Tastes

Wanted to love this more based on the rye, port barreling, and popularity. Truth is I love my spirits neat and when I sipped this the burn dominated the experience a bit. After a few more I got the rye spice, but little to no port. Vanilla and subtle red fruit emerged too. Good news for ice fans though! I added a block and the ethanol burn on the nose and palate was greatly reduced. This granted the consumer an opportunity to appreciate the complexities within unhindered. Lovely long finish too.

Decided to thoroughly enjoy most of the bottle before rating this sought after spirit. After reading some of the lower/negative reviews, I was thankful I didn't get the same experience. Instead it was the contrary. Nose was vanilla dominant with caramel, apple, and nutmeg following suit. Palate first triggered flavors of spicy rye and caramel that melded into subtle tobacco. It ended with a warming yet punctuated cognac/barrel finish. Mouthfeel started out slightly oily with the sweeter flavoring and finished nicely dry when the cognac kicked in. Overall a tasteful experience that I would most certainly delve into again. I pledge an Oath to seek out the future Pacts.

As soon as you smell its bouquet, you know it's unique. One can gather either burnt sugar a la creme brulee or bananas foster from the rum essence it exudes. Either way you can't go wrong. Taste was wonderfully similar. But I can also point out that it had a prominent cinnamon element. Somewhat like having cinnamon twist pastries with a rye/heat finish. This spirit definitely stands out from other bourbons I've had. Fantastic!

Aroma was quite inviting with its sweet, oak, and leather essence. First half of tasting was all that plus hints of vanilla and red hots. Then an avalanche of corn took over the finish which could be a love hate experience for some. At first it was off-putting, but grew on me the more I sipped. Slight boozy bite at the end.

Bought this for the purpose of making old fashions. To my surprise, this was a wonderful sipper in its own right. Some intial booze burn to get the juices flowing. Aroma is the usual sweet tobacco and vanilla spice found in others in the same category. Flavor is decently rich with notes red apples, cinnamon, subtle honey, and hints of corn flakes on the finish.

Got lucky finding this at my local shop. Just delivered! Anyways on to the verdict. My first bottled in bond and perhaps the best. It'll be tough to beat. Neat: It had an enticing vanilla/oak nose. Taste contained a wonderful complexity. Started off with soft vanilla. Then it transitioned to notes of corn, hints of leather, and finished with a warming spicy rye kick. Ice block: Really smoothed things out. Expected thickening of the mouthfeel. Subtle essence of cinnamon sticks emerged on the nose. Rye dominated the palate without the said kick. Later the finish resembled cinnamon candy. Such a good overall experience!

I'm a die-hard GOT fan and a good friend gifted me this. At the time (several months back) I wasn't a whiskey/bourbon drinker per se, but I remember the harsh burn with subtle vanilla. Present day seemed a bit smoother, but lacked any complexity. One dimensional for sure. Leather and oak and very subtle vanilla. A gimmick through and through, but at least the bottle had a cool factor to it.