Tastes
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I'm pretty sure, at this point, there's no way I can give Limestone Branch any more of my money for their new products. I'm very excited for this, especially going in blind with the botanical choices. As far as modern or new world gins go, there's always a huge difference with the botanicals used and the quality of them. I'm very pleased to hear that a good portion of the botanicals used here are grown on the extremely beautiful property. The scent is very clean, and noticeably not as potent as I would have thought for being 96 proof. I get lime peel, white peppercorns, and perhaps a bit of honeysuckle on the nose. The juniper is mild-medium, and carries the other botanical scents quite well. Immediately, even at room temperature, the initial taste is very fresh, and for just a moment it tastes like fresh juices may be involved. However, this evolves to citrus peels, notably lime at the beginning and orange, even blood orange, closer to the finish. A lot of the floral botanicals really shine here, but this is also the part where the proof comes into the picture for a pretty hefty kick, making it harder to focus on the more delicate ingredients. The finish is both long and short, with the proof fading quick and the flavor staying behind for a good while. The citrus peels are really what dominate the finish, but not so much that any of the bitter pith comes through. I believe it's strong orange flavors that I taste last before my next sip, and this is very unique and quite refreshing. Having tasted this just neat and at room temperature, I am very excited about it's use in cocktails. As most people would reach for the tonic or the martini glass, I myself would likely begin with cocktails utilizing fresh herbs or flowers, and fresh less-used fruit juices, like pomegranate or mango.40.0 USD per Bottle
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So Booker's has a nice and special place for me. One of the greatest points about it is all the different batches made, and how they share similar flavors with very slight differences. Unfortunately, each batch is just different enough from each other that you kind of have to experience them all, no thanks to my wallet. With this one, I did love the tasting notes I've read, and even though I have some other batches in the past that I've read about that sound better, it's simply time to live in the present and see what else is to be offered. The scent is incredibly dusty, only second to another Jim Beam product of much higher age. There is so much "barn find" essence to this that I would rival a cellared red wine from the 90's would have less of a heritage scent than this batch. Honestly, there's even a slight raisin smell in the background, although maybe I'm tricking myself into looking for that. No matter what, the proof is not hurting my nose at all. The taste, after getting through the usual tobacco and dumb heavy oak, is surprisingly full of salted peanuts. So much so, in fact, that it's still easily detectable through into the finish. The dusty notes that I smelled before carry through in every step of the tasting. As I predicted, this batch is just different enough from the others that I can easily taste the differences, but that familiar heavy oak and tobacco that I associate (and love) with Booker's is still there. If the bit about Granny's nut cakes on the card was any prediction of the taste, that's a perfect quick description of what we've got here. Very happy to have Booker's around, finally, and a good batch at that.
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Pinhook Bohemian Bourbon High Proof
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed July 3, 2020 (edited October 11, 2020)Going into this, the only Pinhook I've had is their bourbon-rye thing, and that was quite good. I've seen this in the store a few times, and I finally pulled the trigger given I love high proof bourbons and good brands. Once I got home, I was a little disappointed to learn it was only aged for 3 years, and I had the read the fine print on the back of the bottle to even find that out. However, let's see what's to be offered. The scent is incredibly, sticky sweet, with easily detectable caramel covered popcorn and vanilla taffy. The corn is strong in the scent, probably showing a high corn mashbill, as well as reinforcing the young age. Very sweet indeed, with melted cotton candy and just a slight note of chocolate covered orange. What was that fruity, bright note turns into heavy charred oak, but just the essence of the wood, as the tradition caramel and vanilla take a backseat. The high proof rounds out the finish while not being too boozy at all. This is certainly one of the most unique bourbons on my collection, but without an added gimmick, like different wood or fancy grains. I definitely feel like I'm going to enjoy reaching for this, when I want to try something different after another bourbon, but not necessarily switch tracks entirely. -
WhistlePig 6 Year PiggyBack Rye
Rye — (bottled in) Vermont, Canada
Reviewed June 27, 2020 (edited October 9, 2020)Alright, here we go. For the life of me, I don't understand why Whistlepig is so popular, and especially how everyone is so fine with paying way too high prices for any of their line. Having said that, I have had a few of their products and do think they make a decent rye, I just think they go too far with it to try to charge too much. I've had this product before, but just haven't properly rated it. There is a really lovely scent of cracked rye, with plenty of the spice that comes from distilling it, while also having a pretty decent note of vanilla caramel from what I assume is a 3 or 4 barrel char. It even smells pretty high proof considering it doesn't even break 100. There is a lot of candied cinnamon here, way more than other ryes with this same taste profile. It's really a great mix of young, bold cinnamon and the mellow, sweet oak flavor from 6 years being barreled. This one is definitely higher on the sweeter scale, but by the finish where harsh grass and cinnamon comes back, it's easily forgiven. Honestly, this is a pretty good addition for a 6 year rye. I would never pay the prices that I've seen this bottle go for (this was a trade), and would certainly never hunt it or wait in line for it, but I could see myself loving a cocktail upgrade to this rye (if the bartender didn't gouge me for it), and it still works well as a sipper amongst the other ryes in my collection. This doesn't motivate me to shell out to see what Whistlepig's other products are like, but it does establish that they have a pretty good idea of what a proper rye should be, and I'm sure they didn't lose that idea on their way up the product chain. -
Been needing lemoncello on my bar for some time, but when I learned that Hotel Tango had their own version, I had to go and support those vets again. It was surprisingly hard to find, but I'm very happy to have it, especially at a higher proof and promises of sour tastes. As promised, the scent is full of fresh lemon juice and oil, but for sure more sour than sweet. This smells like a lemon drop martini in the making, but you haven't yet shook the shaker yet, so the sugar and juice are still separated but in the same container. The initial taste is slightly bitter, and not much full of lemon, like just a cocktail full of the pith only. I have to taste this a bit differently, because the proof actually is high enough to affect my initial tasting. Getting past that, this is definitely easy to tell the whole lemon was used, because I mostly get rind and oil, with only a very faint whisper of sour on the finish. Considering it's been years since I've had any type of proper lemoncello, I would say it hits pretty much all expectations of what it needs to be. As always, happy to support any and all fellow vets. Great ration, guys.
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Very, very excited about this one. Not just because Herradura Reposado is inherently my favorite go-to tequila, but also because of their choice of barrel aging, however short, their silver version. My wife commented on how she believes that would no longer make it silver, and although I don't know if any name "rules" were broken here, I argued that due to the tinted color, it is far closer to a silver shade that completely clear tequilas. Very clean nose, with easy riding, not too strong or weak, agave hanging around. With just a bit of grass and black pepper, this just so slightly hints at having barrel aged vibes, but reels you right back in with that fresh agave. Alas, the taste is exactly what I predicted, with very fresh, smooth agave playing all by itself, but with just a whisper of black pepper and oak in the background. Definitely not enough to be detectable in any cocktail, but certainly so when compared to another silver. The finish is long and clean, just like a proper silver, but that very short time in the barrel almost gives it a spicier finish, like the proof were a bit higher. Overall, this is a win, and in an effort to further support Herradura, will likely become a good staple for silver selection. There are other good options for strictly cocktails or even sipping, but this one is by far one of the most unique.
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So, this was an exciting find/research realization. As I thought the other day about what my bourbon and general whiskey "stats" are, this hits a lot of them; great age, high rye, decent proof, decent color, and average price. When I lay it out like that, it doesn't sound all that exciting, but given the sea of sub-par and bleak competitors out there, this one seemed to shine as something different. The nose has really nice spiced rye, vanilla, and caramel notes, but it all rides on a bright, fruity body. I even feel like I get some banana, perhaps covered in a sugary glaze. During the taste, I almost immediately keep thinking of that fruity/banana nose from before, as that taste starts to come through with a sugary, fruit salad vibe. The body was the only thing I was worried about (due to the proof), but honestly, this flavor likely wouldn't taste much better at a stronger proof. That vanilla and caramel from the nose is totally missing, though. The finish is mouth coating, but leaves a lot to be desired. When they say high rye, I believe it, but unfortunately, neither potent rye spice or sweet corn seem to come through, which makes me wonder what a younger version of this distillate tastes like, and if it would work better. Hopefully it wasn't just general excitement or perhaps resentment at spending $50 for a bit of a let-down, but the first few sips were really working for me. However, as I kept going, I feel like this is more of a cocktail bourbon, which would be fine, if I didn't already have plenty of underwhelming products that already take that title. There's something about it, though, that I look forward to finding out perhaps on a re-taste.
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Young corn on the nose, but you can tell there is going to be a difference with the blue corn. That corn scent comes in the form of buttered, honey cornbread. Hell, it's even easy to smell some buttery caramel sauce in there, too. Impressive for such a young bourbon, but if you start with good grains, this should be no surprise. The grains is what rules this taste. There is very little barrel flavor (although it is there), with the vanilla and caramel being what comes through, and none of the char or smoke. As I thought, I can tell this Texas blue corn is much sweeter than Midwest corn, which is likely how this super young product can be enjoyed by those who are looking for that sweet bourbon flavor. The finish on this starts to bring about some berries and a fruitiness, with maybe a tiny wisp of smoke. This reminds me of those cheap, iconic extremely sweet bourbons that everyone claims to ride or die with. I've found that all of those bourbons are very unrefined, and just taste like corn juice with alcohol tied to it. This, however, tastes like a product that the distillery actually is proud of and aimed to make, and for that, I appreciate the final offering. I'm not sure where I would use this, because unless it's a very fruity or citrus heavy cocktail, I don't see this working, and it's certainly too young to poor alongside flagship bourbons that are aged much longer.
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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch A120
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed June 6, 2020 (edited June 12, 2020)It's no hidden fact that this is one of the most highly sought after barrel proof bourbons, and it's got great reasons to back it up, too. Back when Heaven Hill was the number one media target, you could forget about finding this (enough people always ruin everything), but I ran into it while doing some shelf shopping, and since it was fully stocked at this store, I felt it was a good time to properly acknowledge and revisit it. It's obvious that ethanol is going to be a huge part to the nose. Once you realize this, you'll go past it to find a healthy fistful of fresh rye spice, and that well known number 4 barrel char, but with even more depth, like you scraped some of the wood actually off of the barrel into your glass. Like regular Elijah Craig, there's not much more to the scent; as I've said before, simple, uncomplicated bourbons and whiskeys usually yield the best results. First few tastes immediately let the caramel shine, which is to expected. My second phase tasting (swish, swallow, don't open mouth for air) was definitely pretty tough to get through, as the ethanol and rye spice almost murdered it's way through my nostrils. Once I was able to let it breathe through the third phase and beyond, the rye can be tasted very well. It goes back to what I said before, where this is a simple recipe to begin with, and if it ain't broke... All in all, this is certainly one of the most memorable barrel proof bourbons I've ever had. I remember having it years ago at the distillery and certainly craving it since then. However, the media boom killed that craving really quick. Now that that is over, I find this extremely dark, full, billboard impression of a true bourbon to be something I'll try to continuously buy and happily display in my collection. -
I saw this reviewed recently on the front page, and the consensus seemed to be that this was "too potent" for most. I don't believe I'm out of line when I say I am ready for this Scotch to secure the blindfold and work it's reach on me. So, knowing that the age is really the only differing factor here versus other Ardbeg products, I figured I wouldn't get much difference on the scent, but really only the taste. However, although the nose does differ with notes of saltwater, honey, and mineral, it's shockingly more "sticky" than other Ardbeg offerings. What I mean is, even though I can smell my glass a mile away (which is usual), the scent drifts up my nose and lodges itself into my brain, really securing the peat and changing the way it's ever been perceived. Going in, the ethanol hits the nose, which delivers more peat backbone before it ever touches the lips. Upon first taste, the saltiness is what's first detected, although it's not stronger than usual, just easier to find. The honey and cereal from usual Ardbeg tastes are still there, but they get drowned out almost immediately by an unrefined ethanol finish. As I once predicted, it's not that the peat or smoke is any stronger in this version, but that it's simply not mellowed out in the barrel, which seems obvious. It's a nice flavor is have in the bar, especially when comparing it to other Ardbegs or Scotch. Not sure if it could really work in any cocktails, but that's probably not what the Ardbeg fellas ever had in mind. In the end, I certainly feel way more taken by the smoke with this entry, but it's mostly found in the nose and temples than through the palate.60.0 USD per Bottle
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