Tastes

N: Apple juice, caramel, toffee, bread pudding. Vanilla and pear. Maybe light hints of tobacco and raisins. More orchard fruit with a dash of cough syrup. Noticeable ethanol presence. P: Ripe stone fruit, peach tea, creamy vanilla custard. Some hints of plums, raisins, and maybe dried red fruit. Bit of heat mid-palate leading into the finish, but it's pretty mild. Finish is put-you-to-sleep gentle: lingering vanilla, sour fruit, wet wood, and a little more apple juice for good measure. I wanted more from this. It plays everything safe and comes across bland in the process. There's just nothing that really stands out, except maybe the apple juice notes, which make me think more of hanging with my kid at daycare, which I would love to do, but probably not while sipping an 18 year old scotch. (Obviously, that situation calls for a cheap bourbon.) _____ A bunch of regular Distiller reviewers are chatting in real time on a new unofficial Distiller Community Discord server. Please join us: https://discord.gg/fzhzwHHX. (Link is good for 7 days - please comment if it's expired when you try it.)

N: Lovely, fragrant, perfume-y, earthy smoke. Lemon, peach, pear. Caramel cream and vanilla frosting. Hay bales with a slight farm-like funk. Slightly charred oak. This gets less smoky as it sits in the glass - it becomes more fruity and more Speyside-y. Not a bad thing. P: Sweet, smoked pear with a caramel and chocolate that's infused with orange citrus. Baking spice on top of a sweet vegetable note. Bitter roasted oak with a something like a barrel aged coffee funk. Finish is like licking a burning piece of firewood - lots of heat, wood, and smoke. I love it. Definitely some caramel, toffee, and cinnamon dusted chocolate lingering after the heat dies down. This is fun. It's a bit unpolished, but I think that's the point. It's raw power in the smoke, but plenty of balance coming from the fruit and malt notes. It feels young, but in an exuberant sort of way, not a green and harsh way. I like it. I would do it again. _____ A few regular Distiller reviewers are chatting in real time on a new unofficial Distiller Community Discord server. Please join the conversation: https://discord.gg/fzhzwHHX. (Link is good for 7 days - please comment if it's expired when you try it.)

N: Banana, graham cracker, oak, ethanol. Lesser notes of caramel, chocolate, and yellow cake. Not super deep, but what's here is super enjoyable. P: Bananas and oak. It's like the Old No. 7, but with more wood. Caramel drizzle on a vanilla custard. Dash of chocolate and coffee. Finish is pretty light - just a dash of oaky heat with more bananas. No questioning this is a Jack product: bananas! But it's a solid step up over the Old No. 7 for barely a few dollars more. I'd grab this again (when it's on sale, which is often). _____ A few regular Distiller reviewers are chatting in real time on a new unofficial Distiller Community Discord server. Please join the conversation: https://discord.gg/fzhzwHHX. (Link is good for 7 days - please comment if it's expired when you try it.)

N: Toffee, vanilla-banana pudding, some tropical fruit, hint of smoke. Mango, caramel, baking spice. Stewed stone fruit, cinnamon candy. Sweet pipe smoke that's like a lovely swirl of caramel and tobacco. P: Caramel, slightly sour tropical fruit, rich and sweet stone fruit, fresh red berries and cherry, vanilla, swirl of that tobacco smoke from the nose. Hot mid-palate with cinnamon and baking spice sitting on top of roasted pears. Finish ups the heat with cayenne at the edges of the tongue, but also soft, ripe pear, lychee, and a touch of bitter wood. Picked this up on a whim on Christmas Eve after having seen a favorable comment or two. I can't think of anything I would change about this whisky and have thoroughly enjoyed it through the holidays. It's just a lovely pour each time. Seriously thinking about grabbing another bottle to carry through the rest of the winter. _________ A few regular Distiller reviewers are chatting in real time on a new unofficial Distiller Community Discord server. Please join the conversation: https://discord.gg/fzhzwHHX. (Link is good for 7 days - please comment if it's expired when you try it.)

N: Fruit and caramel, dash of corn, baking spice. Trying to nose properly gives too much ethanol and ends the fun early, but really hadn't noticed while casually drinking. P: Sour fruit and waxy caramel. Vanilla folds nicely into baking spice, especially the longer you hold it on the tongue (to a point, of course). Finish brings a dash of oak, bitterness, and heat. More vanilla and a fruit note that's softened and feels a bit aged, like you might get in a nice Speyside - definitely not that caliber, but similar idea. Deep into the finish (like two minutes after the sip), a black licorice note seems to develop - suggests a cheap bourbon barrel. So you get suggestions of both a fine scotch and a cheap bourbon. Neat trick, that. I can see why people like this. It's easy drinking and perfectly enjoyable in a casual way. It does not generally reward someone who wants to dive in and get as much out of the dram as they can - there just isn't enough there. But that's not a really a flaw at sub-$20. Solid, easy, casual drinker. For close to the price range, I would probably step up to something like a Powers Gold, but this could satisfy an Irish urge in a pinch (at least one that can't also be satisfied by good ole Jamo). ----- Thought I'd start a Distiller Community Discord server and just see if anyone is up for joining/starting a spirits conversation in real time. Here's a link: https://discord.gg/zwdYvAEN. Say hello.

N: Rich caramel note off the bat - unusually hearty for a rye, and very welcome. Smoked rye grain notes with a slight barbecued meat character mingling in. Vanilla mint cream swirl, dash of butterscotch, dried cooking herbs. Like the straight bourbon, bit more ethanol than I might like, but can't complain at the price point. P: Caramel, butterscotch, toffee. Then it turns rye with the earthy and herbal notes you expect. Herbal mint tea, menthol, raw mint leaves. Finish is a slightly hot, but definitely cooled off by all the mint flavors. Also, pine cone, mineral water, mild cinnamon, and a sort of cooked vegetable note (faint). Slightly bitter and tannic with a somewhat light/thin mouthfeel (that feels right for this bottle). Another EC entry level winner. I overpaid for this bottle, but can find it for sub-$25. At that price, this can be a great go-to rye. I've had a few better ryes at twice the price (and also a few duds), but can only think of one cheaper one I would prefer: the Old Overholt BiB rye. But this is more readily available near me and makes a fine substitute. I expect it will enter the regular rotation. ----- Thought I'd start a Distiller Community Discord server and just see if anyone is up for joining/starting a spirits conversation in real time. Here's a link: https://discord.gg/zwdYvAEN. Say hello.

N: Caramel, corn, vanilla, cinnamon, oak. Honey, toffee, baking spice. Almond cookies. Bit of ethanol, but can't complain. P: Sweet corn spiced with cayenne. Excellent savory/sweet notes with a salted caramel and a lightly toasted vanilla. Almond extract and barrel spice. Finish brings the chili pepper heat, cinnamon, slightly bitter oak, and hints of coffee. Long lasting with a relatively oily mouthfeel. This is excellent for the price. Tons of flavor, tons of character, so much going on. Think this is my new favorite low budget bourbon. ----- Thought I'd start a Distiller Community Discord server and just see if anyone is up for joining/starting a spirits conversation in real time. Here's a link: https://discord.gg/zwdYvAEN. Say hello.

N: Caramel, peanuts, sweet corn, oak. There's that chalky, mineral note that runs through the GD line and some other Tennessee whiskeys. Cherry and other berry notes. Bit more ethanol on the nose than I recall from the other GD BiBs - it's more than I would prefer. P: Cherry and peanuts. Lots of chili pepper heat early. Oak char comes with that. Caramel, vanilla, and more sweet corn. Sharp ethanol bite again. Finish is more of the chili pepper heat - it just keeps coming and it's hard for me to get much beyond a burn on my tongue. I'll try: hot cinnamon chocolate, vitamins (yeah, the Flintstone kind), cherry, almond, and booze. The vitamin and chili pepper heat lingers basically forever. I'm not fond of this. I think it's easily the weakest of the three GD BiB releases. It's unpleasantly hot and boozy and lacks balance. I've picked up multiple bottles of both of the previous releases (still sitting on a sealed bottle of BiB #1), but I'll have to pass on a 2nd bottle of this. I'd look for the 11 year old (BiB #2) if you can still find it.

N: Super fruity with fresh, ripe berries. Dash of sea spray. Caramel and vanilla. Something earthy in it - like cut grass and a hint of pine needle. Peach and other orchard fruit develops over time. Maybe some dried herbs in the background. Lots going on in this one. P: The earthy and herbal background from the nose steps assertively into the foreground at first sip. And it comes across bitter and also a bit hot. The caramel, vanilla, and various fruits from the nose are still here, but background now. They keep the earth and herbs just barely in balance. Rich, oily mouthfeel that gives you a good coating of that spicy earth and herbs. Finish is pine, sea salt, and lots of cayenne pepper. Black tea bitterness. Dash of dark chocolate. I'd say it's medium length. This is solid and interesting. It oddly reminds me of a rye with the heat and the herbal notes. Don't think it's something I'd want regularly, but has a unique character that I could see myself picking up again on a whim someday.

N: Has a bit of that Hi-C note from the Busker SPS—actually, probably just has a bit of the SPS in it—but it's more subdued and better rounded here. Peach, pear, vanilla, caramel. Cherry candy and/or cherry cough syrup. Too much ethanol generally, but not out of line for the price. P: Big and fruity early with some orchard fruit and a distinct strawberry note. The fruit is quite sweet and tends to come across like candy. Bit more malt follows with some caramel and toffee. Dash of vanilla as well. Baking spice leads into the finish, which slowly builds through cinnamon and into a chili pepper heat. Some sour fruit mixes in, but the finish mostly just hot. I think this is a notch better than Busker Single Pot Still and a solid entry-level Irish whiskey generally. It's a decent alternative to Jameson, for example, but I wouldn't take it over Powers Gold. Pretty easy to drink, and cheap, but ultimately nothing memorable about this one.