Tastes

The nose is smooth and buttery, with notes of vanilla, cream soda, charred oak and a bit of floral rye spice. It's not all that different from a typical Jim beam, which if the only difference is that this is not chill filtered, but a difference is are going to be negligible. Still, it is pleasing to keep taking a sniff of before diving in for your first sip. The palate is smooth and buttery, balanced by an immediate, but mild, burst of black pepper. Chardoak and cinnamon follow, giving the mouth a bit of a tingle as you soon lose sight of the creamier notes. There's really not much to this one and I wouldn't say it's all that different from any regular bottle of Jim beam. The finish is medium and while the mouth stays a bit tingly, everything else is gone quite quickly.

The nose starts off with an incredible mix of creamy vanilla and oak, and rye spice. It's very bold and intense, with hints of brown sugar, dark chocolate and molasses in the background. This is very well balanced, that is the first big takeaway from this. The palate is so easy to swirl around and chew on, before giving you a burst of earthy rice spice, that creamy vanilla and oak, in brown sugar sweetness in the background. It fills the mouth with flavor, ticking all the boxes of spicy, creamy and oaky. The intensity of the flavors leaves you wanting more, as every nuance is full and rich. The finish is medium long with lingering notes of earthy rice spice and creamy oak, and has the sweeter notes give way to the spicier notes, and take their time fading away. This is a big and bold bourbon, and is exactly what you would want in a bourbon. If this one doesn't make you happy then nobody can help you.

The nose is smooth with creamy vanilla, along with a subtle burst of white pepper. Oak, straw and a little barley sugar sweetness rounded out. The intensity that is present is a clear indicator that this is well aged. If you could wrap up all the notes you'd want to find any blended Scotch, it would be this. The palate is gentle as it fills the mouth with creamy oak and vanilla, straw, touches of smoke and honey, and just enough sweetness to balance it out. There's a nice depth to what is going on here, making it quite enjoyable for what it is. The finish is medium long and chewy, with a subtle lingering pepperiness, as well as notes of oak and straw that coat the mouth and slowly fade. This is a great and affordable expression for a well aged scotch, delivering on a variety of fronts. It may not be complex, but what you do get is rich in deep and absolutely enjoyable.

The nose starts off somewhat hot with an incredible burst of vanilla and baking spices, backed up by charred oak in brown sugar. It immediately comes across as rather intense with strong notes of spice even though there is no rye in this bourbon. It quickly starts to mellow out, allowing you to explore more of a nuances of the spicy and the smoothness. The palate is dry yet rich, filling every corner of the mouth with baking spices and chardoke, as a pleasant wave smooth vanilla balances it all out. It's pretty straightforward in that sense, that it is spicy, oaky and has a certain quality of smoothness to it. The finishes medium long and spicy, keeping the mouth tingling as everything else fades. This is pretty par for the course for this distillery which is what they excel at - simple yet intense whiskey.

The nose immediately starts off with a floral, yet funky note that is reminiscent of vintage bourbons. Old, smokey oak comes in alongside it, with a vanilla smoothness to it all. This is pretty wild to experience as there's nothing quite like it. I know that they use chinkapin oak from time to time, which does impart quite the uniqueness. The funkiness carries over to the palate, we're a touch of pepperiness comes out long with the oak. It is still backed up by vanilla creaminess and while overall the amount of flavors is rather simple, the flavors are deep and complex. This is very full and sticks to the inside of your mouth. It again is very reminiscent of sipping on vintage bourbon with the amount of that funk that is present. It's quite incredible the strength of flavor they've managed to achieve with this. The finish is long, rich and chewy, with endless amounts of flavor swelling around the mouth. Being at barrel's strength and less than 100 proof, it's not the spiciest bourbon, but just enough the balance everything else that has going for it. As with a lot of their other releases, this one is special.

The nose is smooth and spicy, starting with charred oak, vanilla, brown sugar and a bit of an earthiness to it that also gives it a bit of a spice. This is almost like a loaf of fresh, sweet bread. It is very tempting and inviting. The palate fills the mouth with earthy baking spice and charred oak for an immediate intense experience. The intensity of the spice soon mellows out and offers up vanilla cinnamon creaminess with a bit of brown sugar sweetness. It is quite full and deep, with rich flavors to explore on every sip. The solera process has introduced a distinct level of smoothness and sweetness as the whiskey travels from barrel to barrel. As such, there is no age statement however it drinks like a well-aged bourbon. The finish is medium long, smooth and spicy, with lingerie notes of charred oak and a mouth full of flavor.

The nose is very floral and fruity coming across immediately as sweet, but there is an interesting mix of smoke, leather and spice, but almost comes across as being peated. There is an astringent oak that follows that you could say is balanced out with vanilla. This is a very interesting and borderline strange rye, it's obviously picking up notes from the used bourbon barrels while imparting a distinct heat to it. As it breathes it quickly mellows out and let you explore more of those creamy nodes, but this is quite the quandary. The palate is dry and hot, filling the mouth with strong rice spice, charred oak, smoke and a bit of astringency. It's wildly bold while you also get some amount of smoother notes that will surely be more apparent on subsequent sips. It gets deliciously smooth and spicy, delivering creaminess and heat. This is a pretty wonderful rye If you are up for the challenge. The finish is long and spicy, not exactly something you want to chew on, as the lingering flavors give you plenty to think about. I'm particularly going to miss this one, I picked this up in 2021 when I responded to the January 6th riots and the presidential inauguration that year. I never thought I would finish this bottle but I guess this is the right time to do so. I feel very sentimental towards it and have always loved what a challenge it is to take a sip of it.

The nose is very fruit forward with a perfect amount of smooth oak and vanilla, slightly floral rice spice - that borders on being earthy, and a distinct butteriness that makes this very unique for a rye. You can definitely tell that this is a rye whiskey, but adding wheat to it gives it an extra dimension that takes it to a different level. You don't want to put this down as there is nothing quite like it. The palate is somewhat dry but so easy to swirl around the mouth acid fills with a peppery rye spice balanced by oak, with a sweet fruitiness and creamy vanilla holding it all together. There is an incredible smoothness to this as the spiciness is tempered allowing you to explore nuances to this, which in particular here is cinnamon. It is so smooth and buttery while retaining spice. The finish is medium long and smooth yet spicy. You never lose sight of the rye spice, however the creaminess is always there. What an amazing balance between the two different flavors, getting the absolute best of both. This is something that absolutely should be done more often and is criminal that it isn't. A combination of the grains and the oak of the barrel has made this absolutely stunning.

The nose starts off with ripe fruit along with charred oak, though there is a certain funk to the oak that adds a deeper quality to it. Fresh, sweet bread follows, along with hints of molasses adding some sweetness in the background. The palate It's up front with vanilla followed by ripe fruit and chardog, as touches of rice spice follow. The funk is definitely present, adding a deep quality of flavor that is a mix of vanilla and something you can't quite put your finger on. It is very full-bodied and drinks much older than 6 and 1/2 years. The finish is long and funky, with that indescribable element keeping the mouth full of flavor alongside plenty of vanilla and a bit of spice. This is pretty incredible to sip on and even better after it has been open for a while. It tastes more along the lines of vintage bourbons that I've had as opposed to anything modern.

The nose is a great mix of chard oak and maple sweetness, but also has an excellent burst of vanilla. This comes across deliciously smooth with a hint of spice that keeps this from being too sweet. The palate is somewhat dry and starts immediately with a strong burst of baking spices backed up by charred oak. The maple finish is more subtle than dominant, balancing the fine line between two sweet and not sweet enough. Further sips tame the spice - which is what this distillery is known for - allowing for the subtle notes of maple to be more present. It stays nice and to the point with its flavor profile allowing you to simply enjoy rather than analyze. The finish is medium and slightly spicy, as charred oak turns slightly astringent and fades away.