Tastes

N: Cherries, red grapes, ethanol, medicinal notes, mint, fresh cut wood, dried firewood, maybe some sawdust, char, maybe (probably) some distant vanilla and caramel. P: Thin feeling on entry. Caramel, milk chocolate, red fruit, hot cinnamon and cloves, vanilla, rye bread, cereal grain, corn. F: Cherry cough syrup, vanilla bread pudding, medicine, brown sugar, caramel, mint, dried herbs. I dig the cherry notes, but ends up a little too boozy for me. Ends up feeling unpolished with a bit too much of a reminder of gasoline. Long story short, I can't imagine picking this up again when both Buffalo Trace and Knob Creek's entry level offerings are about $10 cheaper and better, in my opinion. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

N: The rye influence is surprising. Doesn't smell like JW - certainly wouldn't guess it blind. Toffee, caramel, green grain, ethanol, mint, herbal tea, medicine notes, some sweet corn. P: Does taste a bit like JW. Slightly fruity with toffee, caramel, buttered popcorn(?), vanilla, earth, pine, mint, green tea, oak, barrel spice, and a good biting heat. F: Hot cinnamon, chili pepper, rye grain, dried herbs, mint, some of that smooth JW profile wanders in, earth, tree bark, dried leaves, dash of stone fruit. Picked this up on a whim (with some helpful advice on the Discord from @Benji-Robert) while traveling and hitting up random stores. Scored a couple nice, old dusties on that trip. This was one of them. 10 Year JW (same age as Black, right?) aged in first fill American oak, then finished in ex-rye casks. This is what the new High Rye JW wishes it were. It's spicy, grainy, herbal, earthy - a lot of the things you get from a good rye whiskey. It's a lot less of a JW whisky, but the profile is there. It's interesting. I would buy it again if I came across it. My understanding is that these were released once, in 2016. Not 100% certain that's true, but the box the bottle was in sure looked like it had been on that shelf for 7 years. Quick searching online shows this is still fairly widely available, but I had never seen it or heard of it before. Well, if you like JW and you like rye (or maybe flip those around), and you happen across a bottle of this, it's a no-brainer. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

K&L Wine exclusive. Barrel entry: 7/6/15; bottled: 12/30/20. 117 proof; 58.50%. Label gives the mashbill as: 36% rye, 60% corn, 4% barley. Distilled in Indiana (MGP), bottled in Kentucky. N: Butterscotch, shaving cream (it's MGP after all), lots of barrel spice, some ethanol, herbal rye grain, breakfast cereal. P: Sweet and spicy. Corn, cinnamon, barrel char, wood spice, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, herbal rye, dash of chili pepper, black tea, dash of earth and leather. F: Sweet corn, cinnamon, chili pepper, green rye, ethanol, shaving cream, barrel char, touch of smoke. This one is interesting. I really enjoyed this bottle. It's high proof, 5 year old MGP, and I generally do like MGP. But when I read my tasting notes, there doesn't seem to be that much up there - a lot of sameness across the nose and palate, not a lot in the way of development. So I'm kinda wondering what I liked so much. I'm thinking it's just a nice combination of things that have worked for me in the past: high rye mashbill, high proof that drinks super easy, MGP profile, reasonable price. And frankly I dig the branding - been to Deadwood before and it just evokes something rustic but appropriately kitsch for me. It's not the best bourbon I've ever had, but it really works for me. I tried to get another out of the same barrel, but they were gone. Did find one from another store and barrel. Off the top of my head, not sure how different they are, but it'll be neat to compare the notes eventually. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

N: Honey, sweet corn, barrel wood and spice, ethanol (which for some reason reminds me of potato vodka), some herbal notes, some floral notes. Not too deep and starts to go off the rails the more you swirl, but a solid, traditional bourbon nose. P: Caramel, caramel corn, honey, sweet corn, some green rye grain notes, dash of oak that has a peanut shell character to it, maybe some red fruit in the background. F: Barrel spice, cinnamon, hint of char, caramel, sweet corn, some of the herbal character from the nose, little bit of heat. This bottle gets a lot of hype, and I looked for it for a year or more before finally spotting one on a bottom shelf (where it belongs), but in the end it's really just a middle of the road BIB. Its strength is its price point - it's a good value at $20 for a liter at 100 proof. Credit where credit is due on that point. But the juice on the whole is a bottom shelf bourbon. It's a bit harsh and a bit flat. You expect that at the price point, it might even be part of the charm, but let's not pretend there aren't vastly superior bourbons out there. There are many. And there are also other bargain bourbons that offer a little more or something a little different. This slots in nicely in the bargain category, but it's not replacing anything in my regular rotation. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

N: Crisp red apple, both fresh and cooked, some medicinal notes, funky earth, touch of wood, splash of bubble gum, touch of burning leaves. Very fall appropriate. P: Baked apple, dark bread, cooked pear and peach, turned earth, seasoned wood, hay bales, allspice, cinnamon, maybe some paprika, definitely some baking spice with a touch of prickly heat, which plays tricks on the mouthfeel and mimics carbonation. F: Mint, cinnamon, cut grass, all the various fruits from above stewed in a boozy cider or even almost a mulled red wine (like a Glogg), herbal tea, black pepper. A touch pricey for what this is, but it does come in under some of the more traditional 18 year single malts, like a Glenfiddich or Glenlivet, and this just lives on a completely different world. It reminds of the Loch Lomond - and I'm not sure which whisky that's a better compliment to. This is more complicated and interesting, but also older and more expensive than any LL I've tried, so not a fair direct comparison. But the profile is similar. All that aside, this is tasty, interesting, and represents a different, earthier, funkier side of single malt. I like it a lot. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

N: Toffee, red fruit, apple, caramel, tropical fruit, pecan pie, coconut, herbal, nutty. The core elements of bourbon, single malt, and rye are all present, and all have the character of different Balcones whiskies. Really impressive. P: Red fruit, sweet bread, cinnamon, caramel, vanilla ice cream with a strawberry syrup drizzle, dark chocolate, candied cinnamon. F: Sweet and spicy with fresh red fruit, strawberry, baked bread, cinnamon, faintly woody notes with char and tannin, some rye herbal notes, dark chocolate. This is my second bottle of this stuff and I really just can't keep my hands off it. It's a perfect blend with very clear and pleasurable elements of bourbon, single malt, and rye. But, not just that, it's Balcones bourbon, single malt, and rye. The sweet frosting notes of Balcones bourbons mix perfectly with the fruity and bready notes of the their single malts, while also playing nicely with their high rye bourbons and straight ryes. I feel like I'm not saying it well. It's like a blend of True Blue, a good single barrel of their Single Malt, and the High Rye Bourbon (which has that notable chocolate note of the Rye, but a little less so). It's some of the greatest hits of Balcones. I guess that makes sense. _______ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

N: Orange citrus and cinnamon, spiced sweet corn, something like a Thanksgiving smell - pumpkin pie spice maybe - ethanol, toasted nuts. P: Sweet corn, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, barrel spice and char, citrus bite at the sides of the tongue, chewy toffee, maybe some light roast coffee in the corners of the mouth. Good medium body with some chew to it. F: Barrel spice and char, cinnamon, dash of citrus, some chili pepper. Not much more. Solid bonded bourbon. I've enjoyed this bottle. Could see myself picking this up again when I see it. Weakest point is the finish, which just doesn't add much or do much for the bourbon, but there's nothing bad or off about it either. All in all, a fairly standard or classic bourbon profile, at a good price, and at 100 proof. Hard to complain. _______ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

N: Rich caramel, vanilla, toffee, baked sweetbreads, menthol, dried herbs, dash of ethanol. Maybe some dried stone fruit. Maybe. P: Straight bourbon corn sweetness - odd. Vanilla, toffee, caramel, cinnamon, some other baking spice, gentle fruit notes if you run air across it. Medium-heavy body with good weight and a mouthcoating feeling. F: Slightly bitter (tannic), medium spicy, woody, sweet vanilla, maybe some orange citrus. Good length. This is a really lovely whisky, but sadly I think it's a bit overpriced. It comes across almost as a Scottish version of bourbon, and therein lies the problem - why not just buy a decent bottle of bourbon for half the price? To be fair, this is definitely different, and seems to show some age (although I'm not sure I've captured that above), but it's hard to justify a C-note for a blended grain Scotch when you could grab a bottle of say Buffalo Trace and Johnnie Walker Green and still have a few bucks leftover. Another way of saying it is that this is probably a niche whisky that's targeted at whisky nerds. Guilty as charged, but I doubt I buy this again any time soon. I don't doubt I buy this again eventually, because it's really tasty, but it'll take a random craving or that opportunity to introduce to someone where I think it will just click. I'm not craving it, in other words. I might feel differently at $50, however unfair that thought may be to this whisky. _______ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

N: Sweet corn, dust, earth, hay, mint, some shaving cream. Little bit of wood funk too. Interesting, but not terribly engaging either. P: Sweet caramel, vanilla, sweet corn. Toffee, something like a vanilla ice cream note, Some herbs and dried grass. Thin mouthfeel, bordering watery. F: Decent heat, but short and not a lot of distinct flavors. Some corn, vanilla, caramel. It's a typical bourbon finish. Grabbed all four of the mainline Benchmark (this, Bonded, Single Barrel, Full Proof) bottles on a recent re-up. This was my least favorite of the four. That said, it's a perfectly serviceable bourbon (and the first I've finished, although the Bonded will be right behind it). It reminds of a pretty good young MGP. I would call that a decent compliment. Well priced, solid whiskey, but the thinness of it in the mouth hurts. The other bottles don't have that problem. I might do this again, but it's not on par with something like an Evan Williams Single Barrel, when those can be found, and only a few bucks cheaper. It's also not better than standard Buffalo Trace (but I'm a BT fanboy so YMMV). _______ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)