Tastes

This is Buffalo Trace juice, so finding information on it is hard - indeed, I couldn't find anything about the age, and all I could learn about the recipe is that it's Buffalo Trace's wheated mash bill. This is 90 proof whisky, and a fifth cost me $39.99 at the Mountain Run location of Kelly Liquors. It's golden in the glass. NOSE: I immediately got a huge blast of caramel and butterscotch, with honey butter coming in next. There was a note that I can only characterize as what, when I was a kid, we all called "Mexican candy" - brown, white, and red squares of coconut candy. Next was a strong buttercream icing note, and finally creamed corn came in. MOUTHFEEL: Smooth. TASTE: Spring water, honey, cinnamon, and light brown sugar. It surprised me that there was so little on the palate, after that nice nose. FINISH: Medium short, consisting only of oak and a slight honey note. SUMMARY: This bourbon is all right, but not anything special. It's another piece of evidence that Buffalo Trace's reputation has a lot of hype in it. RATING: On my hick scale it's the fourth level (counting from the bottom) - Okay. That comes out to 2.5 stars, 5/10, or 50/100.

This is an 86 proof rye that's four years old. Most of the sources I found indicated that the mash bill is unknown, but one article from 2023 said that it's not Jim Beam's usually rye mash (Jim Beam owns the label), but rather is 80% rye and 20% sprouted barley. The preponderance of the evidence is against that one writer, but I do find Old Overholt to be more characteristically rye than Knob Creek rye, which also comes from Jim Beam. It's dark copper in the glass. NOSE: Right off the back I got honey and apples. Then came a flowery note that I only got once or twice, and then vanished. Once the flowery note was gone there was a strong apple juice note, a slight note of mixed spices, and finally spicy butter. MOUTHFEEL: Smooth but thin. TASTE: I kind of wish I hadn't picked tonight to do my review, since my palate just didn't get as much from the glass as I've gotten in the past. Palates are changeable, and what is great one time might seem less so on another occasion. I would've foregone the review until another time, but I'd been planning to do one for two or three weeks and wanted to finally accomplish the task. All I got tonight was spice and oak, but previously I've gotten a definite sweetness as well - but I can't recall the specifics of it. This whisky is better than it seems from what I got from this pour. FINISH: Spiced oak and a vegetal note, with a medium length. SUMMARY: This juice is better than it seems from this review. It's not a great rye, but it is good, and I'll buy it again. And I confidently expect that the next time this bottle comes up in the rotation, it'll give me what I've learned to expect from it - not the most complex whisky there is, but certainly one worth the price, and more. RATING: On my hick scale it's the fifth level (there are eight, counting from the bottom), which is Good. That translates into 3.125 stars, 62.5/100, or 6.25/10.

I reviewed this whisky back in May of 2022, but what with one thing and another hadn't had it since, and after almost two years of practice, I'm far better equipped to evaluate Mellow Corn than I was then. And so I'm doing another review. I'm not certain what the mash bill is. One source said that it's 80% corn, 8% rye, and 12% barley. A couple of other sources said that it's 90% corn, with the remaining 10% consisting of rye and barley. I do know that it's at least 80% corn, because that's what the US government requires, but right now I wonder if anyone outside of Heaven Hill knows what it really is. This bottle cost me $17.99 at the Kelly Liquors store in the Mountain Run shopping center. There's no age statement on the bottle, but this is a bottled in bond whisky so by law it must be at least four years old. Due to the legal requirement that corn whisky age in either new uncharred barrels or used charred barrels, it doesn't pick up a lot of color from the wood, and is straw colored in the glass. NOSE: A note of sweetness without any specific sweet item is the first thing I got. Then came musty corn, a slight lemon sourness, and caramel with vanilla. MOUTHFEEL: Creamy. TASTE: On the palate this juice begins with a definite honey note, the cinnamon, and then through repeated sips I got banana candy, lemon, sweet corn, and a little bit of oak. FINISH: The finish is long, beginning with a sweet note, merging almost immediately into cinnamon, some sweet oak, and finally a lingering spice note. SUMMARY: This whisky surprised me, when I paid attention to it, with how complex it is. Now it's not very complex - it's actually a simple whisky - but it's less simple than I expected to find. I'm glad I decided to review this again, because two years ago I could never have gotten all this from the juice. Even though it is a simple whisky, due to the rules governing corn whisky, it's a tasty one. As a bottled in bond whisky it's 100 proof, but if I didn't know that, I'd never guess it. It doesn't assault you with alcohol on either the nose or the palate - it's indeed a mellow whisky that drinks like it's 10 or 15 proof points lower than it is. It is definitely worth the price, and it's a very affordable price. [edit] When I posted this I forgot to include my rating, so I've come back and will insert it below. RATING: On my hick scale it's the fifth (counting from the bottom) rating, Good. This is equal to 3.125 stars, 62.5/100, and 6.25/10.

This whisky comes from Taos, NM, and is a blend of bourbon and rye. The Web site says it's aged with Ponderosa pine bark and pecan wood, which I think means that they put that into the barrel, though I could be wrong.. The label on my bottle is Sidwinder, but due to another distillery disputing that, it's going to change to Ponderosa (the distillery is the Ponderosa Whiskey Company). It's 80 proof, there's no age statement, a fifth cost me $25.99 at Total Wine, and in the glass it's a wheat color. NOSE: The first and dominant note is custard. It's been years since I had any custard, but that note is definite. Underneath the custard I found the aroma of cookies that a co-worker makes using Ricotta cheese (they don't smell or taste like cheese, and this juice doesn't), a hint of the piney woods, and a little honey. MOUTHFEEL: Thin but slightly creamy. TASTE: Brown sugar, a little oak on the edges of my tongue, very watered down honey, and some cinnamon coming in as I got further into the glass. FINISH: A definite eucalyptus cough drop note, and as I neared the bottom of the glass a flash of pecan that vanished almost as soon as it appeared on the tongue. The finish is medium in length. SUMMARY: This whisky has enormous potential. The nose is incredible, one I've never encountered in any other whisky, and perhaps the most attractive I've ever come across. If the palate followed suit this could easily be my favorite whisky. Alas, the palate just doesn't measure up to the promise of the nose. I suspect that at a higher proof - 100, say, though even higher would suit me - this would be a superb whisky. RATING: On my hick scale I rate it Okay, which is the fourth from the bottom of my eight level scale. This is equal to 2.5 stars, 50/100, or 5/10.

I got a pint for $32.99 at the Uptown Total Wine store here in Albuquerque. I wish it were cheaper, but I'm not sorry I spent the money. Of course single barrels vary, but this bottle is 128.2 proof. There's no age statement. Jack Daniel's uses a mash bill of 80% corn, 8% rye, and 12% barley, so it's a low rye whisky. In the glass it's deep copper. NOSE: Right off I got a rich smoky caramel. Then came musty corn, oaky smoke, cinnamon, and finally buttercream icing or cheesecake - I couldn't decide which - at the sides of my mouth. There's a lot here I can't sort out. MOUTHFEEL: Creamy and oily - this may be the best mouthfeel I've ever encountered. TASTE: Cinnamon, brown sugar, black pepper, a tinge of oak that increases but never becomes very strong, butter and honey, and finally waffles with cinnamon. FINISH: This is medium, consisting of oak and black pepper. If anything in this whisky were going to disappoint me, it would be the finish, but in fact it's not a disappointment, though it isn't as long and complex as I expected. SUMMARY: This is a superb whisky. It's plenty hot, but it's delicious, and complex enough that I could spend considerable time sorting it out. I can't afford to buy it often, but I will buy it again. RATING: On my hick scale it comes out as a 7, which is next to the highest level - I call it Right Fine. That is equivalent to 4.375 stars, or 87.5/100 or 8.75/10.

George Dickel is primarily a Tennessee whisky distiller, though in my view Tennessee whisky is a variety of bourbon. However, they label this bottle as bourbon - from what I've read, because it comes from barrels that don't fit their standard profile. It goes through the exact same Lincoln County process as Dickel Tennessee whisky, but when picking barrels these went to the bourbon line while the rest become Tennessee whisky. This stuff is 90 proof and eight years old. A fifth cost me $31.99 at Kelly Liquors. The color in the glass is copper gold. NOSE: The nose is the best part of this whisky. It begins with corn sweetness, then brings in a little honey, something musty and warm, a faint nuttiness (but not the pecan note that I associate with Dickel juice, and which was present when I first opened the bottle), and vanilla buttercream icing. MOUTHFEEL: Thin but soft. TASTE: All I got from this glass was honey. FINISH: The finish is also a single note - oak - and is just shy of being medium length. SUMMARY: I've waited for this stuff to get better as it interacts with air, but it never did. Indeed, it lost the signature Dickel pecan note that I like. This bourbon is little if any better than Jim Beam. I won't buy it again. RATING: On my hick scale there are eight levels, 1 being the lowest and 8 the highest. This juice comes in at 2, which I call Poor. That's the same as 1.25 stars, 25/100, or 2.5/10.

This is a Texas bourbon, and so it's different from the traditional Kentucky style bourbon. It's young by the calendar, but in Texas aging moves more quickly because of the climate (just as whisky ages faster in Kentucky than in Scotland). The mash bill is 70% white corn, 25% Elbon rye (making it a high rye whisky), and 5% Wildfire barley. It's 98.4 proof, cost me $39.99 for a fifth, is copper colored in the glass, and the label says it's at least two years old. NOSE: Sweet potato pie spice (NOT pumpkin pie, which I can't stand), almonds, corn sweetness, vanilla buttercream icing, smoky cashews, cinnamon chocolate. I don't think I've ever come across a whisky which melds things together into discrete notes (e.g. cinnamon and chocolate merging into a note of chocolate with cinnamon in it) the way this one does. MOUTHFEEL: Medium creamy. TASTE: Cinnamon chocolate, brown sugar, black pepper butter, dark chocolate. FINISH: Medium, beginning with black pepper, bringing in some oak, and mixed in with the other notes a hint of chocolate orange. SUMMARY: This is definitely a superior bourbon. It's now one of my standards - whiskies which I may not always have on hand due to limitations on fundage and storage space, but which I definitely will buy again and again. It's definitely worth the price, and I'd be willing to pay $50 (though it would mean I could only afford it perhaps one or two times a year). RATING: On my hick scale, which goes bottom to top 1-8, this is the 7th level - Right fine. That's the same as 4.375 stars, 87.5/100, or 8.75/10.

This is the second time I've reviewed this whisky, the first being a bit more than two years ago. Looking over that previous review I see that my palate has changed - or the whisky has, which might also be the case, though I suspect it's my palate. At any rate, I'm better qualified to evaluate this (or any other whisky) with two years experience than I was then, with two months. I see the price hasn't changed a penny in that time - a pint cost me $15.49 then, and now. The mash bill is 95% rye and 5% barley, it's 90 proof, there's no age statement, and in the glass the color is light copper. NOSE: First there's a mineral note - it doesn't smell like grus, the sand that granite forms when it weathers, but that's what it makes me think of. Next I got vegetable leaves, a summer lawn, twigs, moss, mint, and a really unpleasant note of acrid weeds - thistle, perhaps. MOUTHFEEL: Smooth - I could have said "creamy," but after evaluating it I decided smooth is a slightly better description. TASTE: Butter (which surprised me - that's a note I get fairly often from bourbon), a slight cinnamon note, brown sugar, and black pepper. FINISH: Short, beginning with sweet tea and ending with weeds. SUMMARY: This isn't bad whisky, but it's simple and the finish, while e starting well, ends badly (who wants to have the taste of weeds in his mouth?). Perhaps it's just that I'm not a rye guy - I'm trying to find that out - but this whisky doesn't impress me. RATING: My hick rating scale has eight levels from bottom to top, and this one is the fifth, Good. That translates to 3.125 stars, 62.5/100, or 6.25/10.

I got a pint of this, since I'm experimenting with rye, for $21.99 at Total Wine. There's no age statement, the whisky's a blend of two different mash bills, and in the glass the color is copper. It's only 83 proof. NOSE: I'd only gotten a couple of notes on my first glass, but after sitting for a few days after opening the nose really opened up. I got notes of mineral or salt, perhaps both together; alfalfa hay, milk chocolate and caramel; red berries (perhaps raspberries or thimbleberries); something that was both meaty and buttery; a note that made me think of sunshine on a meadow; another reminder, this time of a summer lawn; honey; and pine lumber. This is definitely not a bourbon nose. MOUTHFEEL: Thin, which makes sense at 83 proof, but creamy nevertheless. TASTE: Spring water, spiced honey, a little oak, and mingled salt and sugar. FINISH: Grass and hay, faint honey - short. SUMMARY: After waiting for a few days the whisky opened up considerably. The nose became very promising - but the rest of the whisky doesn't measure up. Overall this whisky turned out to be unimpressive. RATING: On my hick scale, it's 4th out of 8, counting from the bottom - what I call Okay. This is the same as 2.5 stars, 50/100, or 5/10.

I have a sample only, so I don't know what it actually cost, but the Total Wine site tells me that here in Albuquerque a fifth would run $85.99. The mash bill is 80% corn, 12% rye, and 8% barley. It's 107 proof, if there's an age statement I don't know because I don't have the bottle, and it's a dark gold in the glass. NOSE: On the nose I get vanilla, caramel, corn sweetness, butterscotch pudding, ambrosia, maple syrup, waffles, whipped cream, and mandarin oranges. Overall the nose is soft, sweet, and warm, and it includes notes I've never gotten before anywhere. MOUTHFEEL: Oily. TASTE: Brown sugar, Red Hots, oak, char, buttered waffles, and sugar syrup - again, some notes I've never gotten before. FINISH: Long, beginning with honey and then going to sweet oak. SUMMARY: This is DELICIOUS whisky. It's sweet and sunny, with just enough dark notes. I wish I could afford to buy it myself, because there's more to it than I can sort out from just a sample. I would love to spend a while working through a bottle, and sorting out all the notes in the nose and taste that I could tease out tonight. RATING: I give it the highest of eight possible ratings on my hick scale - Mighty Fine. That of course is the same as five stars, 100/100, or 10/10.