Tastes
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High Noon Tequila Seltzer Lime
Ready to Drink — Modesto, CA, USA
Reviewed June 16, 2025 (edited June 18, 2025)Poking around the other sections of Distiller the other day led me to the "Others" section, and further into "Ready to Drink." Now I've certainly had my fair share of RTDs (and hated most of them), but I never really thought they would go anywhere to be reviewed and rated. I wasn't going to add this here, until I noticed another High Noon Tequila Seltzer flavor, as well as plenty of the vodka ones, and there isn't a single High Noon product published on Untappd (but strangely, all of White Claw's product line is over there). Technically this is an RTD rather than a hard seltzer, and it's listed as being produced by "High Noon Spirits Company." In any case, I've already had dozens of these, but am just looking for quick reviews to pad my numbers. I cannot believe the quality nose of tequila this has. With notes of white and bell pepper, it's almost spicy to the nose, but no doubt a blanco tequila and not a mixto. The lime here is fairly artificial, but still has a bit of sourness, and just a touch of zest. Although the body is quite light and fizzy, the flavor is powerful, and begins with some fake, sour lime, before exploding into peppery, vegetal tequila. If the lime flavor was tended to and ONLY consisted of fresh lime juice, this would be the perfect summer sipper, but is already insanely crushable as-is. -
I love craft distilleries that produce 200ml bottles, because it's just enough to try a few times and in a few different ways, but without the cost commitment of a 750ml bottle, and is always a cuter design than the 375ml bottles. That alone is a nice feature, as well as any distillery that produces more than one type of gin, let alone the idea of packaging them all together into an efficient taster kit. I've had all 3 of these gins in the past, but didn't rate them and it was long enough ago that I can't remember which one was my favorite (although I remember it NOT being the dry rye, red label). In any case, the botanicals here sound incredibly unique, and I love the separate distilling methods used. I'm hoping this leads to a dry, perfumey, earthy experience that allows me to picture California forests, without actually having to step foot in our country's worst state. The nose definitely leads with fir tree (leaves and bark alike), as well as some earthy spices (like cardamom and even some allspice), cracked, dry juniper, lemon-scented cleaning supplies, and a overall floral surrounding note. The proof here is just enough to prevent any watery perception, but not enough to cause any real burn. The taste begins with a touch of floral pine, but quickly turns to lemon, presenting first as cleaning agents, but then as sweet, almost candied marmalade. A general sweet maltiness takes over most of the flavor beyond this, with more of an assorted rose garden note than anything dry or related to pine or fir. The proof builds slightly, but as with the nose, it's just enough to tell you that it isn't 80 proof, but doesn't deliver much besides that. Repeat sips turn the sweet citrus into a more general amalgam of artificial fruit flavors. A simple gin deserves a simple review (relatively). I'm not excited about this, nor do I think it's particularly unique enough to seek out or even order. I do, however, find it to be much sweeter than expected, and on that note, fairly sweeter tasting than most other gins on the market, without actually having a thicker, syrupy, sugary texture. It's fairly plain and even a little boring, but with several other gins made from this distillery to compare it to, that makes for a fun experiment on its own.
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The Glenlivet, a staple for balanced, affordable scotch that seems to scratch my itch for it, no matter what region I'm craving. I'm surprised I haven't seen this variant yet, considering it's been released for over 5 years and isn't prone to the insane markup and allocation that American whiskey is, but it still made for a nice birthday gift nonetheless. In any case, it's a great idea to grab some of the sweeter notes from rum barrels and combine with pretty decent scotch, and other than the boring, standard proof, I can't think of a way this will be anything less than moderately enjoyable. The color manifests as a mixture of deep pine, straw, and toffee. The nose is mostly notes of sour, fermented mash or "distiller's beer," with a tiny note of oak behind it, although neither sweet nor dry. Because of all the grain and sourness, if there is any rum here at all, it is a very unrefined syrupy flavor, almost hogo in nature. The body begins as light and inoffensive, but not necessarily watery. The sour and hogo flavors are found here at the top, but moderately so and not enough to be a turn-off if you don't like it or haven't experienced it before. Only after swallowing is there a tiny sweetness that delivers on traditional oaky, sweet, aged rum. The finish is a bit dry, with notes of both plain oak as well as raw sugarcane contributing to this. Repeated sips surprisingly stack on a bit of a gum burn, but doesn't move any further towards the back of the mouth or throat. Although I do like the unique flavor profile here that distinguishs itself well from the rest of the Glenlivet line (without sacrificing what makes the base whisky great), it's not exactly reminiscent of rum, or at least what the most common profile is when thinking of rum. At the end of the day, the dry, slightly smoky maltiness from the base scotch does pair well with the hogo, partially sour notes it gained from the rum barrel, but really didn't become any sweeter, so it just depends on what you're looking for and expecting when picking this one up.
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Bluecoat Elderflower Gin
Flavored Gin — Pennsylvania, USA
Reviewed April 24, 2025 (edited June 9, 2025)The huge gap between this review and the one on the barrel aged version, even though I purchased them at the same time, is due to me needing to make (see: drink) some more space on the gin shelf to fit the bottle. In any case, I tried this (and every other product available) while at the pop-up storefront in the King of Prussia mall, and remember thinking at the time that this should be the flagship, base gin as compared to the original, blue-glass bottle version. The original seemed both harsh and boring, while this one, with the simple addition of elderflower, rounds things out and can easily attract a bigger crowd, or so I remember. Objectively, the proof is decent but still low, the color is a fun and unique change to the gin world, and, to a lesser degree, the bottle art and style are also very attractive. As stated before, the color is definitely unique, although under inspection, the hazy, cloudy, muted tone gives my brain reason to be a little hesitant in drinking it. The actual hue is a mix between straw and preserved lemon juice. The nose begins with, as expected, a great amount of elderflower, but not too much to be overly sweet or overpowering. The other scents from the base gin play much nicer with this added florality, including fresh citrus oil (with a focus on lemon), a bit of cardamom, and enough juniper to give a spicy edge, but without the dry side you'd find from a version across the pond. The initial flavor is a little aggressive and unrefined, and comes off as spicy and juniper-forward, but this similarity to the original gin ends here, as the elderflower brings about a floral flavor that keeps things from getting too hot or plain. This also helps to bring out the fresh citrus oils from the nose, which move around the now rounded profile through the tongue, despite the gums beginning to burn a bit from the slightly higher proof and juniper heavy simplicity of the entire blend. The finish is fairly dry, but again, not so heavy that I'd think this was a London gin. Having been through most of the Philadelphia Distilling and Bluecoat portfolio, I still think this is a better representation of their flagship, base gin than it is without the addition of the elderflower. I don't remember the cost, but since most gins are pretty inexpensive (with very few exceptions), I'm guessing this is no different, and is worth the pick-up over the blue glass bottle and stands well on it's own. I'm not certain that the claim on the bottle that Bluecoat "pioneered what is now known as American dry style gin" is accurate, but I've also only heard American gin and dry gin used as separate categorizers until now, and I now think this style name perfectly describes this entire product line. -
Boone County Founder's Reserve Bourbon
Bourbon — Boone County, Kentucky, USA
Reviewed March 28, 2025This may be the first time in my life that I've seen anything on "clearance" at a liquor store in Ohio. I'm not sure why it was marked as half off, but when divine intervention strikes, you take the opportunity. I haven't had a Boone County product since the original, sourced 1833 series, which was one of the best sourced MGP products I can remember in the recent past. Other than their bourbon cream (which also happens to be my favorite of this product type that I've found to this day), I remember Boone County being on their way to making some other products, but it appears that enough time has passed and they finally have their own barrels broken open, in both bourbon and rye. I'm not familiar at all what the differences between all of the product lines are, so I can only go off what I have in front of me, and that happens to be a mid-proof, milk toast mash bill but with decent age behind it at between 5-7 years. Of note to scrutinize is the claim on both the bottle and the website that the use of a pot still (which has been in use worldwide for distillation for hundreds, potentially thousands of years) gives this "a full body and complex flavors not found in other Bourbons." I find it hard to believe that all the other simplistic factors in this creation process net out a product that is in any way shockingly unique, but I digress. The color begins as somewhere between dark maple syrup and stained chestnut wood with a hint of red. The nose begins with incredibly clean and raw rye and malt grain, with the ratio about 40/60, as well as cherry wood, milk chocolate, basic citrus, and a little general florality. The proof is almost perfectly balanced, being just powerful enough to let the spiced rye bloom, but not too strong that it knocks you out of the glass or kills the nostrils. The flavor very strongly presents as raw grain, but strangely more so the blend detected from the nose and leaving almost any trace of corn behind. The proof also acts a little aggressively here, pushing the rye and malt notes into the gums and tongue and end up tasting both spicy and dry, but still doesn't burn out the palate along the ride. No other notable flavors arise from repeated sips, leaving the finish to be a little calmer as far as hotness, but malty and dry overall. This is so very reminiscent of a young, 1-2 year bourbon, making it that much more disappointing when I remember that it's been aged for at least 3, 4, or even 5 times that amount. I'm not sure how 5 to 7 years can pass in a barrel without picking up any of the natural wood sugars or sweetness, but this seemed to have found a way. To their credit, this does make it the oldest bourbon I've ever had that tastes this young, so the claim of it "not found in other Bourbons" is correct in the end. I'm fairly certain the discounted price on this was somewhere in the $20 range, but with the young flavor and nothing else beyond that, it doesn't even seem worth that much. Still, I am curious to try other products in the brand's portfolio, but would only do so at a bar or directly at the distillery, and would be very weary of the price altogether, whether by the ounce or by the bottle. -
Bulleit Bottled in Bond Bourbon (Spring 2017)
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed March 21, 2025 (edited April 4, 2025)Bulleit is one of those distilleries that have always had just a couple products that they made really well and were known everywhere, but within the last few years they seem to have tripled or even quadrupled this number, including both permenant and one-off releases. This change is usually disappointing at first as companies drift away from what they do best, but in this case, Bulleit continued their quality output for most of these new products, so this new bonded bourbon gives no reason to be wary of it. The age on this is very impressive given today's market standards, but what's even more impressive is that Bulleit was clearly intending to create this product nearly a decade ago, as they would have had to plan ahead to get the government approved and maintained storage facility for these particular barrels back in 2017. The color here is a little lighter than expected for this age point, appearing just a bit more darker of a brown than sherry, but not quite as deep as predicted, being a bit more golden overall. The legs are fairly thick, and the nose is strong at a good distance, but up close deliver notes of sweet & salty toffee, caramel sauce, and a bit of a general bread or biscuit. The familiar and expected spicy rye is also present, riding the line with cinnamon and slightly sweet citrus. The only other note is faint but definitely unexpected, and comes through as sour and lactic, almost like a blue cheese or something similar. The taste begins with a bit of a watery body, but this is just an illusion, as plenty of spicy cinnamon and cracked rye start warming up the entire mouth and gums, and seems to double down on what you might find on any of the other Bulleit bourbon or rye offerings. If you can manage to fight through this spice, there are also notes of dry, toasted oak, a bit of lemon zest, and a touch of a vanilla creaminess. The finish is mostly in the gums, with the cinnamon and spice remaining powerful and almost distracting for quite some time. It's funny, even though it's shown on both the paper label as well as embossed into the bottle itself, I very rarely notice that Bulleit subtitles all of their products as "frontier whiskey." Having said that, if the regular products are "frontier whiskey," this is definitely whiskey from your grandfather's frontier, where things were generally hotter, more dusty, and you had to walk uphills both ways to get to the stills. It's overall very enjoyable (provided you can handle the heat), and the price point isn't too bad either (at MSRP of course, always). This only loses "points" because it's a limited product, which is already a shame in an environment where customers are tired of not being able to spend their money on buying things, but also because Bulleit has demonstrated here that they can not only produce a bonded product, but can also hit pretty hard with their turn up to bat. We'll see if this makes a return with future (or perhaps even past) seasons.55.0 USD per Bottle -
Always fun to actually be able to find a new product when it comes out. I don't actually know how difficult this was to find, because I've become so exhausted with "the hunt" that I started paying my friends and family to do the liquor store walk of shame for me, and it's been every bit worth it. But I digress, and am actually excited to try this new product. From what I understand, Jameson already triple distills and by default uses ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, so all this really introduces are the chestnut casks, which is really not all that different, but then again, this was quite cheap to begin with, and you always get what you pay for. I don't know of any world whiskey that has ever used chestnut barrels, though, so I do expect some flavor difference. Hopefully it's able to come through given the classic low 80 proof, and I sure hope it's not coarse, since I see the word "smooth" no less than 3 times on this bottle and 7 times on the website page (ah, I love the flavor of "smooth"). The color is darker than original Jameson, but not by much, and is still light overall, ironically somewhere between the real versions of sherry and chestnut. Sherry, sour malt, honey, and a little baking spice lead the nose, all of which can be found on the original Jameson. However, there is a new nuttiness that's present, and although this note alone is somewhat weak, the overall body smells more full and spiced, despite the proof remaining the same compared to the original. The flavor begins with honey, sherry, and a touch of green apple, but almost immediately introduces potent wood sugar and caramel notes, as well as a sweet, almost creamy nuttiness. Repeat sips stack this new nutty flavor, but also cause the finish to become more and more hot and a little dry each time. I could have gone a little deeper on the analyzation here, but stopped when I realized how simple this is once you unlock the new chestnut flavor. Although the chestnut does provide it's own new notes, it also helps to "thicken" the base body and becomes much less light and watery as compared to the original base Jameson. Because of this, the end result here tastes like a combination of Jameson original and the Black Barrel product, as well as this new chestnut profile. This is fun and cheap, and a great way to transform Irish whiskey that most people can enjoy, and was a smart move to add to the permenant portfolio for the brand. I have to say, though, I was very disappointed and may even have to ask for a refund based on the fact that I didn't taste a single "smooth" in this whole pour.
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Casamigos Blanco Tequila
Tequila Blanco — Los Altos, Jalisco, Mexico
Reviewed February 13, 2025 (edited February 17, 2025)The final bottle of the Winter 2025 50ml Clean-Up left me with a celebrity novelty, but it's still tequila nonetheless. I've had the reposado version of this and only remember it being one of the sweetest tequilas I've ever had, almost capable of being poured over ice cream if not for the thin consistency. Even though this is a standard 80 proof tequila with no age, it's concerning that the back of the bottle indicates a vanilla finish, and really makes me wonder how all of the age statements would be capable of this super sweetness. Here's hoping some of the more vegetal notes from the agave can be captured here without any sweetness overpowering it. The nose is very aggressive and somewhat bitter, with notes of carbon and cleaning chemicals, similar to high wine heads right off the still. There's nothing about this that is appealing, but there are still very faint notes of raw, vegetal agave, and even the vanilla that was predicted from the start. The initial flavor and body are both light and unimpressive, but this flips quickly when the carbon and vegetal notes from the nose start digging into the gums with a raw and aggressive burn, again reminding me of fresh-off-the-still distillate. The finish has some notes of green bell pepper and black peppercorn, and indeed a small touch of vanilla (although kind of artificial and not very sweet), but is far too strong and unrefined to be sweet or approachable for almost any crowd. This is definitely a disappointment (as most celebrity spirits are) as far as tequila goes, and rests right on the line between "not enjoyable" and "actively disliking." It has no place for drinking neat, nor would it lend anything to most cocktails. Given that there are plenty of other tequilas around this price point with far better flavor and quality (and minus the unnecessary celebrity endorsement), this is worth ignoring in the store and in the public bar alike. -
Courvoisier VSOP Fine Champagne Cognac
Cognac — Cognac, France
Reviewed February 5, 2025 (edited February 7, 2025)Second to last on the "Winter 50ml Clean-up Tour" probably still doesn't break double digits on brandys that I've tried, let alone cognacs. Because I'm quite ignorant with brandy and cognac alike, I have absolutely no idea what to expect here, but I do know that Courvoisier is a very popular and equally cheap brand, so there must be something here to like. I believe I have had the VS version of this, but don't remember it being notable one way or the other. Having such a blank expectation seems like a well needed gift in a world of essentially a new spirit type to me. The color is not unlike many popular American whiskey brands, with a mix of chestnut brown and golden raisin. Speaking of, the nose incorporates both the sweeter side of oak as well as some expected grape must. The ethanol is strong through the nostrils, especially so for just 80 proof. Really the 2 above notes are the only that are in play here, at least at face value, with a balance between spiciness from the overall ethanol as well as a cinnamon and baking spice with repeated smelling. The grape must is still the other half of the spotlight, but lets the sweet overtake this added dry and almost savory component. The flavor begins with slightly citrusy and sugary mixed berries and cherries (is a cherry a berry?), which evolves into whatever flavor Froot Loops are. The body is very light and prevents this from being too sweet overall, and in fact, an oak-forward spiciness begins to form through the finish. This spiced oak stacks with each sip, and some air introduced at this point also unlocks the dry grape must note from the nose. I'm not sure what else I can add here, since even though I have had very few cognacs, this still managed to taste fairly close to what I expected. The initial fruit flavors did catch me off guard, but it was still enjoyable from a neat pour standpoint, and would probably play very nicely in cognac or brandy based cocktails all the same. If the price is really as cheap as I've heard, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't want this, at least as a functional and tasty simple cognac with no frills. -
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye (2024 Release)
Rye — Tennessee, USA
Reviewed January 22, 2025 (edited February 7, 2025)Barrel house: 1-06 Barrel number: 24-10385 Bottling date: 06NOV2024 129.5 proof, 64.75% ABV Nice, happy to finally see this out in the wild. I have only heard good things about this product, and have had it recommended to me multiple times now. What I didn't realize is how much time had gone by since hearing about it and having it recommended, which only just now makes sense, knowing this is an annual limited release. I'm happy to have found it at MSRP, but knowing the poor distribution and allocation of the American whiskey market, I assume this will already be sold out by the end of this sentence. I've also never been a fan of people putting corn and rye together and having the boldness of being proud of it as a rye whiskey, but I suppose it's not abysmally hopeless at 70% rye. I will, however, give points on having a barrel strength product that's finally above these weak imposters that sit between 105 and 110. The only thing that would further be improved here is if the age was known, but thank goodness they put the bottling date, like giving us half of the answer was good enough. The color is a combination of chestnut and mahogany, but only if you use the word "rich" in conjunction with describing them both. Initially there is a good amount of red and blue berries on the nose, as well as a chaser of cracked cinnamon, dried grass, vanilla frosting, and some spicy toasted oak. The ethanol is definitely very tame, and allows deep smelling without fear of burning reprisal. Repeated nosing introduces a small tobacco note as well as some other general baking spices, but the sweetness really doubles down as well, this time more detectable as aged corn that's had time to lose the more raw and aggressive side. The initial flavor begins with classic cinnamon and herbaceous rye whiskey notes, but with an added flavor of sweet chocolate sauce. Cinnamon or ethanol burn aside, something begins really clawing and burning the gum line, while spiced French oak and citrus oil flavors also quietly join the party. Those red berries from the nose also come around, more specifically as cherries, but because of the sweetness, have been given the maraschino treatment. The finish is dry but returns to the spice and citrus, with just a touch of that iconic charcoal filter flavor, although this time much more full-bodied than the lower proof stuff. This really is an awesome representation of how rye whiskey can be used, reused, and transformed in the American distilling world, and even though it doesn't tick all the boxes I usually demand from my American ryes, it's uniqueness is all it's own. The charcoal filtering and medium rye mash make for a really fun flavor to dissect, provided you can do so within the few sips it tastes to get snuffed out due to the proof. Don't get it twisted, however, this is how all whiskeys worldwide should be served; you can always add your own water, but I haven't yet acquired the technology needed to take it away. I'd really love to know the age statement here to better understand how the grains have developed, but far more than that, I wish this was more readily available for purchase, or simply more often distributed and allocated. I'm not sure what the deal is with the proofed down version of this same whiskey as far as where and how often it's sold, but if the price is right on that front, Jack Daniel's has provided another great inspiration for single barrel collecting, and helped this drinker to revitalize the thrill of comparing them.
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