Tastes

Batch: 77 Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Grapes & floral notes with a hint of cinnamon. Palate: Thin mouthfeel, more grapes. Finish: Long but not very warm. Overall 6/10 - Surprisingly long finish for such low (88) proof. Not very complex, but very sweet and full of grape flavor. May improve with a splash or on the rocks (not yet tried). Edit: tried on the rocks. Very nice, still sweet with strong grapes, shorter finish.

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: light-medium amber. Nose: sweet with vanilla and bread notes. Palate: bread, with caramel and a hint of banana. Finish: medium-short with minimal heat. Overall 6/10 - not a daily drinker, probably fine for cocktails.

Glass; Glencairn rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium amber. Nose: Vanilla and a hint of rum. Palate: Vanilla, leather, a bit of peat smoke Finish: Warm, medium-long, with more leather. Overall: 8/10 - One of my favorite expressions from Balvenie. The aging in rum casks imparts a sweetness that's a nice compliment to the leather and peat. Very smooth, nice finish.

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Beautiful dark amber. Nose: Floral with apples and berries. Palate: Peppery leather and oak, with a touch of floral notes. Finish: A long Kentucky hug. Overall: 7.5/10 - a splash of water doesn’t reveal any new flavors. This is the first expression I’ve tried from Barton 1792. Drinks well on the rocks.

Glass: glencairn, rested for 15 minutes. Nose: vanilla, caramel, toffee. Palate: cinnamon, Apple, basically an apple pie. Finish: leather and a long, warm hug. Overall: 9/10. Glad I found one at less than secondary price. They're out there!

Color: dark amber. Nose: almonds and baking spice. Palate: spice forward, strong almond flavor. Finish: warm lingering spice. 8.5/10- First taste of Heaven's Door. Will definitely try others. EDIT: I find myself going back to this quite often for the mouthfeel. It's thicker than most bourbons and quite pleasant.

Color: medium amber. Nose: caramel and apples. Palate: toffee and a bit of cinnamon. Finish: medium with a little heat. 7.5/10 - Table and Vine store pick, West Springfield MA. Overall, not much different from the standard BT.

Glass: glencairn. Color: gorgeous dark amber. Nose: bread and baking spice. Palate: baking spice and lots of cinnamon. Finish: warm with lots of cinnamon that lingers long. A solid 9/10. May get even better as it breathes.

Color: dark amber. Nose: sweet, with earthy notes. Palate: still sweet, definite marshmallow notes. Finish: warm and sweet. Lingers nicely. Overall: 8.5/10. I'm not quite tasting the chocolate but the marshmallow is hard to miss.

Nose: apples and berries, but not cloyingly sweet. Palate: leather and baking spice. Very little fruit. Finish: lingering bread and more leather. Solid.