Reviews

I've had my eye on this one since it was announced, as I have really enjoyed all of the Laphroaig cask finishes I've tried, including Brodir, PX and Port & Wine Cairdeas. This is also bottled at 48% which is helpful, and has a 10 year age statement unlike Brodir, PX and most Cairdeas finishes which usually run about $85. This is a hair more expensive than Cairdeas which is okay when you take the age statement into account - and not so okay when you consider that the standard 10 is nearly half the price and this is basically the 10 with a year of finishing. So I was really hoping I didn't get ripped off here. I was relieved when I tried it. The color on this is amazing and I sure hope it's real. A deep, beautiful rusty color. Nose is simple and very nice, with campfire smoke, not so much medicinal, prunes, figs and some restrained maritime notes. Palate is terrific - just the right amount of sweet notes for me with the smoke and some pepper. Finish is tingly pepper and more sweet and smoke. A couple drops of water improve this dram quite a bit, smoothing out any tannin from the wine and amplifying the smoke and sherry notes to my taste. I'm no expert, but I think the sherry cask must be of high quality here as the sherry notes integrate very well with the smoke unlike a recent Caol Ila IB I had recently. Very happy with this purchase and for me it is better than the other cask finish special releases I've tried (not that many that I didn't list) and just below Lore. Phew - very thankful I didn't incinerate $90 on barely-touched Lap 10. This one is really enjoyable. This is supposedly going in the core range, which would be great - but please get that price down to a range similar to the Lag or Talisker Distiller Editions. I think a 30% premium is fine, but 100%? I'd have been livid if this wasn't good at that kind of a markup.

I tried this bad boy in an epic long birthday session with Elmer T. Lee, George Stagg, Weller CYBP, EH Taylor Single Barrel, Glendronach 21 and Macallan 18 Triple Cask. Wild Turkey Decades was the winner, just edging out the Weller CYPB. This is so balanced and delicious. I wouldn't change a thing about it. Gorgeous cherry on the nose, with lots of cherry, honey, spice, caramel and toffee. The cherry is so clean, powerful and most importantly fresh and not cloying. Everything here is in perfect balance with super clear layers that are easy to pick out. The strength is perfect at 104 proof. I only had a single pour or else I'd have more developed notes, but it was enough to make me want to purchase a bottle if at all possible for special occasions. One of the best things I've tried.

I haven't had Jack Daniels since I was in college, but I do remember being skeptical when people talked about how good this and the barrel proof are. After years of hearing this, I actually had reasonably high expectations when I finally ordered it at a bar. And it's delicious! Basically caramel drizzled bananas foster. I only wonder about two things: 1. Is this so sweet and rich that it would get tiring to get through a bottle? 2. Should I just jump to the barrel proof or is that going to be too much of a good thing? Because I have a hard time imagining how intensely sweet and powerful this would be at barrel proof and wonder if that is a profile I'd enjoy. In any event - great stuff!

I have a hit and miss history with Beam, but something about this Baker's 7 year old single barrel spoke to me. I've only had Bookers (Center Cut from a while back), which I find to be far too hot to be enjoyable, the Knob Creek 12 which was excellent (but hard to find now), and the pointless Basil Haydens. I like where the product slots in to the Beam lineup, not only price-wise ($55), but also because it's a single barrel and the strength for me is pretty close to ideal at 107. I get that there are less expensive, higher proof Knob Creek single barrels, but I'm really not a fan of whisky above about 110 - 115. Anyway, after the Knob Creek 12 that I enjoyed, I put my eye on this Bakers which is 7 years and 3 months old. On the nose, I was a little concerned. The nose is nice, but weak - a little brown sugar, a little spice, some ethanol. But the palate is great - relatively thick, coating mouth feel. Perfect peanut, brown sugar and rye spice with an underlying fruit sweetness - not quite cherry, but close to it. Just the right amount of heat to give it flavor and substance, but not enough to be unpleasant. The finish is lingering spice with a touch of the same not-quite-cherry. Really enjoyable. I'm pleased with this purchase and will probably seek out another when it is done if Knob Creek 12 is still unavailable. That one is better than Bakers by a bit because it has a clear, delicious cherry finish and a better nose. But this is very good stuff, pretty easy to find, and the powers that be don't seem to be bumping the price like Bookers or clearing the shelves like Knob Creek 12. A good one to tide me over until I can grab another KC 12. It's also a single barrel and I do enjoy rolling the dice and maybe getting a different experience now and again.

A "barely legal" rye and the higher proof older brother of Rittenhouse Rye, a favorite mixer. I've heard a ton of positive things about this. My favorite ryes so far have been the Russell's Reserve single barrel rye (excellent, heavy spearmint and white sugar profile) and Willett Rye (even better, what I'd describe as honey soaked flowers with a spectacular finish). Where does this place? This one has a bourbon-style caramel nose with the slightest hint of spice. The first several times I've tried this, it's actually been pretty muted but nice. It certainly doesn't scream rye, merely a nice bourbon. No burn or ethanol, the proof is super friendly. On the palate and finish, it delivers what I was hoping for - a Willett style honeyed floral taste! It has almost the exact same characteristics as that wonderful Willett Rye, just a little less complicated and intense. The Willett is about $56 an is unmistakeably superior. However, this is only $42. So basically, this is 75% as good as Willett Rye, but also only 75% of the price. It's a winner in my book and I'll look to stock this, particularly if I can't land a Willett or if my wallet is hurting a bit. Good stuff.

I'm a huge fan of the John J Bowman single barrel and I also LOVE port finished scotch. As a result was quite excited to try this port finished Bowman bourbon, which based on industry talk is essentially port finished, triple distilled Buffalo Trace for $36. The nose has a very clear port touch to it, with hints of berries/plum layered over what smells like a very young bourbon base. On the palate you can definitely discern the port versus the bourbon, and the port starts to reveal itself as wine-y and tannic. The finish starts to fall apart and is astringent and sharp. The seams show all over the place on this, and the result is what I feared - it tastes like inexpensive port was used to cover young whisky. They needed to either age the whisky longer or find some better port pipes. Unfortunately I am pretty disappointed by this offering, although at $36 it isn't exactly a tragedy. But I think the price point is a big tell here. Bowman has excellent whisky as demonstrated by their John J Bowman single barrel. I haven't had the small batch but I bet that is pretty good as well. I get the feeling this is the leftover stuff from the extremes of the warehouse that they pull pretty young and then try to cover with some inexpensive port pipes for people who like sweet whisky. When you can get $50 a bottle for your single barrel, there is no way they're pulling the same stuff at remotely the same age AND re-barreling it in good port pipes for $36. It doesn't make economic sense. Too bad.

Killer bottle. Absolutely love this. Consistent from nose to finish - it's an oak spice red fruit bomb, front to back. I'd say cherry bomb, but I believe the fruit is a mix of strawberry, raspberry and cherry mixed with a beautiful oak spice. Incredibly well balanced and seamless. I was very excited about the 2020 special release, but it was a bit harsher and needed some oxygen to reveal itself. This is just flat out great five minutes after opening the bottle and for my tastes it greatly exceeds the 2020. This is an instant re-buy and if I can score some at $55-60 I'll definitely buy a couple backups. This initial one cost me $70 which I don't regret at all. Final note is just about comparisons and class levels. I also bought an Issac Bowman Port Finish today and started off with it. It is winey, and bit astringent, and frankly you can taste the seams on it. Granted, it costs half of what this Makers costs. But following that Bowman with this Makers was revealing. In an ideal world, you get what you pay for. This 2021 Limited Release completely outclasses the Bowman and shows you what a great bourbon can deliver. A very dramatic difference. Highly recommended.

So this showed up at my local Total Wine today so I decided to pull the trigger. I'm not an experienced rye drinker, but I really enjoy the Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye and was hoping this was as good. Spoiler alert - mission accomplished! The nose is actually a bit muddled and my least favorite part. Most people talk about pickle brine, and that's as good a guess as anything, but that's not quite it. It's a really unusual nose, and I had a ton of trouble identifying just what the heck was going on with it. For me, this is the weakest part of the drink for me, but it's still interesting. Once in the mouth, it takes on a more traditional caramel and spice flavor that is really quite nice. Not overly sweet, but a perfect balance of sweet and spice. The finish is where this just takes off into orbit. It's transcendent. So much caramel, baking spice, spearmint, in perfect balance, lasting forever. It's spectactular in my opinion, one of the best finishes I've experienced. I had high expectations for this drink, and they were met. I admit that my score may be higher because it continues to improve from nose to palate to finish, but man, it's good. I understand that this is supposed to improve with air - I'd love for that to be true. Even over the first hour I spent with this, the caramel (or is it brown sugar) got a little bit more prominent, and I noticed the tiniest bit of cherry and other fruit in the palate and finish. If you see this for a reasonable price (below $70), I think it's a must try. But full disclosure, I'm pretty new to rye and could be overly impressed.

Watered down Old Grand-Dad Bonded at a $25 premium sold to people who don’t know any better. It’s “smooth” because a bunch of smooth Kentucky tap water has been dumped into it and it has nice presentation. If that floats your boat, have at it. Beam will thank you.

This is my first Knob Creek, so I don't carry the baggage of people who swear by barrel proof 15 year old store picks for less than this 12 year old that are no longer available. The Knob Creek 12 also finished #2 in the Whisky Advocate's top 20 and #1 for Breaking Bourbon, so I grabbed the last one at BevMo when I saw it (got $10 off too, so only $49!). For me, this is a perfect 100 proof that I honestly wouldn't want to be any stronger. It has a perfect amount of heavy vanilla, molasses and baking spices like a lighter Bookers, but it doesn't blast your taste buds or make it too short a drinking evening. The finish is the best part for me - a beautiful cherry note that is only present on the finish. It is my favorite part of this, but the whole thing is solid and well constructed. The last cherry note is like putting a fantastic ending on what was a up to that point just a really good movie. It sends you out on a high note and elevates the whole experience. I really like this, although at $60 it competes with Russell's Reserve SiB which is a tough matchup. But there will be a place for this on my cabinet. It's super solid but not a face melting 120 proof that I don't always want. It's like weekday Bookers that you can find anywhere (once the hype from the year end ratings dies down, anyway). What's not to like?