Tastes

Old review from last October that I realized didn’t save. Restaurant pour. Rocks. Caramel apple pie a la mode with a dash of cinnamon nose. Taste layers in some cherry and baking spice. Finish is a butterscotch candy with a long hug.

Restaurant pour. Neat. Caramel with cherry and a hint of cinnamon. Sweet oak palate with vanilla and a hint of clove. More baking spice and char, but a pretty light finish.

Long hiatus for notes after Covid last Christmas… finally feel like my nose and palate are close to normal 10 months later. Restaurant pour. Neat. Dark fruit, caramel, and a hint of mint on the nose. Palate starts with caramel apple and cherry. No mid-palate for a beat, then a thin finish of cashews, raisins, and oak. Easy. Pleasant.

Neck pour, neat, no air time. Nose of caramel and a hint of spearmint. Taste is crème brûlée forward then warm baking spice. Medium-long finish of rye spice and maple syrup. Enjoyable sipper. Definitely good for a daily and the heat and balance stands up as a mixer.

Neck pour, neat, few minutes air. Much lighter nose than expected for the proof. Vanilla cream, ginger, and light peanut. Vanilla forward taste with cinnamon and mint and then straight heat. Short-medium finish of baking spice and ethanol. Adding ice cooled the proof, but didn’t change the profile much. Works as a value sipper. Tasted fantastic and balanced when mixed with Vernor’s Zero Sugar Ginger Soda.

Blue Max store pick. 67% ABV. 13 years in used charred oak. Distilled 10/2/2007 Barrel: SC-00137. Bottled 4/12/2021 Bottle 15 of 162. Neck pour, neat, little air time. Nose is very ethanol forward, cotton candy, caramel and oak. Taste has an initial vanilla pop that turns over quickly to black pepper and oak, no bitterness. Long finish brings in burnt marshmallow. Not a burner despite being 134 proof. Adding a drop of water brings the caramel forward on the nose. The pop of sweetness and the pepper turn are much more rounded. The finish is more like a typical rye spice. Adding an ice cube presents it like a straightforward rye and a solid candidate for a mix, which I confirmed with my go-to splash of Diet Dr. Pepper. With the value and the versatility, this can be a daily.

Experimental series, Lot 2, 46% ABV. Neck pour, neat, 15 minutes air time. Round 3 of my rye triple feature. Thin legs. Nose of sawdust and dry grass and some orange. Taste of corn chips and IPA with a short finish of pepper and oak. It’s a little pricey and kinda quirky, but I like it, and not just because it’s from Minnesota.

Neck pour, neat, no air time. Round 2 of a rye triple feature—this time a local high rye bourbon with a mash bill of 55/35/10. Thin legs. Nose of egg nog with a heavy dash of nutmeg and leather. Taste is cinnamon, black pepper, and char with more leather. Drying finish of rye spice and little hug. I like this one. Every sip brings a little something different, so it’s interesting, but it’s more of a special mood sipper than a daily.

Neck pour, neat, no air time. Round 1 of a rye triple feature with this a rye dominant whiskey blend. Oily in the glass more like a sheet than legs. Light nose of apricot, Glovolium, cinnamon and a hint of tobacco. The bourbon of this rye/bourbon blend is forward with vanilla and corn sweetness, but no fruit or nuttiness, and then the palate gives way to pronounced black pepper and char. Medium finish of typical rye spice and a slight hug. This is a “melody” whiskey, ie, a series of notes vs. layered notes, (chords). Easy sip for a daily.

Neck pour, neat, no air time. Nose is mint forward and herbal with some toasted marshmallow. Taste of vanilla and fig that fades quickly to wood and pepper. Very long finish of baking spice and black pepper. Not much of a hug. Easy sipper with a series of notes rather than a lot of overlapping layers.