Tastes

Batch #: 013 Bottle #: 109/191 In cask date: 11MAR2017 Bottling date: 17SEP2025 Proof: 123.2 ABV: 61.6% Author's note - skip ahead to the next paragraph for the actual review. And with that, I've finally reached the end, at least here on Distiller, and in this hobby. I began collecting whiskey and then subsequently all kinds of spirits way back in 2017. During my first year in the military in 2016, I basically discovered alcohol (or at least heavy drinking) for the first time in my life. I would drink anything and everything that I could get my hands on, although like most first-timers, it was mostly sweet ciders, flavored whiskies, and similar. By 2017, I had calmed down mentally enough to stop the excessive drinking, and luckily was able to start exploring the world of flavor without keeping an addiction to the alcohol itself. My wife and I decided to get into the collecting hobby together, and dove into the Kentucky Bourbon Trail with a trip to a few distilleries over a long weekend. It took us about another year to actually complete the full Trail, and we've probably completed the whole thing up and down (despite younger and younger uninteresting distilleries being forcefully added every year, and don't forget about “updating” the passport every so often so the old one becomes useless and you have to buy a new one to start over with) at least half a dozen times by today's standards. In the beginning, I started with just a few bottles in the collection, and it was all the cheap basics. I still have the wooden milk crate that I used to store that collection in, back when it was 6 bottles at max. From there it grew, at first where I included a few more milk crates, then a bookshelf, then several bookshelves, and now a custom-lit corner of my home with hundreds of bottles, literature, collectables, tools, etc. It was obviously fun at first, building choices up, comparing the minute differences between them, discovering my favorite products and flavor notes and how those flavors were created during the manufacturing process, then getting into the more hyper specificity of single barrels and barrel picks, all the while slowing building my proof tolerance until anything below full proof just wouldn't deliver the body that I was looking for. Along the way I learned about new brands, watched as the “big boys” played around with limited edition nonsense and fluctuated in price, and was there for the very beginning of the “bourbon boom” in 2020 - watching in horror for years after the tiny distilleries that came out of nowhere demand $100+ for their cookie-cutter 1-2 year aged whiskey, which is still a common practice today. I remember being able to walk into any liquor store (even in Ohio) before 2020 and find any Buffalo Trace or other equivalent big distillery’s products, sitting right there on the shelf next to everything else, not locked away behind the register so you have to stand in front of the cashier just to shop, ironically preventing other customers from doing so while you're in the way. I hate giving Buffalo Trace the time of day, but I remember Blanton's being $55 and accessible everywhere, but with the smartest, most deceptable marketing team on their side, they made the most profitable decision of artificial allocation and scarcity right during the height of COVID-19, allowing them to sell their products for whatever they want and at any quantity they like, since they already had all the customers hooked. It would take a blind and deaf person to not see that they're the most evil distillery we have, and yet they're blindly supported day in and out, with people willing to wait in line for a mere chance to be able to spend their money on a single bottle that's been marked up 300-400% in less than half a decade. Not that my single opinion matters, but I am proud to have continually kept my collection Buffalo Trace free for several years now, and will continue to do so for as long as they prove to be as profit hungry as they are. This behavior was noticed by other distilleries not long after Buffalo Trace started it, and now allocation feels almost commonplace for customers nationwide. The incessant “hunt” continues to feel disgusting and far too capitalistic for any hobbyist to really enjoy this any longer. With this final, 400th review on Distiller, I will begin dwindling my collection until I'm left with only the purest, classic favorites, from those distilleries that still continue to support their customers and allow their products to be purchased. For those of you in the community in and out of Distiller, I wish I could have engaged with you more. It was a conscious decision to stay quiet, more for you than me, because I already hate how purist and pretentious I can be when talking about this, but there's no way I could stand being in a room or chatting with others just like me. When the fun of enjoying started fading, it turned into educating friends, family, and whoever else would listen. I slowly became very envious of anyone who was able to just enjoy their favorites simply and without this level of extremism, and so finally, well, if you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em, right? Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me, crossed paths at the bar, listened to me babble, and, most importantly, those of you that have and continue to support your local and regional distilleries, allowing the selection we have today to be able to grow to this point - I'll keep drinking if you will, and I can't think of anything to be more thankful for than that. Of course I had to add this to Distiller, since it's technically already been added but with specific proof/ABV in the title; one of the many reasons this will be my last review is the clear lack of professionalism from people who add spirits and the equal lack of policing by the Distiller staff. Anyway, I spent most of this year trying to decide what my last reviewed spirit would be. At one point I was going to plan another distillery trip and spend thousands on a private program, and I even entertained the idea of buying my own barrel selection and giving some bottles out to family and friends as a gift. The communication from the distilleries wasn't good enough for me to justify spending thousands, so I kept thinking. I would go to Van Buren Room (Belle of Dayton's cocktail lounge), a place I frequent several times a week, and continue thinking about my choices. And then it hit me: what else could possibly top a whiskey from my hometown, and from the only distillery in Dayton? I took their tour, tried both the bourbon and rye, and surprisingly ended up with the former, despite my usual preference for the latter. As I said, I've been aware of Belle of Dayton and their products for many years now (they make my second favorite gin), but I always assumed their whiskies were sourced, young, plain, or any combination of the above, and the $100 price tag didn't help their cause. All that got put to bed during the tour, as I spoke with one of the master distillers about just how passionate the whole crew was, and how it absolutely reflected in all their products, including the whiskey. Not sourced, usually 8 or 9 years aged, always a single barrel, and always bottled at full proof or cask strength. It's also a 4 grain bourbon, and although the oats does make for a notable softness, combining wheat and rye in a bourbon is useless, as they usually cancel each other out as far as their unique flavors, and nobody counts barley in their bourbon, since I've yet to meet one that doesn't use it. Still, this hit all the big checkboxes on my list, and I felt honored to support as local as it gets, especially people who actually care about this industry instead of the profits behind it. Even though the body is quite dark, closing in on chocolate territory, there's something about it that reminds me of honey, perhaps because the meniscus is lighter than I expected. The nose is powerful, and has even notes of cinnamon, citrus, red and blue berries, sweetness from the charred oak, and a small maltiness, all of which is rounded just a bit more than usual due to the oats. That initial sip is just as powerful as the nose was, but in both cases, although it's shocking at first, it doesn't push you away or overwhelm you, as long as you're aware of what you're getting into. The berries and a touch of citrus are the initial flavors, which get sweetened by some vanilla before getting a big hit of cinnamon and some of that fresh, grassy, somewhat minty rye. The gums start heating up, but similarly not too much to be hateful. After the fruit subsides, there's some honey and a maltiness that rides out the fairly hot finish - a near perfect reflection of the nose all the way through. I'm glad I'm wrong about this one, because the wheat and rye do not contradict each other, and stand out of the way enough to be able to pick up both flavors. The oats are welcome here, and although don't provide a unique flavor, they help to elevate the malt while preventing the rest of the flavors and body from being too powerful. This seems like an obvious candidate for some water to be added, but really is quite enjoyable on its own, enough to shy away from even adding ice. It's been a fun journey, and I wish happy exploring, collecting, supporting, and, most of all, drinking to all of you.

It was nice to see this at the store as of late, mostly because I thought cask strength Maker's Mark (whether classic or 46) was a huge rarity. Not so, at least in this store's eyes, since this was not stored alongside their "rare section," and much more important, was priced at only $45! I know Maker's Mark already has plenty of brand recognition and has basically already peaked, but it's still shocking that you can purchase nearly every one of their products for less than some 2-year, 80 proof nonsense that just came on the market. I love the amount of specific information regarding the batch that is listed on the labels, which really contribute to a more homemade feel, despite the distillery itself feeling more like a factory (albeit with an beautiful campus) each time I go there. The proof and age here are just shy of being perfect in my book, but as I always say, you get what you pay for, and this is still an unbelievable bargain as it is. The hue here is definitely very deep, much darker than a golden brown and moving into maple territory. The legs are very sticky, and the nose begins strong and spicy, but not with the typical cinnamon or minty notes you would get from rye, instead more soft baking spices (think banana bread or carrot cake) that only full strength and well-aged wheat can offer. The age here is almost enough to take away any raw corn notes, instead letting the sweetness of the barrel emphasize the soft wheat flavors. The ethanol is present but not overpowering, and circles back to provide that phantom rye-like spiciness that you can't quite shake. The first tasting note that I get is surprisingly that of young corn/wheat mash, despite the fairly high age. The ethanol builds fairly quickly, but plateaus once it reaches its maximum. The raw grain flavor continues even as it builds around the gum line, with much smaller notes of bitter cacao and actual flowers (I don't like doing specifics, but there is a hint of what I attribute to chamomile here) trying to fight through. The finish is hot, but not burning and let's the last tasted note of toasted oak (notably no sweetness that was found in the nose) slowly fade out. The universal rule is unfortunately almost always true: you get what you pay for. The American whiskey market (or whisky, as I'm just now noticing Maker's Mark decided to go with on their label) understandably has a LOT of exceptions to this rule, but in this case, I knew something was too good to be true for this price point. Despite 7 years definitely not qualifying for a young bourbon, this still retains so much raw grain flavor, to the point where I've tasted mash directly from the fermentation tank that had similar flavors. It's not usual (especially for me) to dislike a cask strength version of anything as compared to its diluted counterpart, but save for the full and spicy body, this doesn't have many redeeming factors. That being said, the one time I tried cask strength 46 proved that it's really just the plain, unfinished Maker's Mark that never really had any character to begin with.

Hand selected by (barrel name): Tariff-ic (super cringe) Single barrel #: SM025 Barreled: 03JUL2019 ALC/VOL: 55% Proof: 110 My last pickup from my most recent trip to Limestone Branch, and although I tried it while I was there, it was easily the least memorable. This does mean that it was neither incredibly good or incredibly bad, which is an improvement on the standard, blended American single malt product that they offer, which was aggressive, far too young, and overall not ready for shelves yet. As rare as American single malt whiskeys are, it's even nicer to see a single barrel, high proof variant on the market, with very little competition to it. Although the age is still not even close to where it needs to be (there's a reason most European single malts have a bare minimum of 10 years), this has potential for being better or worse, depending on which barrel you end up with. The color here seems much darker than normal as compared to most other Yellowstone variants, not quite in the chocolate range, but definitely past muscat and golden brown into something more mature. Speaking of chocolate, the nose begins with soft cocoa and even marshmallow, but less sweet and more of a dry body complimenting it. The oak is also very prominent, simultaneously giving notes of sweet, charred oak as well as untouched or toasted oak. There is an overall dusty and raw maltiness that leads to what may be the only whiskey I've ever had that smells almost exactly like the inside of a rickhouse. The flavor begins with just a touch of cinnamon candy across the gums, but makes way quickly for the slightly sweet chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted malt right at the forefront. The spice lingers and even begins to heat up the mouth, but this seems to be more of the ethanol as opposed to a flavor. As the sweetness fades to let more of the oak notes in, a drier body takes over, although is harder to dissect, as the heat really pushes hard with repeat sips. The finish is always going to be hot, but if you get past that, you can return to focusing on the sweet oak. Although not explicitly stated, I am going to guess and say that new barrels are used for this single malt as opposed to used barrels that our European counterparts are privy to using; there is such a large presence and focus on the sweet, almost sugary notes from the barrel char that is usually found primarily on fresh barrels. This is a much better option as compared to the batched version, and I don't remember the price tag being considerable at the top end. Honestly, with such little American single malts to choose from at all, if you were going to own any, this one, at least this barrel, is the clear winner thus far.

Hand selected by (barrel name): Rye Me A River Proof: 115 ALC/VOL: 57.5% Selected: 10/14/24 Barrel: MC093 Much happiness was had during my most recent trip to Limestone Branch, which I'm glad remains my favorite distillery and continues to create new, obtainable products at a very healthy rate. I could never get past the incredibly prominent sherry flavors from classic Minor Case, so I was ecstatic to see they now not only have an unfinished version, but with quite the heavy 6 year age (proper rye shouldn't age much longer) and as a very high proof single barrel, at least for this selection. Of course, it's still an MGP product at the end of the day, the positive being that it's likely the magic 95/5 ratio, but the negative being that it will likely taste like every other MGP rye on the market. Not quite mahogany in color, but much more light brown than gold, and consistent hues throughout the glass. Speaking of the glass, the nose really jumps out of it, providing notes of powerful spearmint, cherries & berries, lemon zest, a great amount of sweet oak, and an unspecified earthiness/minerality. The proof is strong enough to make itself known, but 115 is right around the point where it scares off the casual drinker, although here repeated smelling seems to attribute the ethanol more to spice than overall burn. The initial flavor begins with a touch of the aforementioned berries and a little bit of a maltiness, before base flavors of baking spice and that spearmint really start to hammer in the powerful backend of that rye. The spice really stings through the gums this time around, although doesn't dig so deep that it doesn't go away after a reasonable amount of time. Having said that, the finish brings back a little of the fruitiness after things calm down, with an emphasis on banana and a touch of caramel sauce. With all the negative to observe in the American whiskey world, I am certainly grateful that MGP is still cranking out some of the best rye whiskey around, and is always consistent. This is one of the more spicy offerings, although isn't necessarily overpowering, and has a rounded balance with the sandwiching of fruit flavors. A nice looking bottle with slightly damaged/rubbed off painted embossed letters is also a plus, but I will definitely be on the lookout for new barrel selections on my return trips to this distillery/packager.

Date barreled: 01-2017 Barrel age: 7-YRS 6-MOS Serial no. 000114807 Warehouse: CL-3 I think Jim Beam is one of the most tourist-friendly distilleries on the market, but there are still enough engaging and unique parts of it that seem to drive me to return a couple times each year. This time around, I was delighted to see a huge selection and plenty of stock, but considering my actual shelf space is running low, I decided only on this. I now realize that they charged nearly $20 lower than MSRP, which is insane and makes me sad to remember the absolute capitalist nightmare that liquor stores are. The last time I had Baker's, it was in the previous wine bottle and with the old label, so I imagine it's been at least half a decade. Although I don't quite understand where the differences lie between this and many other Jim Beam products that seem far too similar on paper, what I do remember is that old Baker's was easily one of the worst bourbons I have ever had. Considering Jim Beam isn't very fond of change, I sure hope the new mash bill makes up for that, since the proof and age are basically the exact same. The color appears golden brown and muscat, with nothing too special, other than the meniscus looking very watery. The nose is definitely prominent with sweet rye, combining cinnamon and a general herbaceous with plenty of natural oak sugar. The proof seems just right, allowing an elevation of the rye's spiciness without burning out the nostrils. The rye is also obvious with the first sips, and seems to split between an oily citrus and fruity combo on the tongue, as well as quite the hot, minty burn that digs into the gums. Repeat sips really start to get hot, but it remains in the gum line and fades rather quickly from the tongue and throat. The flavor continues to dominate with the rye, but the age is just enough to sand off the more powerful edges with a touch of caramel and overall sweetness. The finish is still quite hot, with a bit of fake sweetener flavor that lingers around, unfortunately a little too long. Although somewhat unremarkable after continued drinking, the high rye yield of this mash bill definitely delivers for the spicy rye lovers, and it's miles above what I had long ago. I'm happy that this line of single barrel products actually puts barrel info on the label, as opposed to Knob Creek, which I would argue is Jim Beam's most popular single barrel product line. In any case, this is really a good score for the price I got it, but not quite unique enough for MSRP. This is flexible and does put me more at ease about the idea of trying the classic Baker's again, especially since the barrel used may have just been a flop all that time ago.