Tastes

Had this at the local neighborhood bar. $9/pour (which is like a 3-4 oz pour). I’d say I made out okay. The whiskey in the bottle was good from what I remember. For $27 i was feeling good when I got home.

Not sure where all the low scores are coming from for this American Single Malt that's put out by High West? Opened this last night while i was feeling pretty toasty already and couldn't believe how delicious this smelled. The scent is intoxicating maltiness that gives the vibe of a malty cereal with some fruitiness added in. Oh my love the smell!! The mouthfeel is very soft and really coats my mouth with similar notes that the scent gives off. I swished this one around for awhile on each sip to really enjoy what this single malt has to offer. Finally in the end it goes down easy. The proof really gives this a chance to taste the flavors rather than burn your tongue off like the high proof bourbons and ryes do. Overall if you enjoy American single malts this is a nice one to have a bottle of. The price to me is a bit high for what it is but it's not too far out of line being that it's not a year round bottle on the shelf. If you like Stranahan's then give this one a shot. I was really wishing after i opened it that i still had some of my last stranahan store pic lying around. Oh well guess i need to go find another to compare. 10/14/22

Well I kinda wish I had a bottle of Dickel rye sitting in my shelf right now to try side by side because this smells exactly like it. Not a bad pour. Just enough sweet, spice, and dill to keep me coming back for another taste. But what i do have sitting in the shelf I can compare, is Sagamore Cask Strength Rye….. Well trying these back to back is pretty interesting because I wasn’t super impressed with the Sag but for the price I got it on clearance from a closing liquor store I was happy. So a little research and Sag is also MGP rye, so how do they compare? First sip SAOS 56.8%ABV. Spicy rye tiny bit of sweet lots of spearmint. You can tell this one is young but it’s not terrible at all. Next sip Sag 57%ABV. Very similar but more muted flavors. There’s definitely no spearmint but the overall flavor profile is very very similar. So which would I choose? It’s a toss up they are both similar but the SAOS has more of a spicy rye flavor to it so really it’s what you’re in the mood for that day. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Would I buy it again for $50? Probably not just because there are so many selections out there around the same price point to try out. But if someone asked me if it was worth trying at a bar I’d say yes if it’s a reasonable price per pour. I sure wish I was able to try the older SAOS bottles that were apparently amazing. Oh well maybe in another 10 years we’ll see them around again. 10/11/22

Well I found this one at least a year ago and have had it open for at least 6 months. Hard to come by any versions of 1792 besides the small batch and full proof here in good ol’ Florida where everything is allocated or snatched up by the taters. So with that out of the way let’s get started….. Smell is sweet bourbon and inviting. Nothing off the charts but reminded me of the small batch version, maybe even better. Taste is where I just feel like this is nothing more than well….average. I see the reviews about how much they love the BIB version and it’s so much better etc., etc. I’m just not getting anything more than an ordinary bourbon. Honestly if someone said “hey what’s the one bottle you could buy that could represent the taste of ‘bourbon’?” this would be it. Not excellent, definitely not horrible or dislikable, just….average. 🤷🏻‍♂️ I was looking forward to this bottle since I enjoyed the other two versions I just mentioned above but this one was just not worth an extra $10 over small batch. 10/4/22

I had high hopes for this knowing the availability, price, and my previous experience with Dickel products. Unfortunately I just don’t like this bottle. It has a flavor that is unlike any other Dickel product I’ve had and not in a good way. If you’re looking for a good daily affordable drinker then look elsewhere if you have similar taste as mine (see reviews) because this is just not enjoyable. I’m 3/4 through this bottle and just can’t get behind it. 😔 9/10/22

So lately I've been getting to the bottom of some bottles i've been working on for way too long and just keep forgetting to post reviews on them. Today I finally killed this bottle of B521 and while I'm an Elijah Craig fan as it's what i consider my "go-to" or "daily drinker" I just can't say this is the best batch i've had. Sure, it's good, it's got that ECBP oaky char taste that got me to love the line of Elijah but it's not anywhere near the great taste I've experienced with some other batches they've released. So in typical bourbon fashion and to post the obligatory specs on this I'll give it quick run-through. Appearance - Do i really give a shit what a bourbon looks like? It's got that copper brown color like they all do. Am i color/hue expert no? When i try gins, vodkas, or blanco tequilas do i rate them on color? No, so my rating for this bourbon on appearance is "it looks like a damn bourbon/whiskey and i don't really care". Scent/smell - Smell is very nice. Oaky char with a hint of marshmallow that is so unique to the Elijah Craig label. Love it IMO there is nothing that has the same smell. Maybe because i've been through so many bottles of EC small batch but i could pick it out of a blind lineup any day (similar to how Beam has a unique scent). Scent is very pleasing for this one. Taste - Typical of an Elijah Craig but i get some alcohol tones that i just don't really care for in this one. It's a lower proof release but it's just not that flavorful and as i write this i lowered my score by .25 thinking about that. Typically these barrel proofs will have a lot of heat but followed by a ton of flavor. This one just doesn't have the follow up like most so i just can't love it. Overall this was not my favorite release and i feel the scores are influenced by the troves of new bourbonphiles that don't understand what the older releases tasted like before Heaven Hill became a sellout giving stores single barrel picks everywhere. I can now find store pick barrel proofs at about 10-12 stores locally all priced close to $90 which is exactly what I hoped EC wouldn't turn into. I fear the normal releases they put out 3 times a year aren't going to be as good as some of the barrels they may sell to stores unfortunately but I'm not going to find out by buying 10 bottles at $90 a piece to find out. 9/8/22

Reading the reviews here and it seems that the word has got out on this one. I’ve been making this my go to for quite some time now. It’s the best bottle for the buck IMO. I used to think EW white label had that title but for a few bucks more you get a much better whiskey for the few extra dollars shelled out. Id almost venture out and say it’s better than the standard Elijah small batch with its very similar proof. 9/2/22

Can’t believe I forgot to rate this one individually. This was one that I was excited for but let down. As a huge ECBP fan the proof was really high and I was scared and for rightful reason. This one is a hot mofo!! Good/great flavors but needs to be about 10-15 pts lower on the proof scale to really be enjoyable. Add some ice and you really get the oak and char out of it. Very nice strong flavors from the barrels. My rating is based on this neat. If I were to rate it on a large cube of ice it would be closer to a 4.25 ⭐️ I love the variation of all the Elijah seasonal barrel proofs but this one didn’t hit all the marks for me when drinking beat which is how I rate them and “prefer” to drink them. B520 still has my heart as best batch ever though. 9/1/22