Tastes

Alabama ABC (Birmingham) store pick. Barrel was from warehouse K, floor 3. I'm very happy with this store pick. This bottle was sweet and spicy. I don't get the cherry notes typically mentioned in OF reviews, but I do get baked sweetness with a cinnamon spiciness. The nose is barrel-forward, and the barrel remains assertive throughout tasting without dominating the experience. This bourbon is, for lack of a better description, very "bright". I would describe it as fruity, but I can't pick out specific fruit flavors. This easily could be an everyday drinker. It's certainly a summer drinker.

I used to hate this because it had a grassy taste I couldn't abide. I just tried a mini to see how my tastes have changed, and I have to admit I like it much better than I remember. I get no grassy taste. There is not a great deal of flavor, with little to no wood or char flavor or aroma. However, there is a honey nose and a pleasant toasted grain flavor with a sweet finish hinting of banana. I can see it being somebody's standard, even if it's not mine.

Slightly medicinal nose. Initial taste is dry. Overall very balanced. All classic bourbon flavors are present, but none particularly stand out. Easy to drink and satisfying.

Not so much bad as nothing there. Nose of ethanol and little else. Tastes hot at first, with the slightest weird vegetal flavor. Finishes with slight bitterness. It brags of being smooth...not hard to do when there's nothing there.

I had just a taste, but it’s one of the best I’ve had. Sweet, super smooth, and full-bodied. I wish I had a bottle.

Nose of oak and peppermint transitions to vanilla and spearmint after a while. First taste is hot ethanol wrapped around a creamy, smooth, full-bodied center. Alcohol dissipates quickly, leaving fresh oak, sweet fruit, slight baby aspirin, mint, and light clove. The finish is long and satisfying, mostly oak and clove. A little water mutes the flavor too much, leaving mainly cola flavor and a shorter, oak and cola finish. There is no dill aroma or flavor. Clove is not nearly as pronounced as the 95% ryes from MGP. This is a complex and satisfying dram. I’m looking forward to finishing the bottle.