Tastes

Batch #: 008 Bottle #: 213 The second and last of the Pensive products I purchased while I was on-site at the impressive distillery and restaurant, the longer aged and mid-proof version reflected more of a flagship product than the younger 80 proof, but was far more affordable by volume than the older cask strength offering (although that did taste the best). The price was still too high for being from a small craft distillery (and a sourced product, no less), but this was easily the best bourbon out of the 3 to take home for volume to cost ratio, as well as factoring in flavor. As far as the age goes, it has been long enough since I've been on the tour that I am no longer confident in the number, but I thought it was in the 7/8/9 year range, whereas the 80 proof was 3 or 4 years, and the cask strength I recall to be 12, but these are all loose memories at this point. With all of these variants being the same mash bill, the changing of the age and proof still provide a noticeable difference, but can still easily be tied back to the same base flavors; I'd heavily wager that this unique semi-vertical product line styling would be well received if other distilleries began offering it (take notes). To honor the environment of the distillery (and because it's quite late), I am tasting this in a very dark room with nothing but a single warm LED "lamp" to light my area. As such, the color of this is a little harder to distinguish, but it's miles darker than the 80 proof version, making the latter look like water next to this. The body here does appear lighter on the whole, but has spots of deep chestnut throughout that are very impressive and inviting. The legs cling much, much longer than expected at this proof, which is another lovely twist. The nose begins with basic chocolate and a tangy, almost briny earthiness, which shifts slightly into mild, but meaty, mushroom. The earthiness doesn't fade at all, and by the time a pretty decent ethanol vapor pushes through the nostril, the scent has now transformed into what I can only describe as wet, old, stagnant beef, like an unseasoned hamburger that's been sitting in a warming tray for many hours. Finally, repeat smelling gives a new note of fresh cherry juice, but this is rather confusing amongst the other aforementioned scents. The initial body begins warming at a pretty good pace, but also starts things off with a slightly tangy, bitter, metallic-y tinge. Before I think this is going the way of the notes from the nose, spicy rye sinks into the gums with one of the most intense pinching burns I've ever had. Once you're acclimated to this, some red berry and raw barley flavors come around amongst the heat, and overpower or even take away entirely the earthiness that was on the nose before. The finish focuses more on the red berries, which turn slightly sweet and also include the addition of a pinch of lemon zest. The extended finish has a very faint return of the earthy mix from the nose, including what very, very faintly tastes like slightly cooked and softened white onion. This bourbon is definitely amongst the top contenders for the "biggest difference between smell and taste" award, which in this case, I'm very glad the tasting notes won out. I don't mind a wet, briny, umami earthiness in my whiskey (in fact, this is usually pretty hard to find in American whiskeys), but this one has a very potent nose that can turn off a lot of people if they aren't fond of that flavor profile. The way this ended up tasting is a bit basic, but still tasty and unique, and that's why I think this should be considered the most flagship product from the brand, rather than the more obvious 80 proof version. Once this gets distrubuted somewhat (I recall the tour manager stating that they have no intention of distributing outside of Kentucky, not that you can buy anything in Ohio anyway), and the price hopefully becomes more economical, I'd be pretty happy to continue supporting this brand, especially given that these flavors are expected to be fairly different between batches, since all their bourbon products are single barrels (a really nice touch, by the way).

There really is no quality checking of these custom entries, but oh well. Bottle number: 14627 Castle & Key is one of those distilleries that went from having no products on the market to exploding and usually being the house offering for most bars in the Kentucky area, similar to how New Riff took over most bars and restaurants in the southern Ohio region. Having enjoyed their rye whiskey enough times, and being in the area on a particular weekend, I decided to stop by and see what else I could learn and experience at the distillery, sans tour. Two things were obvious and overwhelming within the first few minutes outside my car: the grounds are absolutely gorgeous, and this was THE unabashed hangout spot for rich white dudes in shorts, polos, and sandals (also backwards hats and sunglasses anywhere but on the eyes). Still, I have never been to a distillery that had enough gin variants to offer a gin flight, and once I was done with that, I moved to the whiskey flight, and chose this bottle from those results. It was a lovely spot, but with almost no seating indoors, the heat drove us away fairly quickly after the tasting was done, although both this and the gin I picked up were both quite affordable for what was offered. Nothing too crazy or impressive for the color; a golden brown shows just a touch more color than expected for 4 years. The legs are fairly mid-runny and exactly on par for the proof. The nose is full of rich milk chocolate (perhaps even caramel filled), toasted oak, and some citrus oil, as well as blended, basic vegetal and herbacous notes. The proof has just enough kick through the nostrils that tells you it's there and has some body, but won't turn you off if you're looking for something more on the milder side. The initial flavor is explosive with fruity notes, including a mix of red berries and citrus, but becomes balanced by an almost equally powerful milk chocolate note. Repeat sips bring forward an herbaceous, cracked, malted rye that's forward alongside the fruitiness, as well as some young corn that's aged just enough to take the raw edge off. The finish builds and stacks as it becomes hotter and hotter, before slightly backing off to a very slight, bitter, almost charcoal-based tinge. This is really quite impressive for being a fairly young, low volume craft bourbon. With the rye and gin being equally impressive, it pushes my mind more and more into thinking about New Riff again, as it's almost a mirror image of success and even products released, just about 100 miles apart. A bourbon like this can be used in every way imaginable with ease, from enjoying neat to putting it into cocktails, whether simple or complex. It's no surprise that this made it's way into local bars and restaurants, alongside the rye and gin, and I hope to see more of it. The price point is pretty good as well, although not if comparing to New Riff. I didn't see any single barrel options on sale at the distillery, which is always a red flag, but it makes me wonder what the price for a bottle of that would be, and if it would be worth it in the end.

Hand selected by The Party Source Single barrel number: 99 Proof: 115.24 ABV: 57.62% (this distillery releases a variable ABV with each single barrel) A lovely birthday gift, I'm always a sucker for a good barrel pick, and The Party Source doesn't totally pick garbage, most of the time. This seems to be one of those distilleries that keeps to themselves and doesn't put out any information on their spirits, which is always either a huge miss or ends up being fairly impressive. The history of the actual brand seemed interesting on their website, but with only two products, both of which are bourbon that seem like they're from the same mash bill, it puts a lot of pressure on the brand to make sure they taste really good. Normally when distilleries have such a limited portfolio, they price them far too high, but at the price point this is at, it makes me think it may be sourced. Regardless, this is likely also fairly young (the price also backs this up), but the proof on this particular barrel is definitely welcoming to me. The color is a decent chestnut/muscat wine with a light edge, and the legs are surprisingly thin for this proof. The nose has initial notes of chocolate and sweet orange, but they never quite combine, instead being two separate notes. There are much lighter notes of red berries, specifically strawberry, as well as a floral profile, with a focus on honeysuckle. The oak comes through as "chewy," but the fruity and floral notes from above put the flavor of toasted or French oak in my mind. Initial sips are simultaneously fairly dry but very hot, and start with a lot of the floral/citrusy/fruity/toasted/French oak notes that I got from the nose. These flavors intensify as the body opens up, continuing to focus on the drier notes while the burn moves across the tongue and to the back of the mouth. The red berries come back as well, but in a dehydrated flavor form. The finish remains hot and fairly bright, with little to no sweetness tasted at all. I really appreciate how the proof hits hard with this one; it's certainly pretty high to start with, but I've had spirits with 130+ proof that just fell flat compared to this. This particular barrel and bourbon is unique in that there is a lot of focus on the dry, floral, and citrus notes, but without any of the more traditional sweetness you get just by default from the corn or barrel aging. The burn is heavy enough that it helps to open the body up and concentrate the flavors, but there's a distinct lack of young grain flavor here that was my biggest worry overall. This causes this to end up on that pretty impressive side, and excites me to drink and use it in further, be that in cocktails, over ice, and beyond. Without knowing anything further about the actual whiskey within, though (unknown mash bill, age statement, confirmation of sourced or not), I'm not likely to buy another single barrel on a whim, but I'd be happy to try the small batch (provided it is cheaper, as is pretty standard), and would even eye other single barrels if found at bars.

Another instance of an absolute delighted me to see a new Limestone Branch product released, and readily available in stores. Behind the very first finished variant (toasted oak), this is usually the next most obvious finishing choice for most American whiskey distillers, and I'm surprised we didn't see it sooner. Nevertheless, the actual final product here is different enough from most other distilleries, as the base whiskey is fairly young (but not so much that the sweetness of the rum can cut through raw grain flavor), but the finishing time of just a couple months is really quite short indeed, so I wonder how much rum flavor we'll actually experience here. As always, I love the colors used on the label (the deep slate blue for the "rum" banner is gorgeous), and am excited to see it next to my other Yellowstones on the shelf, despite the fact that this is my only Yellowstone bottle I currently have that isn't master-distiller-signed (was too excited at the store to wait). 100 proof seems well centered to be approachable but still high enough to unlock some of the finishing barrel notes, and, no matter what, I hope this is only one of many different finishes we'll continue to see from this distillery. The color is a blend somewhere in the middle of a deep copper, a dark butterscotch, and a general burnished, but is a little darker than expected for a 4 year bourbon, which puts my brain into rum-desire mode. Candied nuts, molasses, and a touch of lemon zest are the first notes on the nose. The ethanol is indeed approachable, and is actually underwhelming at this proof point. There is some young grain, specifically sweet corn that is also noticeable, but repeat smelling really focuses on the above few notes through and through, keeping things simple, but with the mind still focused on that rum finish. The body is light in texture, but spicy and carries well throughout the whole tasting. Initial flavors of molasses and caramel are easy detected, but lighter and more faint than I would want. The base whiskey isn't contributing much here, but there are notes of basic grain mash and citrus zest, as well as a decent rye burn in the gums. The finish switches things over to said rye, as the burn starts to intensify, but not quite dry out the mouth. This particular finished variant is simultaneously spot-on with providing the barrel finished flavors, as well as being quite boring and basic. For a brief moment, the rum really shines through, but you can tell the finish time was far too short, because the base bourbon notes take over, and leave you longing for the rum notes found on the nose. This is an example of things that could have been, which is shocking from this distillery in the end, considering one of their finished variants spent multiple YEARS in a finishing barrel. Nevertheless, it's still quite tasty and can stand well alone, but I wouldn't reach for this to put in cocktails and try to convince anyone that the rum flavor will transfer over.

What the hell is this dark horse? The website no longer exists, and it most certainly isn't a single malt (as stated on the front label, despite who put in this entry), but has no evidence anywhere to differentiate single grain versus blended grain. There's so many flavor sources here, and I'm not sure how well it will all blend together; the sweetness of bourbon barrels, the dry, polished flavor of virgin oak, then an undisclosed amount of peated malt in an even further unknown mash bill seems bold, to say the least. It doesn't necessarily scream "premium," and it isn't a good image for the Irish so far, but this was a gift from one of my favorite wine and spirits enthusiasts, so for that I am grateful no matter the outcome. The color is pale and basic, but still closer to gold than corn-yellow. The nose leads with a smoky peat, but not overpoweringly so, and also allows notes of sweet corn cereal and something of a savory maltiness as well. The ethanol is just slightly higher than I would expect here, like more around the mid-90 proof line. Looking back at the cask types, all of these barrels are represented and actually DO blend together well on the nose, and so far excite me for what's next. The flavor leads with a medium body, and captures most of the above flavors, albeit not quite as potent or concentrated. The mouth gets surprisingly hot with only a couple sips, but also becomes "chewy" and demands slower dissection over time. The bourbon sweetness is captured more at the finish, whereas sherry notes are found in the center; the virgin oak seems to dry and polish the entire palate all around. The peat smoke is also present all around, but could be slightly more potent in order to cut away from the hot body found through the gum line. Who's to say dark horses can't be winners sometime? After all, Ford proved that by giving us one of the best Mustangs of all time with the same name. Granted, this Irish whiskey is still quite unrefined, which seems to showcase a very commercially focused product that is likely blended and easy to produce, therefore leading to a quick and profitable sale... But hey, it does taste pretty good at the end of the day. MSRP online suggests a cheap price is kind of true, and although I'll likely drink it a fair amount here at home, I don't see me hunting for it or even buying it again, mostly due to the mystery origins and lack of brand support.

What's better than a proper, classic 95/5 rye whiskey? The rye new make, of course! Well, maybe not, but New Riff definitely already know how to pull off a great whiskey, both bourbon and rye, so it's to reason that the new make is at least half of where that finished, aged flavor comes from. Apparently they have offered their new make for many years now, but I don't recall ever seeing it. I only saw the rye version at the distillery, but it appears they also offer a bourbon mash version, although I'm not sure if that's still in production. Even better, this appears to be just slightly higher in proof than the older new make offerings, and was quite cheap, even if it is a half-bottle. It's not likely that I would want a full-size bottle of new make, really from any distillery, but it's nice to taste through their process, and it also gives a sense of transparency on the image of the distillery. Despite the lack of corn here, there is still a sweet corn and cereal milk note at the front of the nose, but the ethanol and the grain provide a spiciness that's mellow and approachable, yet still present. There's also, surprisingly, notes of a fresh, grainy maltiness, like that of a strong or amber ale; strange that the scent is anything but grassy, spicy, freshly cracked rye as one would expect. The immediate flavor is clean and sweet, but not as much as a distillate with corn in it would be. The spice is mildly present through the burn, but the rye spice digs into the gums, and although it doesn't feel super deep, it makes up for it with the actual hotness on the surface. After getting past the burn, the flavor peaks and finishes with the same maltiness as was on the nose, but even more focused than before; some baking spice, banana bread, even some bubblegum, and the general raw malt really make this taste like a Belgian beer spirit. This did not taste even remotely like what I thought it would. Compared to bourbon, I prefer much shorter barrel age times on my rye whiskey, so I figured the new make wouldn't be that far off from my favorite flavors, especially given that this uses a familiar 95/5 blend. However, this ended up tasting like if a darker, more toasted hefeweizen was distilled into a spirit, despite not using a lick of rye in that or any of the other aforementioned beer types. Given that there aren't any wood oils or sugars here, I can only imagine that ice would only cool the burn and simply make the same flavors more subtle, but longer lasting. Definitely a unique distillate, but nothing I would recommend guests to taste, unless they were also a European beer fan.

Batch number: 10 Bottle number: 198 The only reason I ended up at Pensive Distilling a few weeks ago was because I was looking for a distillery or even a nice bar that would break up the road trip back home from Lexington, and Pensive certainly seemed like both, at least from a Google Maps perspective. I booked a tour and had one of the best burgers I've ever had for lunch, and was blown away by the service and atmosphere I experienced the whole way through. Special shout out to Jeff Cole, who led one of the best distillery tours I've ever been on, and spoke with my wife and I for what seemed like hours about spirits and was generally one of the best professional personalities I've had the pleasure of meeting. I won't give too much away regarding the theme and flow of the tour, but I'll definitely advise that you take a look around the restaurant before you tour, as you may need to know some key knowledge before the tour begins. We ended up purchasing this product and the 100 proof variant (the ages of which are different, but I can't remember the exact age statement Jeff told me), and although the cask strength variant (with an even higher, unknown age statement) was fantastic, the price was far too high for the volume received, so it couldn't be justified. Although this 80 proof, young bourbon was honestly very weak and watery for me, my wife liked it, and we were happy to support a local distillery with a great spirit and theme to boot, even if they only have a single, simple mash bill of a sourced product. This may be one of the lightest colors of American whiskey, let alone bourbon, that I have ever seen. Not quite as light as most European whiskies, but still somewhere between sherry and a light copper. The legs are very thin and whispy, but the nose is shocking, with notes of apple peels, milk chocolate, mushroom, and mineral water (and I hate being so specific), while the ethanol is actually approachable, but with a curious burn behind it. The flavor takes away some of the above mushroom notes and supplements some honey or even brandy in it's place, but the apple and chocolate are still very present, although everything remains quite balanced. The minerality is also still present, being tasted as a slight bitterness and giving a final product flavor like that of a European malt whiskey combined with a stronger, sweeter bourbon. The finish is fairly dry, yet also surprisingly hotter than expected, and there are notes of some grassy cinnamon as well as a touch of lemon oil if you're willing to dig a little for it. Given that this mash bill (70% corn, 21% rye, 9% malted barley) is well approachable and has fairly common ratios, I was actually really surprised at the flavor notes found here. The barley comes through way more than bourbons that use a more traditional ~5% blend, but with only a few more percentage points added, it's not likely that this is the actual contributer of the unique flavor. Instead, I would argue that this tastes like a lot of Kentucky Artisan Distillery's (from whom this is sourced) lower proof/aged whiskeys. I recall actually very much disliking this when tasting it at the distillery, but given that it's finishing much hotter now (compared to how I remembered), and with quite a unique, if not abnormal or even too specific of a set of tasting notes, I can appreciate this now as a refreshing and bold take for this distillery and their flagship product. Although I don't remember the exact price, I know that all of their bourbon products were simply too high to be economical and to bring in the common enjoyer, but that isn't to say that this particular variant can't live up to it's namesake.

This one is actually insane, and I'm trying to keep my expectations down. There are very few spirits that I would buy on sight, ESPECIALLY without knowing the price, but this is one of them. I didn't quite appreciate the last release of the 12 year rye when it came out, so I longed for this one when I heard of it's release. I can't remember what I paid for it, but it doesn't really matter, at least, not right now. The MSRP for this, however, is beyond economical, especially considering the additions of barrels up to 17 years aged. I still think Bulleit/MGP has the absolute cornerstone rye whiskey, or at least understands that a proper rye whiskey is, and always should be, no less than 95% rye. Shame has already been given to distilleries that think they can pass off 55% rye whiskeys as anything other than fire starters, but the fact that this is classic 95/5 Bulleit/MGP rye that's simply aged longer excites me greatly, and I hope that enthusiasm continues through the tasting. The color, as expected, is chestnut brown mixed with a deep mahogany, but unfortunately still fairly clear with noticeable legs from the disappointing proofing down. The heavy banana notes that I usually get from the standard Bulleit rye are still present here, but not as underripe, and instead combined with brown sugar, caramel, and some lemon oil. Put-downs of the proof aside, there is a decent ethanol here, as well as a touch of stewed blue/black fruits, and a heavier body of cracked rye and cinnamon-forward baking spice. The body is too light and watery for it's own good, but flavors of brown sugar, balanced/polished oak, lemon peel, and overripe banana come into play fairly quickly, and with great balance. The rye does creep around the gum-line, but doesn't penetrate as much as I would expect, and, frankly, as much as it needs to. The finish is sweet oak and bananas foster, with familiar fresh rye grain, cinnamon, and even some used mint leaves. I would say this was disappointing, but it's honestly an excellent heavily aged American rye whiskey at it's price point. The unfortunate thing about American distilleries and whiskey in general is that almost all of them want to turn a quick profit and will try to sell their 2-3 year aged whiskeys for far more than they're worth. The fortunate thing about young whiskey, rye whiskey specifically, is that it better exemplifies the grain's flavor profile at a younger aged, as compared to the sweetness that corn needs with age, or the mellowness that wheat demands and can only achieve with longer aging. All that being said, this can be sold for pennies because it's an MGP product, but props still to Bulleit for not pulling the rug out from under us and keeping it very affordable. You won't find many options with this level of age statement, but when you do (Whistlepig, Templeton, etc), you'll pay an arm and a leg for it, and it's much more difficult to give an honest review, especially if it ends in a lower rating, when you're forced to overpay.