Tastes

Awesome request with all information filled out, first of all. Amazing how many other entries are terribly incorrect and pay nothing but offense to the work put into these whiskeys. I've had a few different voyages before (although don't remember which ones), and it doesn't take any type of expert to taste the easy difference that the sea imparts, and no other distillery makes anything that comes even close to this taste or idea. I've been in a heavy seafaring mood lately, so instead of rum or brandy, I wanted to get creative to encompass my preferred taste. I've seen voyages 17 through 22 in stores around for the last few weeks, and after reading the ship's log for 18, even though I didn't want a cask strength, I couldn't resist, as it just spoke to me. The scent here has lots of classic bourbon tropes, but I would guess this is best imparted from the proof, as there is a bit of burn that makes smelling temporary. There is certainly good rye spice, and plenty of caramel, or rather salted caramel, as is usually found in the Ocean series. There is also a faint sweet smell, something close to chocolate or aged grape, either from wine or brandy. Given how unique the flavors are in the Ocean series, I feel that cask strength may actually take away some of the detection of said flavors, and make it harder to enjoy. I am unfortunately living this situation through this particular voyage. However, knowing Voyage 18 is only offered as cask strength, and given the heavy storms the vessel endured, I take this on as part of what the taste should be. So in this, the high proof and what I would guess high rye mash bill go to work making the palate very spicy at first. Salty sea air definitely has changed and sweetened the overall spirit, but there are less salty notes in the finish than there are sweet, which I find highly different from the other voyages. The finish does bring forth an almost chewable chocolate, which I'm loving because it reminds me of the other aforementioned classic spirits found on ships, so I get to have my whiskey flavors and a bit of sweet rum or Cognac all at the same time. Overall, this is a good offering, and truly a good price given how extremely unique it is, but not worth it to me personally. I believe enough is likely different between each voyage that they are all worth trying, but I likely won't partake in any of the cask strength offerings again, as there is still plenty to taste for the cost in the watered down versions.

I'm definitely not proud of having this one, just based on the background. I already don't think very highly of 1792, given some of the other products in their line, whether by taste or otherwise. And then there's this, which I've only ever seen once, in a tiny liquor store while working across the country, to which I passed. When I saw it on the "overhyped" counter (otherwise known as allocated) of a more local store, I passed again, until I noticed the pretty cheap price for a good age and great proof. I carried it with me to consider it further, and in less than 5 minutes, the entire counter of over a dozen bottles was cleared. As disgusting as it was to keep carrying it, I wasn't going to let a wooly get it, so here I am. The black label on the bottle was a good choice, as it matches the excellent deep color of the whiskey itself. The scent burns through me, and forces me to reel back to take a breath... This is a great start. I got rye spice on the nose as well, but this could very well just have been alcohol burn instead. Otherwise, there is easy tobacco, vanilla, and toffee. Once you get past the potent burn (which actually occurs on the finish, but part of my initial tasting process), the flavors are easier to detect. Honestly, I'm getting classic bourbon notes, like rye mint, caramel, vanilla, barrel char, tobacco, etc, but a much higher intensity, which makes sense if this is just Small Batch 1792 but barrel proof and potentially longer age. No surprise, but the finish coats the mouth and seemingly never leaves, which is always welcome to me given how hard it is to find whiskeys of this high a proof (and especially be affordable). Yeah, it's really hard to hate on this one, and I truly don't. Knowing that I bought it for $51, I wouldn't pay a cent more for it, but would gladly buy again so long as it didn't require 16 levels of clearance to enter the top secret zone that is liquor stores that sell it.

Recommended from a friend, not sure if he had the barrel proof or not, but seeing both side by side (and also purchasing 3 other barrel proof products at the same time), it seemed right to grab this one. MGP can always do no wrong. Lots of cut grass, mint, and cinnamon on the nose. It sounds cliché, and it honestly should be. With MGP behind this product and no other smoke or mirrors, this is what I expect and what every good rye should be. The color is also nice and medium, with what I believe is an average 6 year age. The alcohol definitely burns while smelling, but this could also easily be rye spice working along with the high proof. The taste starts off with that easy grassy, oaky, vanilla body, but only takes seconds while moving around the mouth to become incredibly spicy and hot. Sure, the proof is ruling over a bit here, but caramel and sweet wood sugars still easily come through. The finish is a fire-breathing cinnamon, but with plenty of backing sweetness. This is an easy win of a buy. It's very rare for a barrel proof version to be worse than watered down, and this holds up and I'm certain improves on the watered down version. It even tastes like the age is higher than it is, which is always a great thing to have with rye whiskeys. As a matter of fact, I would say that a longer age would be the only improvement here. Great gem.

Liquor Barn 2020 "Quarantine #1," barrel #1-B3-0623. Distilled in Louisville, KY, aged in new, charred oak. Missing data infuriates me but hey, they'll let anyone drive, work, vote, etc. I didn't want really want to get this, especially after seeing the odious name for the barrel pick itself, but I've already passed up other barrel picks before, and something was telling me that it's not likely that Bulleit will disappoint. The caramel and vanilla scent is super strong here, and although there's obvious rye usage, the spice factor doesn't seem separate, but instead smells as if you added cinnamon, clove, and other warm baking spices directly to chewy caramel candies. There is no alcohol burn at all to the nose. The flavor is very deep, and hits strongly upon first taste with tobacco, potent cinnamon, and barrel spice. The vanilla is actually the winner during the taste, but the caramel is still there as a close second. The burn (which is surprisingly strong for only 104 proof) begins to die down, and the finish is more of the sweet same, with the spice coating the gums on it's way out. There's no doubt that I was impressed with this one. Bulleit has a lot of products that are good in their own right, and then some that combine some of the flavors together for a special offering. However, even with this new single barrel, I still firmly believe Bulleit does not produce a Bulleit-labeled product that is worth more than $60. This one is the closest, probably along with the first Blenders' Select and the 12 Year Rye, but still fall slightly short of worth. In the end I'm still happy with having it, but likely won't buy again unless I taste the specific single barrel and can't be without it.

This was cool to discover. I've seen my fair share of Flatboat while shopping around, but it just seemed like a cheap mixer bourbon (and bourbon cream so as to encompass everyone), and never sounded good enough to try, even with the very cheap price. However, the single barrel concept itself, the bottle shape, and the fact that I just needed one more bottle to round out my latest trip had me end up with this. Once I got home I remembered that, since it was Liquor Barn's brand, then nobody around me would have any chance of finding or getting it locally, which is always nice, since that encourages my sharing habits. The color is quite light, but I expected this from a cheaper brand with no age statement. The scent is easily detectable vanilla and caramel, but not very strong, which I didn't expect for a 100 proof product. Spice is also detectable, but it's more warm baking spices than traditional rye notes. This also has very minimal burn, as I was able to almost get my whole nose into the glass without notice. The body is light and slightly warm. Sure, it does have some qualities of a cheap whiskey, but I can tell it's the best of the available options, a true nod to the single barrel selection (albeit not having any barrel information on the label). Although the initial taste is weak spice and not much else, this seems to open and develop almost suddenly into powerful vanilla and caramel. The finish is fairly short, and the aforementioned flavors fall off just as quickly, being replaced by rye spice and a bit of proof burn. Although not spectacular, this is tasty, and that's something that a lot of bourbons struggle to meet along their journey. That alone is not enough to justify $40, but for me, not being able to find this bottle at home and having a nice addition to the collection makes me feel better about the purchase. And, even though Liquor Barn is not a paradise as far as being able to find products (which is always astonishing), it's the best consistent option that I know of, and for that, I'm happy to be able to support them with this brand.

Neat, always love the "other" products and brands that Jim Beam puts out, especially when they make no mention of being related to the brand. This has printed as being distilled by/at Jim Beam, but otherwise, seems like it's own thing. I've read up on it before, but waited until the 750ml bottles released, as I figured it was worth it. Unfiltered, great start. This allows a scent of tobacco, deep cinnamon, leather, and similar notes of an unfiltered, decent aged bourbon to come through for me. You can tell there's rye that's going to hit you, as all good bourbons should demonstrate. All around the smell is potent, but with no burn; I was able to dip my entire nose into the glass with no alcohol burn at all. The cinnamon and spice are what I detect first on the taste, but this evolves into deep, charred oak and a little vanilla, which is nice, as this profile is usually the other way around. The tobacco and leather hang around with the oak flavor in the middle and close to the finish, but the finish has a surprising fruity note. The finish has a decent burn to it, but nothing too far out of range for 100 proof. A lot of Jim Beam products have just one gimmick or flavor profile to them. I find that this one is the first one I've had that has many different profiles, but yet is familiar and borrows elements from other members of the Beam family. This is actually a great addition to have, especially for the cheap price.

Many, many bottles later and I finally remember that I've never rated this. My love for all variants will never die, but standard will forever be where it's at. Great cracked rye and gentle (yet potent at the same time) cinnamon scent. The age is not incredibly clear, especially regarding the amounts of each blend, but there is both a dusty presence from pretty decent age, and yet still balanced by medium levels of caramel and vanilla. Knowing that this is aged mostly in smaller volume barrels, the oak is coming through on the nose, albeit very charred, sugary, and sweet. A sweet corn base is the first thing I notice on the taste, followed by a bomb of spice, and then moving into an oak filled finish, which actually tastes more of a toasted oak than highly charred. This is such a lovely tapestry, because it begins very familiar and with approachable territory, but the finish is just complicated enough that, if you told me this was a secondary spirit barrel finish, I would believe you and begin wildly guessing which spirit barrel it was from. Huge shout out to Stephan Beam for making/envisioning a great product. Both this whiskey and the distillery it comes from hold great memories for me, but the best part is that keep buying new bottles and never stop the experience.

Sweet, I was happy to find this one. Ever since the world discovered the amazing, life-changing innovation that is wheat in bourbon, I feel like the 1792 line has been hard to find (other than small batch) since they have their sweet wheat offering. I remember having the 225th Anniversary 1792 some time ago and liking it, but the small batch, which is the only other one I've ever had, was not memorable. I have seen Full Proof in Iowa while working, but wouldn't trust TSA as the last living humans on Earth to safely transport it home. It's unfortunate when a nobody liquor store in Iowa has a better stock than the wasteland that is all of OH or KY. Anyway, I digress. The scent here is bright, but has spice and oak tones. It seems to be much more approachable simply by what I'm smelling, which is both surprising and welcoming, given the middle-of-the-line proof. There's even some toffee and minty rye mixed in as well, which is very curious, and makes me want to literally chew the beverage inside. That really is a surprisingly light body, which was disappointing at first, but once the finish approached, I realized that's where the transformation takes place. As I said, the initial taste is watery oak and a little bit of spiced caramel, and after a bit of a long wait for the finish and some air, the rye coats the inner gums and begins spicing some things up. The spice takes the forefront, but a sweet vanilla also begins to rise on the center of the tongue, which I almost missed. The rest of the flavor is rounded out by a bit of citrus, toffee, and some dried fruit, but not enough of any of those to throw off the sweet-spicy overall vibe. Hey, 1792 is a classic, Bardstown offering, which has got to be one of the most classic KY towns, as far as bourbon goes. For the price, this was not worth it, but that's how single barrels go, and it's a game I never get tired of playing. Depending on how it was priced, I would likely be excited to try a barrel pick from 1792 (if they offer that), but I will likely not buy this again unless they label the barrel number, so I'm sure to not be emptying my wallet again for the same old flavor.

So today is when I learned that Rare Breed is actually different each year, to include purposefully new labels and/or bottles. I always thought it was just vintage bottles I was seeing around. It's no surprise that Wild Turkey makes a pretty great rye, if you've had it, that is, since the bourbon does a solid job of delivering high rye flavor. However, I only ever got their rye when I could find the 101 version, which was getting harder and harder to hunt for. When I did have it, I savored that extra kick from the proof, and, for some reason, not even once did I consider or crave a proof higher than that. But now, what was once contentment has turned into excitement to dig into what's not even that much more proof to see what we can find. Firstly, the color is awesome, and since I know the age isn't that high, this just shows a great testament to a distillery's commitment of level 4 char and true barrel proof products. The scent has familiar freshly cracked rye and cinnamon, but I'm also getting vanilla and caramel, but as if it were "toasted" a bit. The proof does come up a little bit for a burn, but nothing crazy. Wow, a fantastic palate that delivers a bit of sweetness, like caramel popcorn, on a body that drinks like a Speyside Scotch. However, don't let that comment let you think that this is void of true rye, because it certainly comes through as mellowed cinnamon and grass. The finish is both long and short, with the long bit being the familiar mouth coating from high quality ryes, but short on any actual flavors past the above. This product does a great job of combining a good rye whiskey base flavor and blending it with the caramel, vanilla, and other classic oak flavors from Wild Turkey's flagship bourbon. I'm honestly surprised that this wasn't just a more potent version of the 101 Rye, but I'm also glad that it has it's own differences, so I can continue supporting them.