Tastes

Nose: The first time in a long time I've experienced a nose this strong - actually made me laugh a little with excitement. Proof is absolutely evident and helping things jump out of the glass. Over-smoked brisket, like when it borders on bitter smoke. Bacon with a black pepper crust. Lemon oil, wintergreen, pine. Slight sweetness - almost like molasses. Brine. Green bell pepper, fire roasted poblano, smoked chipotle, paprika, bitter chocolate. Imagine all the sliders for a mix pushed up to 10, and then all the eqs pegged with a little brick wall compression thrown onto the master bus like a modern dance track. It's not completely unbalanced, just very forward. Palate: Earth, vanilla, fruity sweetness. The casks are absolutely evident on the nose, but in a very complementary way. Oak, tannin, and char, though the tannin influence is less than you'd see in something with more age. Dark fruits in syrup. Citrus, mint, cucumber - getting a Limon Pepino Gatorade vibe, but with some mint tossed in for good measure. Creamy and lactic. Peanut brittle, dusty corn. Wintergreen. Tar and resin. Sandalwood and tobacco. Chocolate with a touch of smoked chipotle. Pop Rocks style effervescence. Mouthfeel is medium, bordering on medium-heavy. Finish: A wash of brine, dust, earth, citrus, vanilla, and oak. A swell of dill and anise show up, followed by some cocoa. Some slightly bitter and sour characteristics play around, when coconut, sandalwood, and maduro tobacco come in. The citrus, mint, sandalwood, coconut all hang out for a long time - great oil content here. Very long finish. Other notes: I'd long wondered what you'd get if you aged a heavily peated whiskey on the shorter side and instead let the more intense, raw flavors come through. Though this makes good use of sherry cask to help make things a little more palatable, I almost wish this was just pure second or third fill bourbon instead, minimizing the influence of what the barrels held. That put aside, this is like Uigeadail if it took off the smoking jacket and slammed three Black Eyes from Starbucks. It's not as refined and cohesive, but it offers up something unique and well worth some exploration. Highly recommended.

Nose: Candied fruit sweetness - though not Fruit Stripe levels. Honeyed, toasted cereal grains. Reminded of the smell and taste of a bowl of Cheerios with white sugar and sliced bananas, sans milk. Black tea and leather in the background. Baking spices and a touch of dried herbs. Palate: Honeyed cereal grains, vanilla, and cream. Oak. Tannin that almost has a salty layer to it. Bananas and berries. Licorice with a little mint. Medium mouthfeel. Finish: That bitterness comes forward followed by vanilla, nuts, and earth. Slightly sour/lactic tang thing shows up. Dill and licorice come forward along with some black pepper, and then everything slowly fades away. Medium short finish. Other notes: I don't remember this one being so out of left field. I have a feeling that my palate may be off tonight, but there are layers and depth here that I don't recall. Absolutely worth a go if you're looking for something approachable while still providing some interesting depth and complexity.

Nose: Dusty corn, caramel, a little vanilla, and oak. Alcohol is present, though not crazy. Bready, with a bit of rye spice coming in, with almost some mint and basil/thyme. Maraschino cherries - the cheap kind. Bananas, peanuts. Palate: Exactly as expected - retains the same core notes as the nose, though the vanilla is a little more pronounced. Not sickly sweet, but close. Nuts, small hit of tobacco and leather. Hershey process chocolate. Black pepper, oak, touch of char. Fruit cup. Medium light mouthfeel. Finish: Oak comes way to the front, turning the experience more dry. Flash of texture on the tongue, then nuts, fruits, and rye spice reveal while the oak subsides. Finish is medium short. Other Notes: I'll take this over standard Beam white label any day - far more refined, though not necessarily the most complex thing, either. Still, a good "background whiskey" if you're looking for a no-frills sip that won't break the bank.

Nose: Key-lime pie with whipped cream. Lemongrass. The citrus coming off this nose is crazy - almost like citrus oils were added directly to the whiskey. Red bell pepper, thyme, basil. Pine-Sol. Fresh cut grass, barnyard hay. Underripe bananas. Tart cherries, floral. There's an almost tequila-like experience to this nose. Some oak, though not much. Palate: Honey, key lime, whipped cream with vanilla. Oak, though not much - almost more of a sandalwood. Loads of fruit character - there's now ripe blueberry, strawberry, apricot, blackberries... Even ripe banana. The vegetal notes are now more of a mint and clove oil than on the nose. Mouthfeel is medium light. Finish begins with the mint, fruit, and citrus oil rushing to the fore. The fruit and mint just start to fade off while some tannin shows up. The pine, citrus oil, and mint then trade blows and this fades off. Medium-long finish. Other notes: This stuff is weird in the absolute best way. It's got all sorts of character without being "challenging" - there's not much to acclimate to which makes it easy to dive in head-first and go for it. The citrus and fruit here are totally out of left field for me, and showcase that rye is a much more capable category than I think most are aware. This won't be everybody's jam, but to me it's a beautiful idea and execution.

Nose: Beautiful charred oak, vanilla, and buttered bread. Hits of nutmeg, cocoa, clove, cinnamon, and molasses. The rye in the mash bill is coming through beautifully, too, with rosemary, thyme, and maybe a touch of dill. Banana, strawberry, and cherries. For something at 110 proof, the nose is surprisingly gentle and approachable. Palate: Classic - oak, brown sugar, and vanilla. Baking spices from the nose come through, but presenting much more assertively. Hershey's process cocoa, camphor. Tannin is absolutely evident, both in taste and texture, but not overpowering. Mouthfeel is medium-light. Finish begins wish an excellent wash of mint, vanilla, black pepper, baking spices, chocolate, and rye spice. The tannin swells up and most of the flavors start to fade, though the mint transforms into an almost wintergreen character. A slightly creamy characteristic pokes in, and then everything slowly fades. Very slowly. There's some good oil content here, lending to a long finish. Other notes: I keep saying it, Wild Turkey is turning out some excellent examples in the different categories they deal in. Is this unusual or doing something different with the Bourbon template? No. But it does serve as a top-tier example of what the category is capable of when you refine and hone your distilling and maturation processes to a high degree. This has high rebuy potential for me.

Nose: Straightforward flavor profile - classic nutmeg, star anise, dill, thyme, rosemary, with some black pepper. Oak comes through nicely, with barrel char punching through just enough to be interesting. Lovely stone fruits, maraschino cherries, and whipped cream. Palate: The herbs and spices on the nose come through mostly as you'd expect. The oak presents with some great tannin character, while the black pepper sits back a little. Fruity character is more banana than apricot, with some blueberry, as well. Milk chocolate, Hershey's style. Medium-light body. Finish starts off with a great pop of black pepper and tannin (both flavor and texture)/oak, with strawberry and banana. Finish slowly fades, giving way to a really nice mint/wintergreen and vanilla bean. Things stay consistent from there on out. Medium long finish. Other notes: This is definitely classic rye but with some excellent depth and complexity. It doesn't get into super funky territory (Spirit Works Single Barrel, for instance), but still offers exactly what I want. The age is evident and supports my theory that most rye would be more widely appreciated with just a little more time in the barrel. If you're into rye (or want to like it), this might just fit the bill. Solid rebuy potential.

Nose: Oak, slight vanilla, big citrus oil and and pine notes. Spices - vegetal herbs with plenty of dill, basil, and thyme. Mint/wintergreen, and clove/anise/nutmeg. The oak almost presents with a bready quality, and I'm not mad about it. Proof is evident but balanced. Subtle hints of worn-in leather, cocoa, and tobacco, along with toasted black pepper. Palate: Lightly sweet vanilla and oak. Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, with a little anise. Cream cheese frosting type sweetness. Chocolate, cherries, and ripe apricots. Fuyu persimmon, and a little amaretto. Good tannin, to boot. Body is medium, with good oil content. Finish starts with a flash of almond bitterness, persimmon, and those baking spices. Texture from the tannin ramps up, then slowly gives way to a beautiful whipped cream with vanilla and almond extract. The fadeout is nice and leaves you with anise, almond, cream, honey, and mint. Medium-long finish. Other notes: Coming back to this is wild. Looking back at my last tasting, I can see why i interpreted some of the flavors the way I did at the time. This is still very enjoyable and, for the price, hard to beat. I'll have to give it another buy again soon - might even be something to keep in the cabinet regularly.

Nose: Iodone, mint, anise. Toffee, treacle. Green bell peppers, camphor. Earthy peat and smoke - oversmoked brisket. Green apples with lemon juice, honey, with some floral characteristics. Palate: Earth, iodine, ash. Honeyed stonefruits, orange blossom, green apple. Black pepper, vanilla, and some oak. Wintergreen, lemon oil, pine sap and tar. Graham cracker and a slight cocoa/dusty leather. Mouthfeel is medium light, with medium-high oil content. Finish begins with a wash of wood, ash, dusty earth, and light stonefruit. The sweeter layers peel off revealing some cocoa and dusty leather, which stays pretty consistent until the end, when some of the tannins pop out and you get a little brightness from the ethanol, along with green apple at the very tail end. Medium-long finish. Other notes: Being totally unfamiliar with anything else Bunnahabhain, I'm liking this. A little different from what I normally reach for as far as Islay is concerned, the flavors on display are nice, albeit unique. This sits somewhere between Ardbeg and Laphroaig, if I had to make a comparison. Well worth a buy, though I probably won't seek it out again.

Nose: Barrel and spice, along with some dark brown sugar. Thyme, basil, dill. Nutmeg with a small dash of cinnamon. Maybe a little coriander seed. Fennel. It's got some of that classic Beam dusty quality which actually works quite well here. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting pops to mind. There's some vanilla and berry sweetness, but the classic rye spice is the star of the show. Palate: Barrel and tannin, char, the vanilla sweetness has come forward some, but there's plenty of spices coming through. Nutmeg, cinnamon, along with rosemary and thyme. Stonefruit crisp - think peach or apricot. Anise, toasted peppercorns. Mouthfeel is medium-light, though relatively oily. Finish starts with a nice pop of ethanol, solid tannin character, and a growing dill/anise/nutmeg thing. The heat subsides and those baking spices move forward, and then the oak shows up. Everything just sort of slowly fades away to wrap things up. Medium-long finish. Not the most complex, but well executed. Other notes: I don't know how I haven't tried this until now. For what it is, it's pretty well executed. If you're not the type that likes really intense, challenging rye, this might not appeal to you. But it is a solid entryway into the style and one that I'll definitely seek out again.

Nose: This is definitely Booker's - dusty corn, light brown sugar, and barrel, with some nice char in the mix. Fresh chocolate chip cookies, peanuts. Mint, camphor. It has some of that bready quality that you'll see in most Booker's, though not as much. Apricot and lemon. Alcohol shows up, though not punishingly. Palate: Even more of what you'd expect - sweet corn, brown sugar, vanilla, and more of that barrel character with accompanying toast and char - barrel bitter/bite on display here. Buttered toasted wheat bread. Warm dark chocolate chip cookies. Roasted, salted peanuts, mint. Tannin character, though nothing crazy. Cinnamon candy somewhere between Red Hots and Cinnamon Mike And Ikes. Apricot, strawberry, and banana sweetness, to boot. Mouthfeel is medium, leaning toward medium-light. Finish starts with a solid punch of barrel, tannin, smoke, and brown sugar. The brown sugar and barrel evolve together into a sort of burnt caramel and whipped cream, along with a swell of ethanol and fruit. The sweetness and fruit fade off and you're left with fading alcohol, barrel, and tannin. Finish is medium-long. Other notes: I've never disliked a Booker's release. I find these to all be high quality, beautiful expressions that are very well blended. Though this does not live up to the high bar I have for most Booker's releases, this is still very good. It stretches into some pretty uncharacteristic territory for them, which I find both unusual and also pretty exciting. A solid buy, and I will likely buy another bottle to explore some more simply because this was just so unusual and warrants more of my attention.