Tastes

I am a huge fan of whiskey matured or finished in ex-wine casks. I love the distinct flavors and aromas it can add. You don’t see this much with bourbon and when I first tried Angels Envy is was very excited. Surely, it did not disappoint. As soon as a bottle became available at the local ABC store, I made sure to pick one up. Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon is handcrafted from a blend of 8 to 12 batches. Typically aged up to 6 years, the whiskey is finished in ex-port casks for at least 3 to 6 months. The Port wine casks are 60-gallon barrels made from French oak and imported from Portugal. The whiskey is bottled at 86.6%proof/43.3% ABV. Color: Vibrant Bronze During the pour I noticed how vibrant the spirit was along with its nice long narrow legs gliding down my Copita Nosing Glass. Upon nosing, I immediately noticed the bourbon aromas of caramel, maple, and vanilla but added notes of red berries, raisins, charred oak, and some floral notes. On the palate I immediately noticed a creamy vanilla taste mixed with cherry sweetness. I also detected notes of cinnamon spice, dark chocolate, and maple syrup. The finish is long and smooth with continuing sweetness of brown sugar and some oakiness.

Henry Mckenna Single Barrel 10 year Bottled-in-Bond is an amazing bourbon at a great price point. The high proof bourbon is one of the few bottled-in-bond whiskeys still on the market today. Matured for 10 long years in new charred American White Oak barrels in a federal warehouse, this bourbon is bottled at 100 proof/50% ABV. The mashbill is similar to other Heaven Hill expressions produced at 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley. A great bourbon but just a touch too spicy in my opinion. Color: Deep Copper On the nose are hints of caramel, burnt vanilla, cinnamon rolls, baking spices, orange citrus, and some floral notes. The palate is spices with hints of vanilla, cinnamon, fruity citrus, and floral notes. The finish is long and spicy with some good warmth and oakiness.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel but never thought to give it a try. Surely enough, my first experience did not disappoint. I tasted an expression from Barrel 19-0257/Rickhouse F/Floor 611. From the moment I began to pour this elixir into my Copita nosing glass I could smell the ethanol emanating from it which told me it was a high proof bourbon. Although bottled at 110 proof/55% ABV, it is very well balanced and rounded off with some delightful sweet notes. Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel is comprised of 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley then matured in number 4 “alligator” charred American White Oak barrels. This non-chilled filtered whiskey is hand-selected by Master Distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell. Color: Rose Copper The tasting was superb starting with hints of burnt caramel, toffee, cloves, brown sugar, oak, cinnamon, and orange citrus notes on the nose. Following, on the palate were notes of oak, pepper, vanilla, cinnamon spice, nuts, baking spices, and some cherry fruitiness. The finish is long, slow, and warming with lingering pepper notes with oak and vanilla.

Larceny Small Batch Bourbon is a wheated, hand selected six-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The mashbill consists of corn, wheat, and malted barley however, we do not know the percentages. This 92 proof/46% ABV bourbon is incredibly approachable, especially for beginners to bourbon. Albeit it will not wow anyone, nor is it anything close to superb, this whiskey is very consistent and a solid bourbon for the very affordable price. Color: Brown Gold At looking at the glass there was slow steady legs sliding down the glass. Before even nosing, I could smell the delightfully sweet aromas from the wheated bourbon. After further exploration I found hints of cinnamon, buttery biscuits, syrup, peaches, and brown sugar on the nose. When I took a sip, hints of brown butter, biscuits, slight spice, vanilla, and toffee exploded on the palate, but in a good way. The finish is medium to long and rather dry, with hints tobacco, charred oak, and toffee.

Knob Creek 12 year was originally a limited edition, but due to popularity it has been added to the Knob Creek line. Its age statement is not seen on many bourbons now-a-days and is something to cherish. This 12 year single barrel is nothing but consistent and of the upmost quality for a less than premium price. Bottled at 100 proof/50%ABV, this bourbon is matured for 12 long years in KY by Jim Beam. The mashbill consists of 75% Corn, 13% Rye, and 12% Malted Barley. Knob Creek 12 year continues to surprise me and deliver on quality bourbon. For its price, this is an amazing bourbon that can be enjoyed time and time again. Color: Brown Sugar Gold On the nose are rich aromas of fresh brownies, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, all spice, and cookie dough. The palate is just a tad bit too spicy with hints of rye spice, dark chocolate, biscuits, charred oak, and cloves. The finish is long and warming within some lingering spices and slight hints of leather and oak.

Sazerac Rye is a no age statement rye whiskey that any whiskey enthusiast can enjoy and wants in their collection. It has a simple but elegant throwback design for the bottle and looks great in any collection, the mashbill is undisclosed but has 90 proof/45% ABV. Although not expensive, Sazerac Rye is a premium rye whiskey that is approachable but complex and unique. Color: Bright Bronze What beautiful legs on this whiskey. It only gets better, upon nosing I noticed hints of coffee, dark chocolate, rye bread, raisins, burnt caramel, plums, and clove. Following is the palate with delightful hints of toffee, warming rye spice, leather, and dried red fruit. However, it is a little dry. The finish is long with consistent notes of rye spice and a subtle licorice note.

Spirit Works Four Grain Straight Bourbon is distilled from organic grains in Sonoma County California. The bourbon is matured for a minimum of 4 years in 53-gallon New American Charred Oak casks. The mashbill is made of 60% corn with wheat, barley, and rye. It is pot distilled and blended using two bourbon formulas. Spirit Works Four Grain Straight Bourbon is bottled at 90 proof/45% ABV. On the label there is a space for the batch number, however, on the bottle I tasted the batch number was not written down. I also noticed a striking thickness in the texture on the palate which was somewhat disagreeable. However, the aromas and flavor of this well-crafted bourbon were astounding making it on par with some of the most well-known wheated bourbons. Color: Amber Honey On the nose are instant aromas of brown butter, crème brulee, caramel, cinnamon, cooking spices, and some floral notes. On the palate the spirit is rather thick and oily but has continuing notes of brown butter, creamy vanilla, charred oak, maple syrup, and baking spices. The finish is blatantly short with hints of cinnamon, vanilla, oak, burnt sugar, and more baking spices.

Hirsch Horizon Straight Bourbon Whiskey represents a journey of exploration and discovery in American Bourbon Whiskey. The Horizon Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a blend of two mashbills; the first is 94% of the bourbon matured at 5 years and 4 months in a mixture of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. The second is 6% of the bourbon matured at 6 years and 2 months in a mixture of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. Hirsch Horizon Straight Bourbon Whiskey is distilled in Lawrenceburg, IN and bottled in Bardstown, KY at 92 proof/46% ABV. I was given batch number AHH0320 to taste, however, there was nothing spectacular or that stood out from the bourbon leaving it rather average. Color: Clear Gold While looking through my Copita nosing glass, I noticed the legs were quite consistent. They were very thin and evenly spaced apart like they streamed down in orchestra. After taking the lid off my glass, the sweet bourbon aromas appeared with hints of caramel, honey, butter, wintermint, vanilla, charred oak, and cornbread. On the palate were hints of toffee, cinnamon, baking spices, pepper, and a presence of leather was detected. The finish was long with continuous notes of leather, charred oak, and pepperiness.

Highland Park 18 is a peated Single Malt Scotch from the northern most region of Scotland. This spirit is matured for 18 long years, staying consistently cool in the Orcadian air, in some of the finest sherry oak casks from Spain. Highland Park 18 is made of 100% malted barley and smoked using peat from the island. It is quite a unique whisky that is consistently well balanced and smooth. Bottled at a pleasant 96 proof/43% ABV, Highland Park 18 proves itself, time and time again, being a dram anyone can enjoy. Color: Burnt Gold From the time I saw those nice legs streaming down the side of the glass to the long and warming finish, Highland Park 18 was excellent in almost every aspect. It starts with some nuttiness, red fruit sweetness, marzipan, dark chocolate, and some peat smokiness on the nose. The sweetness and smokiness were perfectly balanced. On the palate were more intense sherry notes with red fruit sweetness such as cherry, oak, toffee, honey, all spice, dark chocolate, and more smoke. Again, the balance was amazing. However, the texture was a little thicker (creamy) than I would like. The finish is long, smooth and gentle with more of that superb balance of peat smoke and sherry sweetness.

Old Forster Classic 86 is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon known to be the first bottled bourbon. It is comprised of a mashbill of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley. There are a lot of classic bourbon notes, without much complexity and rather dull. It is bottled at 86 proof/43%ABV. Color: Dark Brown Copper Nose: Brown sugar, strawberry, oak, honey, floral, bubblegum, and antique wood. Palate: Cinnamon spice, rye spice, oak, tobacco, and leather. Finish: Short, leather, and cinnamon spice.