Tastes

A fifth of this juice cost me $24.99 at the Uptown Total Wine store here in Albuquerque. It's 90 proof, and there's no age statement (though as a straight whisky it has to be at least four years old to do without). In the glass the color is amber. NOSE: Something smoky, clover honey, something floral, creamed corn, corn pops, vanilla, and possibly grapes MOUTHFEEL: Silky TASTE: Honey, brown sugar, black pepper, vanilla, cinnamon FINISH: Spice, oak, a tinge of honey - very long SUMMARY: I bought this bottle because two Total Wine employees independently recommended it as being similar to Buffalo Trace, which is allocated here (I've only seen it on the shelf once). It's been a long time since I had my bottle of Buffalo Trace, but my memory tells me it's a valid comparison. I wish this were a higher proof whisky (I've been drinking higher proof whiskies lately, and I've learned that I like 'em), and that there was more information about the whisky (I can find anything definite about it except the mash bill, and even that I've only located in two places, one of them here). But it is a good, sweet bourbon, yet with enough oak to please me, especially in the finish. I'll definitely buy it again. RATING: Fine

NOSE: Sour, grass, grain MOUTHFEEL: Slightly creamy TASTE: Watery honey FINISH: Nothing at first, then some quick oak SUMMARY: This stuff might work in a drink, but straight it's no good. It's certainly not worth the price - it might be worth $5, but not $32.

I couldn't find any information about the mash bill. Since it is bourbon it has at least 51% corn, but beyond that, who knows. It's three years old, straw gold in the glass, and cost me $9.99 for a fifth. NOSE: Alcohol, something medicinal, a sour note, grass, honey, and lemon cough drops. MOUTHFEEL: Watery. TASTE: Lemon cough drops, honey. FINISH: Lemon, a faint oak - short. SUMMARY: This is a barely adequate bourbon, down around the quality of Jim Beam white. At $10 it's at its maximum value - I wouldn't pay a dollar more for it. It's sad to realize that this is the successor to Heaven Hill Bottled In Bond, which surely was much better than this sorry juice. RATING: Poor.

I got a fifth of this whisky for $24.99 at Kelly Liquors in the Mountain Run Shopping Center in Albuquerque. The mash bill is 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% barley. There's no age statement, and it's 100 proof. In the glass the color is new copper. NOSE: I came back to the nose several times, and got more notes each time. In the order in which I discerned them, I got corn, grass, honey, cinnamon, a spice which might have been paprika, honey, vanilla icing, milk chocolate, a little bit of smoke (hickory?), a very faint oakiness (I don't believe I've ever gotten oak on the nose before), and buttered roasting ears. MOUTHFEEL: Initially it was creamy, but on subsequent sips it seemed like the creaminess was slightly watered down. TASTE: Honey, candy orange slices, red pepper, oak, and lemon. I'm getting used to not getting as much on the tongue as I get on the nose, but this is a big difference. FINISH: Long, beginning with oak, then black pepper, walnuts, and some jalapeño in the throat. SUMMARY: I like the metal screw cap on this bottle. A cork doesn't improve the whisky, and a cap is easier to deal with. This is good bourbon. However, it lacks the notes I've come to expect as typical of bourbon - bananas, caramel, and butterscotch. And I'm not sure it's significantly better than the 86 proof expression. The proof is, yes, 14 points higher, but I don't think the taste is correspondingly better. RATING: Fine (just above good, the third rating down).

Believe it or not, this is only my second bonded whisky (the other was Mellow Corn). I got a fifth from the Total Wine Uptown store here in Albuquerque for $24.49. The mash bill is 63% corn, 27% rye, and 10% barley. It's 100 proof, of course, being bonded, and that also means it's at least four years old, though there's no age statement on the bottle (which isn't necessary for a straight whisky that's four years or more old). In the glass it's copper gold in color. NOSE: The first thing I detected was fruit, which I was able to differentiate into apples, pears, and bananas. Then come sweet corn, something grainy, white grapes, peanuts, cashews (I think), vanilla, caramel, and a bizarre corn tortilla note. MOUTHFEEL: Soft and thin. TASTE: Corn, orange, cinnamon, honey butter, apple juice, vanilla ice cream, pecan praline. FINISH: On the short end of medium, with oak, walnut, and faint honey notes. SUMMARY: It's not as complex as I expected, but it's very good nonetheless. For the price this is an excellent juice, with some surprising notes. RATING: Fine.

I reviewed this once before, back on November 25 of 2021. I liked it all right back then, but not as well as I do now. The mash bill is 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% barley. It's 101 proof, thus the name. There's no age statement. In the glass it's a reddish gold. I only got a pint (the same as last time), since I was trying it to see whether I liked it better, worse, or the same. But with more experience I find it good enough that the next time around it'll be a fifth. The pint cost me $13.49. NOSE: The first note is something grainy, perhaps puffed wheat or corn pops, I can't decide which. Then comes definite alcohol, a metallic vanilla note, fresh cut alfalfa, honey butter, lemon zest, something yeasty, ground corn, something musty or dusty, and a faint charred note. MOUTHFEEL: Slightly creamy - perhaps silky would work as well. TASTE: The first note is honey, followed by black pepper, bananas and whipped cream, brown sugar, milk chocolate, something nutty which might be peanuts, and butter. FINISH: Oak, honey, red pepper - and it's short, which is something of a disappointment. SUMMARY: This isn't a hugely interesting whisky, but it's nicely complex enough, and tastes good. Why only liked it as bourbon and branch last year I can't feature. I like it just fine now. RATING: Fine. (Above average, in the system I use; Fine comes above Good, and only Right Fine and Mighty Fine are higher. It's based on my colloquial southern English, in which I might say something like "This is fine bourbon" or "This whisky's right fine.")

I had this whisky last year (I disremember the date I reviewed it), and while I liked it, I didn't find it outstanding. Drinking it this year I'm glad I gave it another try. The fifth I have cost me $29.99 at the Uptown Total Wine store. NOSE: Grass (but not offensive, as grass usually is), honey, cinnamon, caramel, custard (custard?!), apple pie spice, kumquats, honeydew melon, sweet lemonade, buttered sweet corn, candy corn, vanilla, honey lemon, banana-pear juice. I don't know when I've found such a complex nose, nor a more varied one. MOUTHFEEL: Creamy, oily, buttery - I don't believe I've ever used three adjectives for the mouthfeel before. TASTE: At first this whisky was just bourbon on the palate, but as I continued to sip, I found a lot of different notes. There's cornbread, grapes, butter, spiced butter, a faint oak note, brown sugar, black pepper, cinnamon, buttercreme icing, vanilla ice cream with bananas, chocolate honey, and cream cheese icing. FINISH: Medium long, beginning with oak, then black pepper, red pepper, and then a lingering vanilla oak note. SUMMARY: For a 90 proof bourbon that doesn't cost much, this is surprisingly complex. I absolutely will buy it again, and it amazes me that I thought less of it last year than I do now. RATING: Fine.

NOSE: Musty grain, vanilla, bananas, musty sweet corn, an herbal not that isn't grass - maybe leaves?, some kind of mixed spices, rye bread, buttercream icing, black pepper MOUTHFEEL: Oily TASTE: Spicy vanilla, black pepper, honey, something floral, cinnamon, spiced tea FINISH: Pepper, spiced honey, fading into oak - medium SUMMARY: The legs promise an oily whisky, and it is. The nose and the taste are very pleasant. With such a low rye percentage (only 55%) I'd expect this to be more like a bourbon, but it's not - it's something distinctly different. I like it. I just got a pint, not being sure whether I'd like it; next time it'll be a fifth. RATING: Fine

I'm dealing with a cold, so at a later time I probably will experience this stuff differently. NOSE: Sweet corn, butter, grass, honey, lemon, some sort of mustiness, brown sugar, a generic grain note, and buttered roasting ears. MOUTHFEEL: Watery. TASTE: Here's where my cold really began to assert itself. I got honey, black pepper, red pepper, vanilla, and butter, which is an unusual profile for a bourbon. FINISH: Uncharred oak, and a red pepper that lingers. SUMMARY: This is not a bad bourbon, and probably would be better if it weren't for my cold. Getting both black and red pepper is a real surprise, especially since this is a wheated bourbon. I was doubtful about those notes since at 100 proof this has more alcohol in it than I can usually afford, but no, it's not the heat - the spices are really there, at least tonight. At just $25 it's definitely a good value, and I'll buy it again.

NOSE: Musty corn, caramel, vanilla, sweet smoke alfalfa, fruit - mango? pineapple?, dark chocolate MOUTHFEEL: Smooth and creamy TASTE: Vanilla, honey, chocolate chip cookie, brown bread, brown sugar, fruit - mango? pineapple? FINISH: Long - black pepper, fruity honey, oak, dark chocolate SUMMARY: For a $30 bourbon this is GOOD. When I reviewed it last year I didn't think much of it, but I was new to whisky then; with more experience I like this juice. The nose and the taste are about the most interesting I've ever encountered. I'll definitely buy it again.