Tastes

I've never had anything from Hillrock in the past so i decided to have myself a pour at a work outing. The aroma had a mix of vanilla, oak, honey, and rye spice. When beginning the tasting process, I immediately got a rye spice and a slight heat kick. In the following sips there was some dried fruit and oak probably from the sherry cask. The finish was dry and on the shorter side. Not too shabby overall.

I was stoked to have found this because I'm a big fan of Lag 16 and tequila in general. Upon first sniff, the smoke factor reminded me of Lag 16. But after letting it sit there were additional characters of oak and agave I get usually from tequila. This intrigued me for what to expect for the sipping experience. At first the peat hit home solidly with a nice warming effect that gave it that fireplace feel. The finish was enjoyable and enduring with a hint of said agave a la the the unique don julio barreling. Definitely an impressive offering from Lagavulin. Looking forward to revisiting the bottle.

It seems distro has improved quite a bit by me as I have been acquiring some nice offerings. Unfortunately, the pricing isn't as forgiving. But not ludicrous. Shortly after pouring the nose yielded a sort of dried fruit character. After some time it transitioned to a fitting fall bouquet of apple and baking spices. The flavor provided a warming spice kick of said apple, oak, grain, and a dash of cinnamon. The finish was fairly durable. In addition, I could swear there was an essence of cherry at the tail end. This wasn't always the case I might add. Maybe just me. All in all this was very well made and should be in every bourbon lover's stash IMO. As long as you can obtain it at a fair price point.

This is by far High West's best work. Their other entries can be hit or miss even though i enjoyed the regular bourbon and rye. My first experience with this series happened about 3-4 years back. I remember not being able to put it down some nights. Unfortunately, exclusive bottles such as these are hard to come by so I didn't see another again till the beginning of this year. I purchased it immediately! I must say this may be one of the best iterations of rye whiskey I've tried. It contained a unique aroma that can be described as cinnamon sticks in cola. The rye spice hits hard on the palate with a lingering finish containing dried fruits, said cinnamon, and the slightest hints of vanilla and leather. All this tied together with a warming hug makes it the perfect choice on a cold night. I am most certainly saving the rest of the bottle for the upcoming change in seasons. Unless I score another bottle.

I've been holding onto this gem for quite some time. Waiting for the right moment to crack the seal. A special family event was the cause. But I had several libations prior, so I decided to wait before reviewing. Today is the day! For one thing, I was flabbergasted on how smooth this was considering the uncut nature of this magical brown water. It allowed me to relish in the complexities within. The aromatics resulted in a delightful mix of cinnamon apples, brown sugar, and vanilla bean. The preliminary sips yielded a blend of allspice, rye, and oak. Later I encountered a drizzle of chocolate, peach, and hints of tobacco and molasses. These 3 persisted onto the lovely long finish with oak/rye emerging at times. I now can see why these are so hard to get one's mitts on. Utterly superb all around from start to finish! I will cherish every pour from this day onward.

I didn't think I'd see one of these in the wild again. It has been years since the last one I've had. So when I saw a couple at my local I snatched one up immediately. The price wasn't too harsh. Maybe $40 over msrp. But well worth it in my humble opinion. The sherry was the first thing I noticed when sniffing my glencairn. Following close behind was the cow hide. This alone sparked my interest. As I began to sip, a medley of flavors ensued. Caramel landing first that melded into said leather and dark fruit. The semi-long finish yielded a touch of earth/corn with a whisper of cocoa as it tapered off. Very smooth with little to no ethanol. At least for me. This was such a treat and am quite happy to see this in distro once again.

Since the bottle is a little out of my price range, I've decided to go all in on a somewhat costly pour from a local spot. The smell was faintly reminiscent to the 12 I love, but had some different nuances that separated it. The sherry/oak for one was evident along with some citrus. The sipping yielded flavors of figs, subtle nuts, and a touch of smoke and oak towards the finish. I expected it to be silky smooth, but it had the slightest hit of a bite along with soft bitterness. Solid overall, but it didn't trounce the 12 as much as I expected it to.

I came across this fancy looking/sounding offering from JW at my local Costco. The price seemed fair enough so I said what the heck! Out of all the colors, I've already had black, DB, and Blue. I'd say this was somewhere in the middle. Maybe somewhat closer to Blue without the bigger price tag. The nose seemed light and uneventful with only a touch of apple and grain. The flavor is where it shined brightly. A plethora of notes consisting of cereal, oak, vanilla, dark fruit, and soft smoke/spice flourished the palate. This in turn persisted to the finish which was joyfully long. The ethanol was quite minimal and dangerously easy to consume. IMO JW did a wonderful job with this blend. I foresee this bottle becoming empty in rapid fashion.

I literally took a chance on this purchase being that I've never heard of this distillery. The background and methods used assisted in ultimately buying it. After several pours, I must say I'm satisfied with my decision. I'm happy to report that the rum barreling they employed was well selected. The nose yielded an interesting mix of banana Foster's, baking spice, and burnt sugar with the slightest hint of earth. The flavor was a complex marriage of grain up front that then gave rise to leather, caramel, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a cane sugar character begotten from the dark rum barrels. This persisted to the nice long finish I experienced. What these guys did here was very unique and different from what I've tried in the past. I will make sure to savor this bottle. I recommend others to give Puncher's Chance a whirl. You won't be disappointed.

Various bottles from Garrison Bros have finally started to spring up at the local shops lately. This one seemed to catch my eye so I decided to pull the trigger. My second pour a week apart and I must say I'm thoroughly impressed. The slightly spicy nose had a lovely bouquet of wood, leather, brown sugar, and chocolate. The wood factor translated nicely into the tasting notes along with an interesting melding between red hot candies, corn, cocoa, and said leather. A touch of ethanol heat at first that transitioned to a comfortable warming later and throughout. The finish was fairly enduring and oily which I enjoyed. I'm definitely a fan of this Texas brown water. Looking forward to what else they have in store. For now, I'll take my time with this fine entry.