Tastes

Nose (4.25): Buttered toasty rye, ethanol but not overwhelming, and cereal bar. A really welcoming nose. Palate: (4.75) Alot going in this glass, and for the most part it is all good. That buttery rye comes through but now there is some peppery notes, almost like chili peppers and chocolate. What really surprised me is that it is not all spice and rye. Nice red ripe fruits here. The mouthfeel is thicker and coating. This one is a flavor bomb. Only reason I didnt go full on five is that at some points the notes were a bit sensory overload for me. That saying, hard to knock something that might just be my own palate preferences vs. complexity. Finish: (5.0) Finish for days. Think warm bakery spices and redhot candies. As I am writing this review the finish is still playing out. It is warming like stepping in from the cold to a nice fire. Overall: Loved it! Reminds me alot of my favorite, Michter's Toasted Barrel Rye, but with a spicier edge. Thanks to @dubz480 for suggesting this to be a buy.

Tasting: 1.5 oz glen cairn at Stitzel Weller in part of a tasting portfolio VIP flight. Nose: (4.25) Cherry, honey, thick caramel and candy corn. I could tell right away it was going to be sweeter. Palate (4.5): Vanilla, red fruits, sweet corn. Mouthfeel was thicker. Oak on the back palate. Very rich Finish: (4.25) Honey and brown sugar fade to butterscotch and oak. Was medium length finish. Overall: I enjoyed it. Suspiciously close to Barterhouse but with a little more going on.

Taste: Neat in 1.5 oz pour in glen cairn, VIP tour and tasting at Stitzel-Weller on 6/5 Nose (3.25) Pine needles, grass, and a bit of mint. Took a bit getting used to but was interesting for a whiskey. Palate (3.0) Wrigley's spearamint gum is the best way to describe, then some pine, followed by white pepper. There is a bit of youth about this whiskey which isn't all bad. Finish: (3.0) Quick finisher. Lots of spice, sone mint and a hint if caraway seed. Overall: Not my favorite rye. I can't get over the minty flavor. Almost hit me like mouthwash. This did mellow with a few drops of water. The pine nature is what I find in most IPA's and it is not my cup of tea. I could see how this could make a good mixed drink, but it wasn't for me.

Tasting: 1.5 oz. (thanks to my wife not liking hers, thus doubling mine) pour in sampling glen cairn glass at Heaven Hill tasting event. First neat, then with 2 drops. Nose (4.0): Butterscotch, leather and tobacco. This is a bourbony traditional nose that was the star of this sample. Palate (3.5) Caramel and oak dominate with some smokiness on the back palate. This is a sweeter tasting bourbon that got a bit dry for me Finish (3.5) Not bad. More oak and a lingering pecan comes in at the end. Overall: I liked the ECBP A119 along with this tasting better. At 249/bottle I could not pull the trigger. It is a good bourbon, not a great one in my opinion.

Tasting: Neat in glen cairn, 2 oz pour. Nose: (5.0) Everything a bourbon should be! Caramel, oak, vanilla for days, and burnt brown sugar. Remember those scratch and sniff stickers the teachers used to put on our papers for 100% grade?......the nose on this bourbon should be the scratch and sniff sticker for adults. Really well done. Palate: (4.75) The nose comes through on the palate with just the right amount of heat and spice. I get some red fruit, perhaps apple? If there was a knock it might be complexity, but for me well orchestrated trumps complication. Finish (5.0): Oak comes through a bit more, caramel fades to butterscotch, and some spice kicks in. Finishes as good as it starts. Overall: This might be my standout of the year. So far it is the best thing I have had this year. A119 may be that one batch that if you hadnt gotten in on yet, you will pay for it later. Looking forward to B519 when it drops in Illinois.

Taste: Neat 2.0 oz pour in bourbon snifter. Nose (1.5) Seeded rye bread dunked in turpentine. Not a huge fan. A little bit of chocolate and butterscotch. Taste (2.5) Rye seeds, heathbar but that solvent base wrecked it for me. Best way to describe is if someone took a Heathbar and dipped it in gasoline. You want the heathbar but not the gasoline! Finish (2.5): More chocolate, very solvent like with some dill pickle at the end. Best thing is that it was short. Overall: Glad I took the pour for 7.50 instead of investing in a bottle. Was not a fan

Taste: Neat in glen cairn glass, 1.5 oz. Barreled on 2/21/2004 @ 121 proof. Nose (4.5): Some initial dill and then vanilla and cherry. Nose is easy to discern, and for proof does not overpower with ethanol. Palate (4.25): Vanilla prevails with spice but not cinnamon, almost more like allspice. There is some peppery notes and oak. Finish (4.0): Finish is dry and hot. A few drops of water went a long way to improve finish and take off the edge. It is a nice long finish with more oak then what was on the palate. Overall: I like this offering a lot, but I didn't love it as much as my 120 proof binny's store pick. I bought this on what I regard as a steal at $95 given the $129.00 msrp. By comparison I would prefer 2 bottles of the store pick or a solid 2015 series Booker's. My biggest complaint is that I wanted a tad more sweetness. It is a good pour.

Taste: Neat in rocks glass, 1.5 oz sample. This was a Binny's pick. Nose: (3.75) for me the nose was faint. It had pitted fruit and honey with a bit of cereal grain. Was pleasing but not enough of nose. That said.....I normally nose my whisky in a glen cairn so this might have diluted things for me. Taste (4.25) I liked it alot. Lots of honey and a bit of lemon poppyseed for me. It has a sweetness without overdoing it. The honey sweetness is very good. My gripe is that I wiahed it were richer for the proof. Finish (4.0): Fades to a bit o honey type taste. Finish is a little on the short side for the proof and need I hate to say it........very smooth. Overall: This was a pleasantly good surprise for me. For a cask strength it was pleasantly refined, and interesting. A few drops of water opened up some butterscotch flavors. I really want to try this in a different glass to see if I might have missed something on the nose.

Taste: Neat in glen cairn, 2 oz. pour. Binny's Pick, 120 proof barreled on 10/14/04, bottled on 9/4/18. Warehouse W-L floor 5. Nose: (4.0) Deep nose with ethanol let's you know this bourbon isn't playing. Once it dissipates some I get apple pie crust, caramel, french vanilla. The nose is much like some of the Booker's I have had, and I love those. Bluegrass immediately came to mind. Taste (4.5): It is rich with a creamy texture. This is on the sweeter side but has sime punch. I describe it as a boozy apple pie ala mode drizzled with caramel, then sprinkled with the familiar Beam peanutty flavor. Finish (4.25) I am digging it, but want more of it. Deep oak, smoke, butterscotch. Only complaint is that it is gone to quick. Overall: This is an example of Jim Beam product at its finest. It proves that to be really good it doesnt need to be really expensive. At 39.99 I would drink this over most bourbons 3x the cost.

Taste: Neat in glen cairn, 1 oz., then with drop or two of water. Nose: (4.5) Warm cornbread and butter are front and center. Sweet and fragrant with some strawberry jam. Intense and distinct with very little detectable ethanol. Palate: (4.75) Super rich and decadent. The jam is more pronounced and then gives way to thick banana pudding drizzled with caramel. Heat comes in at the back end with smokiness. Flavors are wonderful for a 4 yr. old and will be better if they reserved some stock to age longer. Cant wait to try this if gets to 6-7 years. Finish (4.75) Loooooong pleasant one here, oak, candy corn, buttery pancakes with syrup that gradually fades to burnt brown sugar making me want more. Overall: Craft whisky is usually crap whisky. Too young, too similar to everybody else, and underwhelming. Not this one. This is a hit. I will be watching and waiting for more of this one.