Tastes

This was a gift from a student many years ago. I don't have tasting notes, but I recall loving every single taste.

Compared to the universe of bourbon this is a three-star. There are better wheated bourbons out there, including Maker's 46 and Larceny. However, standard Maker's Mark is smooth, available, approachable, and always reliable. Like 137% of all whiskey drinkers, this is the one that introduced me to bourbon. It may very well be the best first bourbon, and for many people it could be the only bourbon they ever drink. For this reason, call it nostalgia, I gave it an extra star.

Even though I'm giving this only two stars, I didn't hate it. It is just very one-dimensional -- syrupy sweet. The effect of the stout barrel shifts the profile into an unusual direction that makes it unique. I recommend trying a taste before buying your own bottle. For me, I'd take another bottle, but I have a lot more bourbons to try before I would cycle back to this one.

Bold, yet smooth. This is not a complex bourbon, but it is sweet, with spicy cola and root beer notes. It is the best of the bottom shelf, and is better than many at twice or more the price. It's what I buy when I'm buying for myself.

The best MGP sourced bourbon blend I have tasted so far. The folks at Nelson's Greenbrier know how to pick good barrels.

I don’t have tasting notes from my last bottle, but I do have a memory of my issues drinking it. For some reason, it is highly glassware dependent. In most glasses (glencairn, highball) this was always bad to mediocre. The same was true with ice and water additions. Eventuality I tried it neat in a small snifter, and found it consistently to be one of my favorite bourbons. Weird, huh?

Wife bought it for the cool bottle. This is a very unusual bourbon. It is thin, with more wood than char on the nose. Forward taste is sweet spice, with a sour aftertaste that leaves a pleasant linger. Later tastes are dominated by sweetness, but the sweet/sour clash remains. This bourbon has multiple personalities. Other reviews are bimodal, with strong love/hate camps. I find myself in both. One day, a neat dram is a disaster. The next day, it is a delight. I found my most successful pours with a little ice. If it were half the price, I'd give it three stars. I have to knock one down because is it far too expensive for what it is. The bottle *is* cool, though. I may make a desk lamp out of it.