Tastes

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?

This is my first ever rye - at least since I've been paying attention enough to rate something. It's different that anything I've had before. Assuming this rye is like others, I finally get why the bottle is green. There is so much pine and spearmint in this rye that it is incredible. And this is only a barely legal rye from what I understand. The nose is subdued, fresh and clean. It is almost exclusively spearmint and pine as previously noted. The palate is similar at first, but if you let it sit in your mouth, it just builds and builds. All of a sudden, in addition to the spearmint and pine, you start to get white sugar. Then spice. Then strong pepper. And it just goes on and on, tingly and wonderful. After it's all said and done I can get mint tea. This is unlike anything I've tasted before, but again I have hardly had any ryes. But I love this because it is so different than the scotches and bourbons I've tried, and it's even different from what I thought rye was - super spicy. I mean, there is spice, but the green notes and the gentle nature of this just take me by surprise. Maybe others with more experience with rye won't be as shocked as I am, but it really is unique to me - at least until I get my hands on a Pikesville which I hear is as good or better than this. Wonderful stuff, recommended.

This was somewhat difficult to lay hands on, but I really wanted to try it because I love the travel retail Port finished Brodir so much. So how does this matchup, and was it worth the wait? Because considering I'd have to fly to Europe to get a crack at it, I'm not getting my hands on a Brodir anytime soon. On the nose, this 2020 Cairdeas is pretty restrained. I get a little of Laphroaig's famous band aid peat, but it is a bit subdued and there are red fruit and wine notes lingering at the edges. Very nice, but not the sticky plum bomb that I remember from the Brodir. Oily on the palate, where the peat really comes forward and you taste the proof a bit. The same red fruit and wine notes continue to linger at the edges. The finish is peppery and peaty with little tannic sweetness from the wine. I like this quite a bit and I'm happy with the purchase, although to be honest it doesn't have as much port as I was hoping for. The Brodir had that powerful peat and sweet thing going on, and it was much richer. Even at 52%, this one feels restrained. That said, it is more elegant and it doesn't even need a drop of water at that relatively high ABV to be enjoyable. I think this one will grow on me as I start to appreciate what it is (elegant and balanced Laphroaig), and not what it isn't (a port bomb).