since begun to ignore them as overpriced marketing gimmicks that would most likely be utilized as a mixer rather than a dram I enjoyed neat. This one however came at a surprisingly lower price of $90 and had rather favorable reviews, so I took the plunge and bought a bottle to find out for myself. The nose is mildly rich starting with a mix of roasted seaweed, blackberry jam, charred lemons and limes along with charred meats then dark chocolate covered raisins, toasted macadamia nuts and moderate sea spray followed by baked figs, mildly sour apple and tangerines that transitions to mild baking spices and gauze bandages with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with with creamy citrus before veering to mildly sour red berries and a moderate bitter spice that quickly fades to coffee rubbed brisket, seaside minerality and freshly lit pipe tobacco then salted mangos, balsamic strawberries and grilled peaches that transitions to moderate baking spices, gauze bandages and popsicle sticks with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length starting sweet with a mix of creamy citrus and mildly sour red berries that fades to the background as charred meats topped with sea salt emerge to finish out the experience. Overall, this is a really enjoyable dram that balances a mix of sweet, smoky and sour fairly well but leans slightly sourer than I prefer. I tend to be more sensitive than most on sour flavors and think this would be a welcome addition to anyones collection that enjoys smoky drams. Hopefully Ardbeg releases more reasonably priced editions like these in the future.

I've been on the hunt to try a King of Kentucky(KoK) for the last three years and always seem to either unfortunately arrive just in time for the last dram to have just been served or find that the establishment deems that a fair price for a pour is the equivalent of either a full bottle at MSRP or higher which falls outside of my threshold of an acceptable cost per pour around thirty percent or less than a full bottle at MSRP. Alas, my hunt continued for this elusive unicorn until one fateful day, my friends and I were conversing with a likeminded stranger at a bar about bourbon and he informed us of an establishment that had a King for a fair price that was under my pour rule. Elated, we made a hasty journey in pursuit of finally satisfying my unicorn quest and when we arrived we not only found they had a KoK, but a 14 year, 15 year and 18 year version. After a quick discussion, our group settled on purchasing a pour of all three, line them up and have a KoK fight to determine who the King of the KoKs shall earn the crown. Starting with the youngest of the three the 14 year has a nose that is moderately rich with a mild dusty oak that is underscoring sweets of sugar daddy candy and creamy citrus that everything seems in balance with the ABV surprisingly subdued for being above 60%. The palate follows suit as the nose with everything balanced along with a mild spice before a medium-long sweet and slightly spicy finish. 4.25 Next up was the 15 year, with a velvety rich and bold nose that makes the 14 year seem rather tame in comparison. The oak is bigger on the 15 with dusty oak no longer in the background, but front and center that works harmoniously with those creamy sugar daddy candies and dark fruits with the ethanol still very much in check. The palate follows the same as the nose with a masterfully composed balance along with a rich oily mouthfeel that coats and finishes long with sweet tobacco, creamy citrus and old dusty oak that lingers for minutes. 4.5 The last of the bunch was the 18 year that we’d all hoped would turn out to be the best of the bunch. Unfortunately after the 15 year, the nose comes across rather tannic with the oak no longer in balance with the creamy candy sweets and dark fruits but rather the oak now taking centerstage that dominates and prevents those creamy sweets and fruits notes from really coming through that the ethanol is still surprisingly in check for the 67% ABV. The palate doesn't improve upon the nose and actually seems to bring a higher bitter over-brewed tea note that pervades the experience with those creamy sweets peeking through ever so slightly and finishes medium-long with bitter black tea and cracked leather with the sweet candies and fruits ever so slightly appearing. 3.25 After the KoK fight, the four of us unanimously chose the 15 year to crown as the true King status with the 14 year earning prince status and the 18 year earning a humble court jester status, but these were all single barrels, so depending on which barrel you get, you might find a different experience and status ranking than us. Unfortunately these have all long been scooped up from retailers for their MSRP and after conducting a quick internet search reveals that all of them now cost in the thousands and the 18 year nearing $10k on some sites. Those are silly astronomic prices that don't seem justified and I personally think that there are plenty of other whiskeys out there that can compete with these for much less. If you happen to stumble on a bar that has them for a fair price, I'd recommend trying the 14 or 15 year as they are really something special, just not thousand dollar bottle or a silly overpriced dram priced special.

I've been on the hunt to try a King of Kentucky(KoK) for the last three years and always seem to either unfortunately arrive just in time for the last dram to have just been served or find that the establishment deems that a fair price for a pour is the equivalent of either a full bottle at MSRP or higher which falls outside of my threshold of an acceptable cost per pour around thirty percent or less than a full bottle at MSRP. Alas, my hunt continued for this elusive unicorn until one fateful day, my friends and I were conversing with a likeminded stranger at a bar about bourbon and he informed us of an establishment that had a King for a fair price that was under my pour rule. Elated, we made a hasty journey in pursuit of finally satisfying my unicorn quest and when we arrived we not only found they had a KoK, but a 14 year, 15 year and 18 year version. After a quick discussion, our group settled on purchasing a pour of all three, line them up and have a KoK fight to determine who the King of the KoKs shall earn the crown. Starting with the youngest of the three the 14 year has a nose that is moderately rich with a mild dusty oak that is underscoring sweets of sugar daddy candy and creamy citrus that everything seems in balance with the ABV surprisingly subdued for being above 60%. The palate follows suit as the nose with everything balanced along with a mild spice before a medium-long sweet and slightly spicy finish. 4.25 Next up was the 15 year, with a velvety rich and bold nose that makes the 14 year seem rather tame in comparison. The oak is bigger on the 15 with dusty oak no longer in the background, but front and center that works harmoniously with those creamy sugar daddy candies and dark fruits with the ethanol still very much in check. The palate follows the same as the nose with a masterfully composed balance along with a rich oily mouthfeel that coats and finishes long with sweet tobacco, creamy citrus and old dusty oak that lingers for minutes. 4.5 The last of the bunch was the 18 year that we’d all hoped would turn out to be the best of the bunch. Unfortunately after the 15 year, the nose comes across rather tannic with the oak no longer in balance with the creamy candy sweets and dark fruits but rather the oak now taking centerstage that dominates and prevents those creamy sweets and fruits notes from really coming through that the ethanol is still surprisingly in check for the 67% ABV. The palate doesn't improve upon the nose and actually seems to bring a higher bitter over-brewed tea note that pervades the experience with those creamy sweets peeking through ever so slightly and finishes medium-long with bitter black tea and cracked leather with the sweet candies and fruits ever so slightly appearing. 3.25 After the KoK fight, the four of us unanimously chose the 15 year to crown as the true King status with the 14 year earning prince status and the 18 year earning a humble court jester status, but these were all single barrels, so depending on which barrel you get, you might find a different experience and status ranking than us. Unfortunately these have all long been scooped up from retailers for their MSRP and after conducting a quick internet search reveals that all of them now cost in the thousands and the 18 year nearing $10k on some sites. Those are silly astronomic prices that don't seem justified and I personally think that there are plenty of other whiskeys out there that can compete with these for much less. If you happen to stumble on a bar that has them for a fair price, I'd recommend trying the 14 or 15 year as they are really something special, just not thousand dollar bottle or a silly overpriced dram priced special.

I've been on the hunt to try a King of Kentucky(KoK) for the last three years and always seem to either unfortunately arrive just in time for the last dram to have just been served or find that the establishment deems that a fair price for a pour is the equivalent of either a full bottle at MSRP or higher which falls outside of my threshold of an acceptable cost per pour around thirty percent or less than a full bottle at MSRP. Alas, my hunt continued for this elusive unicorn until one fateful day, my friends and I were conversing with a likeminded stranger at a bar about bourbon and he informed us of an establishment that had a King for a fair price that was under my pour rule. Elated, we made a hasty journey in pursuit of finally satisfying my unicorn quest and when we arrived we not only found they had a KoK, but a 14 year, 15 year and 18 year version. After a quick discussion, our group settled on purchasing a pour of all three, line them up and have a KoK fight to determine who the King of the KoKs shall earn the crown. Starting with the youngest of the three the 14 year has a nose that is moderately rich with a mild dusty oak that is underscoring sweets of sugar daddy candy and creamy citrus that everything seems in balance with the ABV surprisingly subdued for being above 60%. The palate follows suit as the nose with everything balanced along with a mild spice before a medium-long sweet and slightly spicy finish. 4.25 Next up was the 15 year, with a velvety rich and bold nose that makes the 14 year seem rather tame in comparison. The oak is bigger on the 15 with dusty oak no longer in the background, but front and center that works harmoniously with those creamy sugar daddy candies and dark fruits with the ethanol still very much in check. The palate follows the same as the nose with a masterfully composed balance along with a rich oily mouthfeel that coats and finishes long with sweet tobacco, creamy citrus and old dusty oak that lingers for minutes. 4.5 The last of the bunch was the 18 year that we’d all hoped would turn out to be the best of the bunch. Unfortunately after the 15 year, the nose comes across rather tannic with the oak no longer in balance with the creamy candy sweets and dark fruits but rather the oak now taking centerstage that dominates and prevents those creamy sweets and fruits notes from really coming through that the ethanol is still surprisingly in check for the 67% ABV. The palate doesn't improve upon the nose and actually seems to bring a higher bitter over-brewed tea note that pervades the experience with those creamy sweets peeking through ever so slightly and finishes medium-long with bitter black tea and cracked leather with the sweet candies and fruits ever so slightly appearing. 3.25 After the KoK fight, the four of us unanimously chose the 15 year to crown as the true King status with the 14 year earning prince status and the 18 year earning a humble court jester status, but these were all single barrels, so depending on which barrel you get, you might find a different experience and status ranking than us. Unfortunately these have all long been scooped up from retailers for their MSRP and after conducting a quick internet search reveals that all of them now cost in the thousands and the 18 year nearing $10k on some sites. Those are silly astronomic prices that don't seem justified and I personally think that there are plenty of other whiskeys out there that can compete with these for much less. If you happen to stumble on a bar that has them for a fair price, I'd recommend trying the 14 or 15 year as they are really something special, just not thousand dollar bottle or a silly overpriced dram priced special.

The nose is soft and subtle with a mild richness that starts with caramelized mangos, baked figs and dusty old wine cellar then mild pipe smoke, light ocean brine and shortbread cookies followed by red wine poached pears, blackberries and tangerines that transitions to mild baking spices and antique polished mahogany with low ethanol burn. The taste is a medium yet creamy mouthfeel starting mildly sweet yet slightly sour with caramelized mangos, cherries jubilee and slightly tart blackberries followed by espresso, mild pipe tobacco, light barley field farmyard funk and seaside rocky minerality followed by pear tart, figgy pudding and baked orange that transitions to mild baking spices and polished mahogany with low ethanol burn. The finish is long, starting sweet with creamy tropical fruits and cherries jubilee before veering into mild smoke, seaside minerality, light baking spices and dusty old wine cellar. This is an exceptional dram that those long years in the ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks have polished any youthful astringency out and replaced it with creamy tropical fruits and musty old cellar. The balance is superb with everything working in harmony but the flavors aren’t quite as rich and robust as I’d hoped. A stunning and complex dram that rewards slow contemplation which allows for its many faucets to be uncovered and was a special dram opened to celebrate with a friend.