Tastes

Sweet buttered corn with a touch of vanilla comes to mind. There’s little else, but I didn’t expect rich aromas and flavors for only $16.99. Since it’s either aged in new uncharred barrels or in used charred barrels, the color and flavors you get in bourbon are missing. Although the flavors I really enjoy in bourbon are missing, it’s nevertheless a pleasant corn whiskey that gets the job done for a low price.

This whisky is moderately sweet. There are very distinct pear and apple aromas and flavors, with only a touch of vanilla and oak. Despite the bourbon cask finish, there isn’t much it has in common with bourbon. It’s not terribly complex or rich in flavor, but it’s nevertheless pleasant and is a nice change of pace for a habitual bourbon, rye, and rum drinker. This bottle was picked up at the Narita International Airport for about $50 by my girlfriend on her way back from Japan, who knew I was interested in trying some Japanese whisky.

Very rich in the nose and on the palette. Sweet, with brown sugar, cherry, vanilla, and oak present. Warm, lingering finish, with a hint of milk chocolate appearing. Remains sweet on the lips long afterward. The folks at the Fort Nelson Distillery couldn’t sell me any rye bottles, and only let me have this barrel-strength bourbon ($119) if I bought it as a set with the regular bourbon ($55) I can get back home.

Sweet in the nose and even sweeter on the palette. Rich aromas and flavors. The mouthfeel is oily, with crème brûlée and a little bubble gum flavor followed by a hint of cherry. The finish is long and warm, but it trails off to a bit of numbing menthol. I sometimes get a little cigarette ash long afterward. I picked up the bottle and a souvenir glass at the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar in Covington, Kentucky, right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio while visiting from California. OKBB Barrel Select, Barrel No. 17C23-3. I’d buy another bottle if I saw one.

Vanilla, oak, and significant orange in the nose. Rich and sweet on the palette, with the usual flavors of vanilla, oak, and rye spice, plus plum or plum butter. Finishes drier, with a bit of menthol-like numbing after a while. I bought three bottles of Batch IX after doing a premium tasting with Justin at Sugarlands.

Sweet in the nose, with aromas dominated by cherries and dark stone fruits. Rich and somewhat less sweet on the palette, with the usual flavors of vanilla, oak, and rye spice entering the mix. I bought one bottle of Batch X after doing a premium tasting with Justin at Sugarlands.

My girlfriend and I were each allowed to buy one bottle of Weller Special Reserve at $30 a piece when we visited Buffalo Trace a couple of years ago, so I took two bottles home. It took me a few glasses to warm up to it, but now I quite like it. I get a hint of cherry and baking spices in addition to the usual flavors in bourbon. Unlike many other reviewers, I don’t find this bourbon to be particularly sweet. To be honest, I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy another bottle of the green label, though, but would opt to splurge on one of the more expensive bottles in the Weller lineup instead.

Having recently tried Tullamore D.E.W. and Bushmill’s 12 Year Single Malt and finding both to be very mild and practically flavorless compared to the bourbons and rums I’m used to, I wasn’t expecting to like this Redbreast 12 Year. I think it’s a bit better than the two others, but it’s still got that sour Irish whiskey taste I don’t care for that dominates whatever flavors are supposedly there. For the price, I can get a good bourbon or rum that will totally blow this Irish whiskey away.