Tastes

COLOR: Goldenrod. NOSE: Not much! Hints of alcohol and spices. TASTE: A rush of warmth & heat to the roof of my mouth (I’d think it would have much more rye in the mash bill). The taste fades quickly & leaves a lingering warmth ~ underwhelming for sure; especially for a Bottled In Bond! FINISH: Warm….. again, underwhelming for what I was anxiously expecting!

NOSE: Bananas! Also, some vanilla and furfural alcohol. TASTE: Vanilla, caramel, banana, furfural, hints of leather….a soft, warm taste. FINISH: Warm, soft, kind of short…. Nothing down the throat (in other words… No “Kentucky Hug”!)

This was the first time I tried Sagamore Spirt Straight Rye. I concur with most of the Distiller Pro’s Review and Tasting Notes. My overall impression would be summed up as follows: “soft & watery-smooth”; especially for a Rye (I’m use to the strength-statements of many of the Kentucky Ryes!). It was an enjoyable drink, with NO “Kentucky Hug” after-effects. If you have someone (or yourself) who would like to “wade in” to the complexities and world of Rye bourbons & whiskeys, I suggest this one as a well represented “Entry” into it! Overall, it’s like a blind date where you conclude you may not want to date him/her again, but you had a nice time and truly enjoyed the conversations!! Rickhouse1897

This is part of the MB Roland Distillery's foundation of barrel-proof, "Grain-to-Glass" principles. The "Barker's Mill" is a B-N-B (100-proof) issue and is named after the Barker's Mill that was a centerpiece in Christian County, Pembroke, Kentucky. APPEARANCE: Dark Amber in color and the "Legs" produce beautiful sheets of 100-proof bourbon upon the swirl in a Glencairn Glass. NOSING: Very Corn-based (MB Roland uses exclusive, locally-grown KY white corn); but I also picked up hints of smoke, tobacco & leather, along with the Production Aroma of Butyl Alcohol. I believe these smells are accented by the fact that it is 100-proof bourbon. TASTING: Not much on the tip of the tongue, but mid-tongue and upon the "chew",I got flavors of cinnamon bread with vanilla & brown spices. These flavors came rushing forward on my mid-tongue and into the roof & back of my mouth. The "base-line" taste that accelerates these flavors forward is fueled by an alcohol taste, may be attributable to the 100-proof, but definitely not masked by the other flavors from the barrel aging. I would like to know where these barrels were pulled from in the MB Roland Rickhouse. FINISH: There is a kick of rye/alcohol that impacts the back of the throat after the initial chew, but there was not a pronounced "Kentucky Hug" on the way down. Nonetheless, I was left with a nice "warming" sensation on the throat that lasted a while. All in all, a very enjoyable taste and one I would definitely return to for a sipper and a repeat of an enjoyable drinking experience. If you are "negative" on some of the other MB Roland styles (thinking of the MB Roland Dark-Fired (which I, personally like), I believe you will find Barker's Mill to be a wonderful surprise and a very enjoyable drinking experience! Cheers ~ Rickhouse 1897

On the NOSE: Caramel, Vanilla & some hints of Acetone. As you swirl it in a Glencarin glass, the “Legs” on it are beautiful…thick and well defined with a lingering remembrance every time you look at the glass! On the TASTE: Alcohol hits me first (96.6 proof), then a transition to warm vanilla & caramel. The warmth lingers in the roof & back of my mouth. On the FINISH: I’m left with warmth within my mouth. No significant warmth or finish going down my throat; in other words, “No Kentucky Hug” like you’d get from family. On the SUBSEQUENT TASTES: I get more & more creaminess and caramel/vanilla come into prominence. In short, this is a quality sipper that becomes more enjoyable to me with each sip…(which can be dangerous!). Overall, the 12 years in the barrel makes its mark (not, “maker’s mark”) and is worthy of drinking and adding to my “Rickhouse”!

To the Eye: A light(er) Amber color. When swirled in glencarin glass, the “legs” are smooth, and run down in slightly thick sheets. The Nose: Not a strong nosing. It took awhile to notice hints of grass, wheat grains. The Taste: Sweet & Spicy; which verifies what is imprinted on the back of the bottle: “A Meticulously Balanced Sweet And Spicy Bourbon”. Subsequent tastes begin to subtly reveal vanilla and impressions of warm, soft creamy bread with sweet cream butter. The Rye dances with the softer, sweet tastes upon the initial intakes of sips, but then the Rye darts to the roof & towards the back of my mouth, noticeably warming these areas of my mouth. The Finish: I’m left with the imprint of the Rye’s warmth in the back areas of my mouth. The spice and sweetness have since disappeared, and the soft warmth remains. All in all, a nice bourbon, but not at the $106.00 price. If your a collector, this might be one for the sake of its smoothness and “sweet & spicy” collaboration.

This is a quality bourbon in my opinion. It gets its name from the street address of the distillery, Green River Distillery located in beautiful Owensboro, Kentucky. It’s nice when the Master Distiller (Jacob Call) is humble yet confident enough to reveal the bourbon’s Mash Bill right on the label. It’s 70% corn; 21%winter rye; and 9% malted barley. The barrel stave’s char is #4 (again,disclosed on the label). Also, at 92 proof, it is a bourbon of solid strength, but not hot or overwhelming. The NOSE features corn, vanilla & caramel, complemented by hints of cherry…reminds me of a fresh, warm & inviting danish sweet roll. A deeper exploration of the senses reveal the Production Aromas of a dusting of Acetone and a sprinkling tease of Furfural (Furfural has the aromas of caramel, chocolate, vanilla, toast & almond). The TASTE is vanilla & cinnamon butter on the front, then the 21% rye makes itself known by accelerating that taste to the back & upper roof of your mouth and transforming the sweetness into a smooth but pronounced “spice”. Somewhat analogous to eating a piece of creamy candy that later exposes the hot cinnamon stored deep inside of it. The FINISH is also very good as the cinnamon spice fades and invites the smooth and creamy tastes of vanilla, caramel and cinnamon stick to come back for a smooth, soft and long-lasting encore to what I experienced as a wonderful sipping bourbon that doesn’t need water to tame it. However, should you decide to subsequently pull out your refrigerator-stored bottle of fresh Limestone water and add but 2 or 3 medicine dropper drops into your Glencarin glass & gently swirl it, then sip it again, I found the taste of cherries amplify into my mouth for another enjoyable experience! Cheers! Rickhouse1897 (aka Todd R., Durham, NC)

On my nose, any flavors of bananas are significantly masked over by the alcohols of Ethyl Acetate. The good news for the Rye Whiskey taster is that on the sip the acidic notes do the “switcher-oo” with the bananas and this fruit permits the introduction of cherry into the taste, enveloped with the veil of “earthy tones” coloring the empty spaces of a Rye Whiskey-Lover’s pallet. These flavors roil within the Taster’s mouth and abruptly, but smooth and warmly hesitate and delightfully hang on the precipice dividing the joys of the mouth from the “Kentucky-Hug” warmth of the throat. In other words, NOT a long finish but the mouth lingers in the alcohol warmth of this Whistle Pig Rye ~ 10 Year Rye Whiskey. I like it!

I found the Calumet farm 12 year black to be earthy & grassy on the nose, with hints of herbal and vanilla notes. There is an acidic hint also on the nose of acetone. The acidity and alcohol are much more prevalent on the taste, as these elements rush to the roof & back of my mouth. Unfortunately the finish is short & leaves me somewhat “hollow” in remembering what I tasted. In sum, an OK “drinker”, but not at the price point. In short, too pedestrian to pay up for, in my humble opinion.