Tastes

I'm not usually one to create a new listing for batched whiskey (while some others will create listings for far less of a change), but this one does have a different ABV listed, and the distillery found it important enough to print new labels with this information instead of using write-in labels, so here we are. At least I take better pictures than damn near everyone else on here. A darker color from some decent time in the barrel around the outskirts of the glass, but a surprisingly thin and more translucent hue through the center. Lots of classic notes on the nose, including vanilla and wood sugar, but there are also some smaller notes of unripe banana, and some citrus-y grain. The ethanol is really quite weak through the nose given the proof. The body is a little weak at first, but it's mostly because the focus is simple, and really captures good, basic qualities of a bourbon. The corn is still young, but at it's full strength, it combines well with the small amount of rye here, giving a sweetness that has just a tinge of bitterness behind it thanks to the charred barrels. The gum piercing is mild, but the rye can still be tasted in the forms of cinnamon and some of the raw grain, again with the youngness. A slight spiciness on the finish, but far than I expected with this proof, which is interesting as well as it is dangerous. I really do love the simplicity that Bulleit captures, being a bourbon that's very approachable by all, and, as a side note, for making the most rounded and first (to me) proper 95% rye whiskey. As that stands, that also makes this a very approachable cask strength bourbon, but also makes it fairly plain as a result. For the price, it's a great pick-up, and although I don't believe there can be too much of a difference between batched whiskey, it's cheap enough to get a few of the different batches and work to detect the nuances between them. Other than that, as I continued to finish my glass, I was unable to come up with any further notes, further sinking in the simplicity of this whiskey, for better or worse.

Holy shit do I love Metallica. Seriously, likely my favorite metal or heavy rock band of all time. I do have the classic Blackened whiskey, but it's definitely not my flavor profile, and is a little weak for my tastes. When this one came out a few months ago (near my birthday), I do not have shame in saying that I begged a lot of people to get this for me as a gift. That did not happen, mostly because the pre-orders sold out almost immediately (why does nobody budget the correct amount of whiskey for pre-orders?), and it was far overpriced. Thankfully, I found it locally for far less, and I definitely couldn't resist. As I listen to the Ride the Lightning album (well, I cheat and am listening to the Call of Ktulu version with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra because it's amazing), I will enjoy this no matter what, because Metallica kicks ass and a rye is always better for me. There's lots of fresh rye grain on the nose, with an impressive spiciness for the relatively low proof. Candied cinnamon and a bit of citrus pop out, with the classic cut grass behind it. A great amount of caramel is also present, which I am guessing comes from the triple barreling of sorts. A light body is what starts off, but the rye grain is present with a sweeter flavor, likely from the rum barrel. There's also a very dry follower, which I attribute to the wine barrels. The gum penetration is moderate here, and the spice level is also moderate, but only because the flavors imparted by the barrels also deliver to an almost equal amount. The finish is pretty hot, but it ultimately ends with a dry finish, which does keep you coming back for more, to refresh the cycle. Maybe it's the music playing (very loudly) behind me, or because this whiskey is both delicious and unique, but I'm quite enjoying this. It's definitely not a front runner of any of my rye favorites, but it also isn't entirely in the rye category, since the Madeira and rum deliver their own flavor notes that definitely do come through. For ~$70, this is way steep, but if this ever dropped below $50, this would easily be both the most metal and layered rye whiskey out there, and created with no other method that can be rivaled by any other distillery, similar to how Metallica cannot be rivaled in their music; if there is such a rival, I definitely need to crank those tracks.

Liquor Barn barrel select, barrel #2675, bottle #59, barreled December 2015, bottled May 2021, 50.5% ABV. Finally, I found a single barrel of this rye. I have been to the distillery over most of the summer asking about a single barrel rye, and was left to drink whatever else sounded good at the bar while planning my next trip in this search. This distillery has always been a little "off" to me, and it wasn't until writing this review that I think I've figured out why. Usually American distilleries will start "side project" distilleries once they become successful, sometimes as a friendly competition, to double profits, or just to experiment in different spirits or climates, usually done so in different countries. In the case of Town Branch, THEY are actually the experiment, with the "sister distillery" in Europe actually being the flagship safe route. Either way, the new rye whiskey in the square bottle is miles improved from the tall bottle with rounded shoulders, and having finally found a single barrel, I'd love to see exactly where the flavors travel. A typical dark caramel color of a rye whiskey aged this long, but still slightly darker than the batched version of this same whiskey. Sweet molasses and bold cinnamon battle it out on the nose, with the outcome being a malty, spicy confusion of scents in the end. I'm trying to ignore the abysmal low amount of rye in the mash bill, but the sweet corn on the nose makes it very difficult to do so. Hoping this doesn't turn out to be a bad barrel, since I do enjoy the batched version just fine. Yikes. The flavor is full of spicy malt, like this were some kind of single malt whiskey with some capsaicin added. Low rye is one thing, but just barely over legal requirements for rye is embarrassing, and the flavor really shows that. Even the gum burn leaves so much to be desired, and trying to reach by applying some air only makes the sugary sweetness of the corn stronger, truly making me forget that I'm even drinking rye whiskey. Despite the malty sweet finish, after enough time, there is enough rye left in the air and gums to not be a hateful attempt at a proper rye whiskey. For the life of me, I don't know how the standard batched rye whiskey, that I had just a few weeks ago at most, can be this many galaxies away in taste just because it's one barrel. A shame really, but it makes me happy that it didn't cost very much, and I still have something to add to my barrel pick section regardless. Still, this was definitely regretful how much time was spent searching for this, and had I remembered how low the rye percentage was initially, I may have stopped the search, but the call for barrel picks, and at this price point, means I still would likely have picked it up anyway.

Given as a birthday gift from my beautiful wife, I have been saving this to celebrate my first day on the new job. This is my second Ocean bottle owned, and probably my fourth or fifth tasted. I am a fan of this series because I love the unique aging at sea, and how nobody had done that before, and it's still not done by anyone now (at least that has good whiskey). Plus, the sea really does add a noticeable layer of sea salt that works well with the barrel notes. The price reflects this well, since there's a lot of added time that it takes for these ships to make their rounds, on top of Jefferson having no competition to this front. As always, I disapprove anyone who ages anything for close to a decade, waits even LONGER with the added sailing time, and then the first thing they do when they dump the barrel is add a bunch of water. I suppose 96 proof could be somewhat worse, but it's a shame there aren't more barrel proof Oceans (or other whiskeys, for that matter), and this does help to upset the price point. One final thing I noticed from my sweep of the bottle and labels is that this is actually a sourced Canadian whiskey, which I normally would be excited for with expectations of good rye strains and a proper 90%+ mash bill. However, with all the added changes to the flavor profile including the sea aging and double barreling, that would be enough to transform the base notes of any whiskey, so let's just see what our final product has become. Not at all surprisingly, the color is quite dark, thanks to the second barreling. It's only slightly lighter than some other double barrel American whiskeys I've had, so it seems the toasted ends did contribute slightly. Traditional (and delicious) rye spice notes found on the nose, slightly sweet, which normally I would think is due to a low rye mash bill, but it's likely from all the extra oak used. Whereas the bourbons in the Ocean series usually have an obvious salty scent from the voyage, this rye only has a very slight astringency that takes away from the other notes. There's both a lot to dissect for the taste, while also being fairly simple. Initially, the rye seeps into the gums a moderate amount, leaving behind a dry mouth feel, but not before the grains start to come alive. Traditional rye flavors are tasted, but it's quite focused on the cinnamon and spicier than some other rye whiskeys I've had recently. I wouldn't have expected this after double barreling and aging at sea, both of which are difficult to pin down against the bold rye grain. The extra oak is tasted closer to the finish, even the toasted oak ends, but I do wish it were more prominent earlier on. The sea aging doesn't seem to have done a lot here, other than the slightly bitter taste up front, and another bit right at the finish. Something done here is a recipe for a damn good rye whiskey. The problem is that too many things are floating around, some competing while others accompany, and it's hard for me to tell which elements helped make this work, and which elements (if any) hindered any flavors. I could do without the dry and bitter notes, which I can only imagine come from the sea aging, and I understand how ironic that is. This creates a whiskey that, although tastes pretty good in the end, isn't worth paying for the extra aging elements that don't provide a positive, noticeable difference. Now, and this may already have been done, but if Kentucky Artisan Distillery wants to make an Ocean bourbon that's also double barreled, I will definitely be on the lookout.

Adding this to the app only because the older version of Distillers Choice has a slight variation in ABV, cask type, and age statement. Another visit to the Town Branch distillery, and I find out that they're very heavily importing and selling products from their sister distillery in Ireland, which I absolutely love. I purchased this and the mediterranean-inspired gin, after trying absolutely everything, of course. I was extremely happy at the price point here, especially when it was on a shelf next to American whiskeys with exuberant price tags. I don't remember much about the taste, other than it having an expected light body, but also an unexpected punch of smoke. Either way, it now sits next to my bottle of Pearse Lyons Reserve (I still regret not getting the barrel strength version, although I'm fairly certain neither exist anymore), and makes for a good start to the Pearse collection. A very light color, not quite out of the ordinary, but a bit lighter than 7 years in bourbon barrels should be, so maybe the sherry, even though it's just small butts (not my type), is more of an impact to the color than previously thought. I can start to smell this from across the table, with potency of a cask strength whiskey as opposed to an almost minimum proof. Inside the glass (at this point, my damn air freshener went off, so now all I smell is peonies or some shit) are notes of caramel, cereal, some biscuit, and just a bit of bonfire smoke, again on a much higher ethanol burn than should be for this proof. The scent really and truly blends together notes of a bourbon and a fully sherry barrel aged Irish whiskey. The initial flavors are weak and take a few extra seconds to kick in, but after getting past the low proof and light body, you're rewarded with some caramel covered biscuits, honey, and cereal, as found in more traditional Irish whiskeys, but is slightly more concentrated here. This really only lasts a second, though, when a huge hit of smoke takes over the palate, creating both a nice mouth burn as well as helping to smooth out and blend the aforementioned flavors. The smoke is definitely close to a peat flavor, but also has notes of tobacco or simply burnt oak. The finish is quite long, as both the smoke and earlier sweet flavors slowly drift out, but the smoke lasting much, much longer. This really is a fantastic blend for an Irish whiskey. I really find it hard to believe that specific bourbon barrels are truly enough to give this it's smoky vibe, but if so, find this very impressive, and would love to know who's barrels are responsible. This isn't, however, a blend I would recommend to just anyone; I think even a novice can detect the harsher smoke flavors, and want to steer clear of them in favor of a sweeter, milder Irish whiskey. However, if you're tired of the same sherry-inspired flavors of bread, cereal, and biscuit, this is a perfect stepping stone into enjoying some that's different enough, but still true to it's roots. I'd be cautious to try a cask strength version of this, but would still go for it without question. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the 12 year version of this, and hoping that the price point of that is just as gracious as this!