Tastes

I got this bottle at Total Wine, where a fifth cost me $42.99. As a bottled in bond whisky it's 100 proof, and is a dark copper color in the glass. It's 7 years old, with a mash bill of 78% corn, 12% rye, and 10% barley. NOSE: When I nosed the whisky I got smoke right off - it reminded me of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof in that one respect. Next came caramel, butter, brown sugar, and the pleasant smell of the lumber from an old barn. MOUTHFEEL: Smooth, and slightly thin. TASTE: The first note was brown sugar, though cinnamon was nearly there, rushing in second. Then I got honey butter, powdered sugar, red pepper, and a hint of artificial lemon. FINISH: The finish is medium in length, and begins with a little mint, then brings in cinnamon, and ends with chocolatey oak. SUMMARY: I think a better price would be a couple of dollars lower, or perhaps a higher proof would bring the quality up to what I paid. But a couple of dollars is not a lot of money, and so this is going to be just a quibble. This is good bourbon. I'm glad I bought it, and while it's not certain, I just may buy it again. RATING: On my hick scale, which has 1 at the bottom and 8 at the top, this comes in at 7 Fine. This is the same as 4.375 stars, 87.5/100, or 8.75/10.

I found extremely little information about the mash bill. I only found one place which gave percentages, and I discounted it because it omitted entirely one of the four grains. The other place I found information on the mash bill was Oregon Spirit's own site, which didn't give any percentages, but said that it contains corn, rye, wheat, and sprouted barley. I had expected to find wheat in the mash bill, because this whisky gives me notes that recent experience has associated in my mind with wheat whisky or a high wheat bourbon. The bottle cost me $44.99 at Total Wine. It's 94 proof, has a four year age statement, and in the glass is a dark copper color. NOSE: When I nosed the whisky I immediately got honey and mint mixed. There was a faint butter note sliding underneath, and then as I continued to nose the whisky I got notes of mint chocolate chip ice cream, a pine forest, and a warmth that spread over anything. Everything I got on the nose, I got before I took the first sip; this is unusual, because normally after I have a sip or two I can get a little more from the nose. MOUTHFEEL: Buttery. TASTE: It began with a light honey note, then a light cinnamon, and then peppermint, black pepper, and brown sugar. Both the nose and the palate are unique in my experience - while they resemble both Oregon Spirit wheat whisky and Redemption wheated bourbon, they're not identical. FINISH: The finish is medium long, though the length is merely the slow fading of the last note. I got first a generalized spice, then mint, eucalyptus, and black pepper. SUMMARY: This is a fantastic whisky. It's a four grain bourbon, with characteristics of bourbon, rye, and wheat whisky. It's worth every penny of the 45 bucks I paid, and I highly recommend it. RATING: My hick scale has eight levels, counting from the bottom, and this comes in at 7, Right Fine. This equates to 4.375 stars, 87.5/100, or 8.75/10. I think the only thing that it would take to move this up to the highest level would be more age or more proof (and there is a bottled in bond expression, which I've not tried, but I expect to be excellent).

I have to congratulate Redemption for putting information on the label. I most want to know the mash bill and the age, and both are on this label. Why other whiskies don't do this I have no clue - at least, I have no clue about why they don't openly tell you what the mash bill is, since knowing that won't help you steal their recipe. I can understand, perhaps, why a whisky doesn't have an age statement - there's the deal with Knob Creek when, due to demand, they couldn't guarantee that everything in the bottle would be at least 9 years old, so for a short time they omitted the age statement. But mostly it's a simple courtesy to the person buying the bottle to provide this basic information. But on to the whisky itself. It's 88 proof, which I've come to regard as pretty low for a bourbon; I want my whisky 90 proof or better. I suspect that what I saw below would be more complimentary if the proof were 90 or 100. The mash bill is 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley. This is a two year old whisky, the minimum age for a straight whisky under American law, and a fifth cost me $29.99 at Kelly Liquors. In the glass it's a golden copper color. NOSE: First I got just a sensation of grain. Then came honey with a faint sourness, a little mint, and an earthy note. Usually I can get more after a sip or two, but with this juice what I got from the beginning is all I ever got. MOUTHFEEL: Thin, but slightly creamy. TASTE: The first note was spicy honey, with next something that made me think of lemon cough drops, though when I tried to focus on it the note slithered away. There was definitely cinnamon, and a hint of dark chocolate. FINISH: All I got on the finish was honey and dark chocolate, and it was a remarkably short finish too. SUMMARY: This juice needs more proof and more time. For an 88 proof, 2 year old whisky it's good, but there's better stuff out there for $30. I like this bourbon, but there's better available, and I probably won't buy this again. RATING: My hick scale gives it a 4 (counting from the bottom), which is Okay. That equates to 2.5 stars, 50/100, or 5/10.

I reviewed this whisky in August of 2022, but I hadn't had any since I finished that bottle, and back then I didn't even have quite a year's experience, whereas now I have a bit more than three years. So I thought I'd review this again, with a palate that's better able to evaluate whisky. This is a Heaven Hill whisky. The mash bill is 51% wheat (so it's a barely legal wheat whisky), 37% corn, and 12% barley. This bottle cost me $34.99 at Kelly Liquors in the Mountain Run shopping center. It's 90 proof, 7 years old, and is a golden copper color in the glass. NOSE: On the nose I get first a mintiness (I'm finding that wheat and rye are sometimes similar in their effects, at least for me), then honey, spice, butterscotch, and vanilla. After I'd had a couple of sips I got a further note of cornsilk. MOUTHFEEL: Slightly creamy. TASTE: The first impression is a mild sweetness. Then I get the specific notes of honey and butterscotch. FINISH: Medium, with oak first and then a musty note that I could do without, but isn't really bad. SUMMARY: This is a nice, gentle, approachable whisky. It would be good for introducing someone to whisky. It's not very complex - indeed, it could qualify as a simple whisky - but it is pleasing. RATING: On my hick scale, which has eight steps counting from the bottom, this comes in at 5 - Good. That's 3.125 stars, 62.5/100, or 6.25/10.

There aren't, as far as I know, a lot of wheat whiskies out there, and of those I do know of, this is the highest wheat - the mash bill is 74% wheat, 18% rye (which some consider in bourbon to be a high rye mash bill), and 8% barley. Those proportions are comparable to a lot of bourbon mashbills, though of course bourbon uses corn as the dominant grain. This whisky is 90 proof, five years old, and cost me $31.99 for a fifth at Total Wine. In the glass it's a dark copper. NOSE: The first thing is a huge burst of caramel. This is by far the dominant note. Then come a little eucalyptus, butter, honey, something that might be coconut, and something that might be Dr Pepper. That sounds like a horrible mishmash, but it's a very pleasant nose in reality. MOUTHFEEL: Average - neither conspicuously thick nor conspicuously thin. TASTE: Honey, cinnamon, a hint of eucalyptus, and caramel. FINISH: Eucalyptus, red pepper, chocolate underneath, and a lingering pepper. The first notes go away pretty quickly, but that last pepper stays for a long time. SUMMARY: This whisky is totally different from anything else I've ever had. The gentleness of the wheat lets the rye shine through, but the barley prevents the rye from dominating. Thus you get sweet and vegetal notes together in a unique and pleasant combination. This is good whiskey, and I'll absolutely buy it again. RATING: In my hick whisky scale, which numbers 1-8 from bottom to top, I give this a 6 - Fine. That's the same as 3.75 stars, 75/100, or 7.5/10.

As a wheated bourbon, this uses wheat instead of rye as the secondary grain - and it's a high wheat mash bill. It's 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% sprouted barley. In the glass it's copper colored, it's 96 proof, and according to the label it's aged at least 4 years. A fifth cost me $46.99 at the Total Wine in Uptown. NOSE: The first thing I get is smoky wood, and then some spice. After I began sipping I also got a note that seemed to be either grain or vegetal, or perhaps both, and then a musty earth note. MOUTHFEEL: Creamy. TASTE: Cinnamon and butter are the first notes to strike me. With more testing I also get honey, and a slight generic fruitiness. FINISH: Short, beginning with some gentle spice, which then turns to honey water and ends with a little red pepper. SUMMARY: This is a barely legal bourbon - just one percentage point down in the corn would've made it not a bourbon at all - and it shows. This doesn't present itself like any other bourbon I've ever had. It's gentle and mild, without the assertiveness of a higher corn mash bill. But it's more definite than the lightness of Scottish or Irish whisky, and I like it. RATING: My hick scale rates it at 6, Fine, which is near the top since my scale starts at the bottom with 1. This is 3.75 stars, 75/100, or 7.5/10.

It's taken me a while to review this one - I didn't realize I'd not reviewed it yet, and then the last time I tried, something messed up my palate so that it didn't taste right. But here I am. This bourbon has a mash bill of 73% corn, 19% rye, and 8% barley. It's 90 proof, has no age statement, and cost me $49.99 at the Kelly Liquors store in the Mountain Run shopping center. It's a nice copper color in the glass. NOSE: Smoky butterscotch, butter, and something that reminds me of a summer forest - not conifers, but deciduous trees. MOUTHFEEL: Smooth. TASTE: Honey, a little cinnamon, and a very faint hint of oak. FINISH: Spicy oak, which fades out into red pepper. The finish is medium long. SUMMARY: This whisky is better than the tasting notes might indicate. When I'm not writing a review I seem to get more from the whisky. The rating below will give you a better idea of how good this stuff is. RATING: On my hick scale this earns a 7, Right Fine, which is next to the highest rating I can give. It's equivalent to 4.375 stars, 87.5/100, or 8.75/10.

I reviewed this just over two years ago, in August of 2022. Since then I've found that putting in just a little water improves what's already great stuff, and this review is of the juice with water. This bottle cost me $22.99 at Total Wine, which is a couple or three dollars less than the previous one. It's just a pint (375ml - I don't think in metric measurements), it's 125 proof, there's no age statement since it's never been in a barrel, and in the glass it's clear. It's Buffalo Trace's mash bill #1, but other than it having the standard bourbon ingredients - corn, rye, and barley - I can't learn what that mash bill is. NOSE: It's very grain forward, which you'd expect from something straight off the still. Sometimes I can sort out the three different grains on the nose, and sometimes I can't, especially with water. There's a little mustiness also, that seems to connect mainly to the corn, a vegetal note that I presume comes from the rye, and something that makes me think of wet wood or wool. That doesn't sound terribly appetizing, but in fact I like it. MOUTHFEEL: Creamy - three or four drops of water don't materially alter this, since it's so viscous to begin with. TASTE: There's just one note, but it contains multiple things - the note is honey butter with cinnamon. FINISH: Medium, with red pepper and honey butter. SUMMARY: I find in my handwritten notes here that the date of the previous review was August 14, 2022, so it's been just over a year and a month. It took me a long time to decide to experiment with the juice, but when I first reviewed it I hadn't even been drinking whisky for a year and I didn't know what water and ice could do. Ice ruins this, but just a little water really helps (it's good without, but for some reason after the first glass from this bottle it began smelling and tasting, in the glass, like it's rotting, though from the nose of the bottle it smells and tastes fine). This is a simple whisky of necessity, since it hasn't received any benefit from aging; this is why straight from the still, the way our ancestors drank it. But it's good to begin with, and with a little water it's very good. RATING: On my hick scale I have to rate it somewhat lower than I'd like to, just because it's such a simple whisky. If it were more complex, and retained its current character otherwise, it would have a higher rating. What I gave it is the fifth on my scale (1 is the lowest, and 8 is the highest on this scale), Good. That converts to 3.125 stars, and either 62.5/100 or 6.25/10.

This is an 86 proof Mexican corn whisky. It's pale gold in the glass, and a bottle cost me $39.99 at Jubilation Wine & Spirits here in Albuquerque. The mash bill is unique - it's 100% cacahuazintle corn (you pronounce it ka-ka-wa-SEENT-leh), which is a variety that only grows above 7,000 feet in two or three states of Mexico. Before grinding the corn and mashing in, the distillery uses the same process that goes into making hominy - soaking the corn in a lye or similar solution. This alters the flavors (as anyone who's had hominy knows), and thus on top of everything else works in the character of this whisky. And finally, some of the corn they sprout and then dry. This unique mash bill creates a unique whisky to begin with, and then they age it in a warehouse with only a light roof and no walls, thus allowing the weather to work on the barrels more intensely. There's no age statement on the bottle, but I found some sites online which say that it's two years old (though none of them gave any source for that number). NOSE: The nose begins with a corn note that's both sour and sweet at the same time (initially I thought there was no sourness at all in this whisky, but over the four glasses I've had now I've learned to discern it, but it's not in any way overpowering or offensive. Next I got goat butter (I had goat butter growing up, and while I can't swear that the aroma is exactly the same, that's what it made me think of), red chile, something that made me think of a mild cheese (perhaps Edam or Gouda), a little bit of brown sugar, and after I began sipping a faint citrus note - perhaps lemon, though I'm not sure. And finally, there's a little edge of semisweet chocolate. MOUTHFEEL: Given the apparent youth and the fairly low proof, it's surprisingly creamy. TASTE: A little chile, cinnamon, honey, and some chocolate. FINISH: Medium, with notes of red chile and a little oak fading to semisweet chocolate. SUMMARY: This stuff is unique. It reminds me of Abuelita hot chocolate mix (if you can find it your grocery store, give it a sniff). It's not terribly complex, which isn't surprising given that it uses just one grain, and ages either in used bourbon barrels or in new uncharred barrels (some sites say they're toasted, but I can't swear to that), but the notes that are there are very appetizing. The kind of corn, the process of preparing the corn, and the aging (the rickhouse has no walls, and only a light roof to protect the barrels from direct sunlight) combine to create a whisky that bears only a slight resemblance to the other corn whiskies I've had. It's more complex than I realized (though as I say, not spectacularly so), and I definitely like it. From my first taste it was immediately my second favorite corn whisky, and it remains in that position. RATING: On my hick scale it gets a 6, Fine - 8 is the highest rating on my scale. This comes out to 3.75 stars, or 75/100 or 7.5/10.

This whisky is copper colored in the glass. It cost me $69.99 for a fifth at the Mountain Run location of Kelly Liquors here in Albuquerque. It's 117.6 proof, and the age statement - in fine print on the back - says AGED: OVER 2 YEARS OLD. It also says it's DISTILLED IN INDIANA, but since Hard Truth is in Nashville, IN that doesn't tell us whether it's from MGP or it's from Hard Truth's own stills. With such a young age, I'm inclined to think it's the latter (it doesn't, by the way, taste young). [edit] I realized later that the bottom strip on the front of the bottle settles this question. It says that the whisky is MASHED, DISTILLED & AGED IN CHARRED, AMERICAN OAK BARRELS/BROWN COUNTY, INDIANA. This means that it is Hard Truth's own juice. [end edit] The mash bill is 94% rye and 6% barley, which is close to, but not identical with, the famous MGP rye mash bill that Sagamore Spirit and Bulleit (and no doubt others) have used. NOSE: Cool spring water, brown sugar, honey butter, cinnamon rolls, Dove milk chocolate, chocolate cake, and something buttery and savory that I can't identify. I have the distinct impression that there's a lot more in the nose that I couldn't sort out - I kept going back and going back, even after I began sipping, and I never was satisfied that I was discerning all it had to offer. MOUTHFEEL: Slightly creamy. TASTE: I have learned that when I find a lot on the nose two things will be true - I won't be able to get nearly as much on the palate, and I'll like it. Both are true here. On the palate I get dark brown sugar, milk chocolate, cinnamon, melted butter, and a pure sugary note that makes me think of rock candy. FINISH: The finish is on the short end of medium, and gives me mint (the first time I've ever gotten that note, even from a rye), eucalyptus, and a tinge of oak. The finish is more pleasant than this description indicates - I really enjoy it, and wish it would keep going. SUMMARY: This is an extremely good rye whisky. It's almost as good as Sagamore Spirit, and it's not as aggressive with the rye notes as Sagamore is. Someone who likes bourbon and likes proof, but isn't a big fan of rye, could very well enjoy this stuff. That describes me, and I really like this. RATING: My hick scale, as I've mentioned before, has eight levels, and 1 is the lowest. This whisky gets the seventh level, Right Fine. That's the same as 4.375 stars, or 87.5/100, or 8.75/10.