Tastes

Been wanting to try one of the Bookers collection bottles for some time now so when I saw this one last year I picked it up. Finally polished off enough open bottles in my bar to justify opening a new one so here goes… First thought upon taking a whiff is wow that’s definitely a Knob Creek product. Smells so good. Anyone who says peanuts/peanut brittle is spot on! Smells so good. I tried this right after a Calumet 14 and this blew it away. The taste is everything Beam you would want and expect from it. Very similar to the KC 120 bottles but in my opinion a step up. If you want to splurge and get the fancy box and bottle with wax to impress your non-whiskey drinking friends go for it. This to me is a great whiskey but the price for me is a tad higher than I like to spend on a bottle. I try to limit myself to $60-70 but this was on my list to try for quite some time so I’m glad I splurged. 4/4/22

I lucked out and found this one on the shelf a couple months ago. Called a friend and he bought one also. This particular bottle’s proof is at a staggering 143.3 proof🔥🔥. Since being able to get my hands on last years special release this one was high in my priority list and it did not disappoint. If you’ve tried the regular JDSBBP then you know what you’re in for already. So imagine that plus some extra heat. When I say this is one of the most complex fire breathing whiskeys I’m not kidding. It is soooo complex. The flavors shoot out one after another but the most prominent is the banana’s foster. The viscosity is unbelievable. I love this bottle and wish I could make it last forever. Unfortunately I can’t and I won’t be paying secondary either so my liver wins this situation I guess. If you get/got lucky and have a bottle of this you’re holding onto because you think it’s going to be worth a million dollars one day I suggest open it and enjoy it instead. It’s that good (not million dollar good, but it’s still great). The hype was real on this one. JD is putting out some great product. Backdated 2-10-22

I’ve had this bottle for quite some time and it’s been open for at least 4-5 months maybe longer. I cannot figure out all the high marks for this bottle. Is it good, yes. Is it bad, no definitely not. I find it to be just above average especially when comparing it to other Maker’s offerings. For example I have a cask strength I tried side by side and I think I prefer the CS which is damn near the same proof at 109.4. I find it to be in line with most other MM offerings. Maybe my next pickup will be a MM 46 CS since I haven’t had that one yet. Again I can’t recommend against this bottle but I wouldn’t seek it out either. 3/25/22

I ran into this one at a total wine and for the price and ABV figured I’d give it a shot. I really like this bourbons flavor. If I had one complaint it would be that the finish is very short. One of my favorites is ECBP due to the long, lingering finish that stays for quite a while on the palette. Overall for a bottle that is easily found I would recommend this to anyone. 12/5/2021

9/2/21 After having the initial release of this Dickel BIB series and loving it I had to grab the latest one. So let’s start it by saying I opened this bottle right after I opened a bottle of the Dickel 8 bourbon and tried this back to back against it. So how did it compare? The 13 year was to me leaps and bounds better than the 8 year bourbon. The extra 10 proof points, the extra 5 years, the additional $10 well spent…. Yes it’s much better. When I first tried the 8 the first thing I thought to myself was “if this was a little higher proof and a little more oaky it’d be great”. Voila! Everyone has a different palette and mine agrees with the flavor profile of Dickel product (I also liked the Willet Pot Still sample I tried🤷🏻‍♂️). So with that being said, please don’t go out and purchase this based on my very biased review. I will say that this years release of the BIB has been the best to date and I’ve liked all of them.

After reviewing this a while back and being convinced I had a bad bottle, my thoughts were confirmed. I finally decided to try another bottle of this and I’m glad I did. This bottle is so good.

Another clearance find for me. $22 for a single malt? Sure, why not. This was a pleasant surprise being such a nice light, easy going scotch. I can’t find anything complex or outstanding in this one but it’s a nice break from the bourbons. I’ve been on a scotch kick lately and revisiting this one after a few months has been a pleasure. For the price and for a single malt I’d buy again even at regular price. 4/26/21

Catching up on some reviews i never noted..... I absolutely loved this version 1792 put out. As the Distiller description put it "it is definitely for the one's who like sweeter whiskey's". Though not sweet in a sickly sweet like a Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey but sweeter whiskey flavor. I'm a fan of it and though people sell this for $100+ on secondary i don't believe it's worth that type of money. I paid retail for it and i was perfectly fine with that price. Nice whisky if you can find it. Cheers. 4/21/21

Having loved the Double Rye!! from High West and a few others they offer i finally decided to try this one. It's the entry level bourbon they offer and that shows in the flavor profile. Nothing offensive about it but also nothing notable worth writing about. This particular batch was from 17' not sure if that makes a difference like it did with the Double Rye!! (anything from 17' older is a different distillate and still one of my all time favorite whiskeys for around $30. Newer batches suck BTW.) I'm thinking this will be a bottle that is shared with friends and to make some cocktails with since there's no real "zing" to it that makes me want to drink it neat. 4/21/21