Tastes

The nose starts with smoked butterscotch caramel poured over fresh piping hot flapjacks right off the iron skillet then chocolate covered pecans followed by fruits of sautéed tender cinnamon apple slices, figs and Morello cherry jam that fades to fresh cut vanilla pod before transitioning to spices of black pepper, ginger, cloves, premium leather biker jacket and polished oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a thick mouthfeel starting with caramel popcorn with candied pecans and peanuts followed by fruits of cinnamon apple crumb cake, figgy pudding and cherries jubilee then comes a medium spice with Mexican spiced blonde espresso mocha latte that fades to a light vanilla milkshake along with spices of black pepper, ginger, cloves, premium leather biker jacket and polished oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with Mexican spiced blonde roast mocha latte, sautéed caramel apples, orange zest, whipped honey butter slathered on top of cornbread, Golden mill flour, cloves, ginger, leather and polished oak. Wow, this is a big, bold, badass Texas whiskey that really ramps those flavors up with a nice balance but veers a little too spicy on the mid-palate before fading and bringing back those bold flavors back for a long and lingering finish that lasts for minutes. This runs laps around the Harbinger and I’m going to need to start paying better attention to Lost Lantern’s Ironroot picks as this is the second one I was lucky enough to try which really highlights their knack for finding these honey barrels they continue to pick out. A big thank you to @ctbeck11 for the Ironroot samples to try next each other.

The nose starts with a freshly opened bag of candy corn followed by some cotton candy then fruity notes of Swedish fish candy and sour apple caramel lollipop that fades to light floral vanilla before transitioning to spices of black pepper, ginger, leather and medium oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a thick mouthfeel that starts with a freshly opened bag of candy corn followed by some cotton candy then a moderate sourness comes in with lemon juice and sour apple that eventually fades to light floral vanilla before transitioning to spices of black pepper, ginger, cloves, leather and raw cinnamon roll dough with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with sour apple, lemon juice, caramel corn, fresh baked cornbread, ginger, cloves and raw cinnamon roll dough. The nose started out promising with sweets, citrus, floral and medium spices before the taste that has an enjoyable mouthfeel but unfortunately turns into a sour patch kid style of whiskey that starts sweet then turns sour quickly before fading to barrel spices and raw cinnamon roll that finishes with a mix of sour, sweet and doughy. Overall, a pretty enjoyable pour but no where near some of their incredible single cask offerings by Lost Lantern that I’ve tried and certainly doesn’t seem fitting to be called World’s Best Bourbon 2020. A huge Texas size thank you to @ctbeck11 for the generous pour of this one.

The bottle for the review is the mini bottle that is bottled up at 40%, but the full bottle is bottled up at 43%. As I’m not about to spend $550 to $800 on a bottle without trying it first, I went for the sample that has been watered down 3%. I’m not sure who had the rationale to send out slightly watered down mini bottles to consumers considering a purchase of a full bottle, but I’m sure there was a business savvy person that came up with a shrinkflation model highlighting the ability to bottle more stock at 40% than 43%. Anyways, let’s crack this shrinkflation version of a full bottle open and find out how it tastes. The nose starts light and mellow with a bowl of frosted wheat breakfast cereal followed by fruits of golden raisins, persimmons and light grapefruit that transitions to light floral notes then to spices of black pepper, cloves and light oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a light floral caramel followed by candied pecans then fruits of golden raisins, honeydew and apricot that transition to a medium bitter spice mid-palate that slowly fades away to black pepper, ginger, cloves and ashy oak with light ethanol burn. The finish is medium length and slightly drying with golden raisins, apple, plums, whole peppercorns, ginger and ashy oak. Ugh, this is a disappointment that starts with a light nose of citrus, whole wheat cereal and light spices that carries over to the palate with the addition of light toasted nut before gravitating toward a bitter and spicy flavor that fades but re-emerges on the finish. There is no way this is worthy of that $550+ cost and much better whisky can be had for under $100. Perhaps these are their bad barrels and they put the better 25 year old stock in the higher proof version full bottle, but I certainly am not going to spend the money to find out.

So this is the follow up of the incredible 2020 version of Hazelburn 13, which is a blend of bourbon and sherry casks that is bottled at 48.6%. The nose starts with a light mix of bourbon and sherry followed by sun soaked hay along with cinnamon raisin oatmeal cookies then funky fruits of baked salty lemon, orange and poached pear before transitioning to a light peat smoke, sea water crashing over coastal rocks and vanilla cream with no ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a light mix of bourbon and sherry followed by barnyard hay then funky fruits of baked salted orange, lemon and pear before a moderate sulfur and spice come in mid-palate that overpowers but eventually fades to a light peat smoke, light minerality and vanilla extract with light ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with lingering sulfur bitterness, chocolate covered raisins, light campfire ash, ocean sea salt, and baked oranges. The nose started promising with light aromas of a mix of bourbon and sherry casks with barnyard hay, cinnamon raisin cookies, citrus fruits, light smoke and some minerality that carries over to the palate but quickly turns bitter with a sulfur and spice overload that fades but then re-emerges on the finish overpowering those funky fruits. This is sadly nowhere near the amazing 2020 version that was all oloroso casks that in a side by side really highlights the thinner mouthfeel, bitterness and off-balance of the 2021 version. I now must wait patiently and hopeful for when the 2022 version comes out to hopefully restock my ever depleting supply of Hazelburn 13.

Caledonian was a distillery I hadn’t heard of before until I happened to have a sample of a 42 year old single cask that was simply incredible and sadly found out that they had closed back in 1988. I then purchased this 44 year old which was distilled in April 1976, aged in a refill-hogshead (guessing ex-bourbon) and bottled in April 2020 at 52.8% hoping this would be close or even better than that 42 year old. This will be one of the oldest whiskies I’ve had the pleasure to taste, so I’m excited to open this one up and find out. The nose starts with floral notes of honeysuckle and orange blossom along with a pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt then a mix of cereal and fruit with Apple Jacks cereal, peach ring candy, lemon macaroons then roasted macadamia nuts and vanilla gelato followed by very light oak spices of a whole cinnamon stick, dill and freshly fallen autumn leaves along a hiking trail with light ethanol burn. The taste starts with a honeycomb waxy mouthfeel that coats your mouth starting with floral notes of honeysuckle and orange blossom along with a pinch of sea salt then fruit notes of green apple airhead, caramelized peaches over vanilla custard, lemon gum drop candy then comes macadamia nut butter followed a mild tannic spice mixed with fronds of dill and freshly brewed black tea that slowly fades to antique leather armchair with light ethanol burn. The finish is long with honey suckle, orange blossom, roasted macadamia nut butter, vanilla madeleine cookie, honeycomb, mandarin orange slices, caramelized peaches and antique leather armchair that lingers for minutes. This is a delicious whisky that has aged well through the 44 years in the cask that starts with an aromatic mix of florals, toasted cereal, candied citrus fruits, nuts and mild oak that carries over to the palate but has a very mild bitterness mid-palate before dissipating into the long finish that brings back the pleasant mix from the nose and lingers for minutes. I was hopeful that this might be as good or even exceed my prior independent bottled single cask Caledonian experience, but that first single cask offering seemed to provide a better balance of flavors that flowed effortlessly with no bitterness compared to this one. Alas, this will likely be my last purchase of a Caledonian whisky, but it’s still an enjoyable pour that I can share with friends and talk about tasting a closed distillery.

After trying the Smoke Wagon small batch, I was curious to find out how their uncut and unfiltered offering compared to it. Thankfully @Scott_E was very generous and provided me with a sample of batch 50. The nose starts with a thick rich caramel along with a medium oak spice that fades to notes of Girl Scout Samoas followed by grilled oranges, dehydrated mangos and cinnamon apple fritter then spices of nutmeg, cloves, dill, fresh picked spearmint leaf, worn leather and rich oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a thick caramel coating rich mouthfeel starting with a s’mores sandwich followed by fruits orange push pop, mango lassi and apple coffee cake before a high and drying spice that then transitions to spices of ginger, dill, clove, nutmeg, fresh picked spearmint leaf, leather and medium tannic oak with a high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with Samoas cookies, honeycomb, orange zest, toasted walnuts, apple coffee cake, ginger, clove leather and drying but polished oak. This is a vast improvement from the small batch that really ramps the flavors up from light to bold traditional bourbon notes along with some tropical fruits and rye spices that veers towards a highly dry spice on the mid-palate before fading to moderate tannic oak and finishing medium length with those enjoyable traditional bourbon notes reemerging with a bit of a dry oak spice. Doing a side by side with my Bardstown Goodwood Walnut brown ale finish, it was close but the Smoke Wagon is a bit more spice and tannic oak than the Bardstown. I then did a side by side with my Barrell 15 year 2021 edition and they were equals which is impressive for an $80 to hold up against a $220 bottle. A solid offering from Smoke Wagon, but as these are batch varieties they could vary wildly.

After trying a few “craft” distilleries lately, I’m excited to dive into this NDP that sourced their whiskey from MGP. Craft distilleries can sometimes be a pleasant surprise, but lately their craftiness has left my tongue feeling like a guest enjoying the festivities at Guantánamo Bay. Now MGP isn’t always done well and can have some off flavors in certain bottles but they normally produce solid enjoyable whiskey which is why they basically exist in an infinite amount of names and bottle packages. So let’s find out how the fine folks at Smoke Wagon did with their MGP offering. The nose starts with chocolate covered pinwheel cookies followed by burnt orange peel and caramel cinnamon apple fritter then spices of nutmeg, cloves, light spearmint and roasted chestnuts with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a rich caramel covered s’mores sandwich followed by fruits of apple peel and orange zest before a medium spice before finally transitioning to barrel spices of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, light spearmint chewing gum and light oak with a medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with toasted marshmallow, walnuts, graham cracker, chocolate, orange, apple coffee cake and light oak spice. This isn’t a very complex whiskey, but a well-executed young bourbon that adds a toasted marshmallow flavor to traditional bourbon flavors with light rye that is incredibly easy to drink without any tannic bitterness or youthful astringency, but won’t result in any wow factor. Thankfully this MGP sourced bourbon was more of a camping adventure sitting by a nice fire while shoving a caramel square into the marshmallow prior to roasting than some heinous craft swill that should only be used to pull secrets out of dangerous villains by Jack Bauer. Doing a side by side with my Nulu toasted bourbon (also MGP) that was aged for 5 years and 2 months, this is basically the same whiskey but I get a little more rye on the Smoke Wagon. Since a Nulu costs $70 and the Smoke Wagon is closer to $50, I’m not sure the point of taking a chance to get the same, slightly better or worse whiskey in Nulu single barrel form for the extra $20. I’d just play it safe and grab the Smoke Wagon. A big thanks to @jonwilkinson7309 for the generous sample.

For a brother’s reunion, I came packed with a plethora of bottles to keep our palates engaged and satisfied; however, I did not grasp that since we hadn’t seen each other in several years that we would all be quite parched. The cornucopia of bottles I brought was quickly consumed and an expedition to a variety of liquor stores ensued to find a necessary resupply. After several disappointing stops, we finally located a liquor store with a decent selection of options, the clerk then noticed me browsing their selection and tried to upsell me on a bottle of Horse Soldier Commander 13 year at $700 or Very Olde St. Nick “Ancient Estate '' 13 year at $500 stating that 13 years makes “smooth” bourbon and then I saw this lowly Barrell 15 year for a bargain basement price compared to those two at $220. I quickly replied “if 13 years is smooth than surely 15 years is incredibly smooth” and thanked the gentleman for his advice while noticing a slightly saddened brow as I made my way to the checkout with the obviously smoother discount bourbon. So how does this one taste, let’s find out. The nose is rich and syrupy starting with Hershey’s dark chocolate syrup poured on vanilla ice cream inside a waffle cone then candied pecans along with fruits of sautéed tender cinnamon caramel apples, sour cherry jelly and orange sherbet leading to espresso, spearmint, cloves, a dash of ginger, leather and old polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with chocolate covered pecan clusters followed by cinnamon apple fritters, sour cherry jelly on whole wheat toast and smarties candy that then transition to red hot candy that fades to espresso, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, spearmint, leather and slightly tannic oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with apple fritters, toasted coconut, bit-o-honey candy, orange push pop, high percentage dark chocolate, espresso, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, leather and slightly tannic oak. Barrell has put together a very delicious bourbon that starts with a syrupy rich nose with traditional bourbon notes of fruits, chocolate, nuts, espresso and well-aged oak that carries over to the taste with a lighter mouthfeel than I expected starting with chocolate, caramel and candied nuts before citrus that turns slightly chalky before a medium spice leading to espresso and barrel spices that turn mildly sour and dry with tannic oak that finishes long with some rich traditional bourbon flavors with a mild chalky tannic oak that throws off the finish but lingers for what seems like forever. For me, this seems like a step down from the 2020 that came in at 52.45% compared to the 2021 at 50.2% causing a thinner mouthfeel and the wood isn’t nearly as balanced as the 2020 causing a slightly tannic oak instead of the polished mahogany I got on the 2020. This is still a very good whiskey that we all enjoyed, but at $200+ there are better options out there and I wish there was a Cowboy, Kentucky Owl Bourbon Batch 10 or a Saint Cloud 7 year available at that liquor store that day.

To finish up my Blanton’s series, I got a sample from TWE of the Blanton’s SFTB that has a hefty 64.8%. These appear to be costing $150 at retail but the secondary has jumped that price up to $300+. The nose starts with a thick dense caramel with high oak spice followed by pecan covered cinnamon rolls along with fruits of fresh baked apples, Morello cherry jam and freshly peeled blood orange then vanilla gelato that transition to a Mexican spiced hot chocolate along with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, vintage leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The taste is a viscous mouthfeel starting with a thick dense caramel with high oak spice followed by pecan covered cinnamon rolls along with fruits of fresh baked apples, pears, cherries jubilee and blood orange juice then vanilla gelato with dark Hershey’s chocolate syrup that transitions to a high and drying spice that fades to barrel spices of ginger, cloves, nutmeg, sage, leather and tannic oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with thick caramel-covered candy apples, cherries jubilee, dark chocolate, mandarin orange peel, burnt marshmallow, ginger, cloves, sage, over-steeped black tea and drying tannic oak. The nose on this is incredible with all those traditional bourbon flavors ramped up to a 10 with some spicy hot chocolate which carries over to the taste but unfortunately brings in a high spice and dryness on the mid-palate that fades slightly to barrel spices before the long finish that starts fruity with those traditional notes but quickly veers towards a tannic high spice that overpowers those fruit flavors. I tried adding water which sometimes lowers those spice elements but it didn’t matter how much water I added as that spice on the mid-palate and dry finish remained for me. Side by side with the Gold and SFTB, for me the Gold is the better whiskey that has a better balance without those tannic dry flavors that I’ve found on the Original, Black and the SFTB. Shockingly, I thought this would be my favorite out of the Blanton’s lineup but it turns out that this will finish second place. The final rankings are Blanton’s Gold (4.0), SFTB (3.75), Original (3.0) and Black (2.5).

To continue on my Blanton’s series, I managed to get a sample from TWE of the Blanton’s Gold. These appear to be costing $120 at retail but the secondary has jumped that price up to $300+. The nose starts with a thick caramel with medium oak spice followed by candied nuts along with fruits of fresh baked cinnamon apple pie, cooked down cherry sauce and freshly peeled blood orange then vanilla meringue cookies that transition to a medium spice along with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, leather and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with caramel with medium oak spice followed by fruits of fresh baked cinnamon apple pie, cooked down cherry sauce and freshly peeled blood orange then vanilla meringue cookies that transition to a medium spice along with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, leather and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long with thick caramel-covered candy apples, chocolate syrup, mandarin oranges, toasted marshmallow, ginger, cloves, leather and polished oak. Wow, what a difference that additional 5% has made on this whiskey that has intensified those normal Blanton’s notes while bringing some candied nuts and cherry to join the fun. I’m not sure if it was the additional proof or that these are just better barrel selects for the gold line but those drying oak spices that I got on the Original and Black have been replaced with high end leather, polished oak and a long thick Kentucky hug of a caramel finish that lasts for minutes. This is absolutely worth the msrp price, but definitely not the secondary price that these are selling at. If you’re willing to spend $300, I’d recommend Kentucky Owl batch 10, Garrison Brothers Cowboy or Barrell 15 year which are all better bourbons in that price range.