Tastes

Sometimes my friends give incredible blind samples. Sometimes my friends are the worst. This was mixed in a set of blinds from @thechad Nose: honestly this smells like the bottom of a sweaty gym bag. I’m scared to taste it, but I’ve got to give a review to find out what this is. Palate: vegetal bitterness. As I swirled it around my mouth I was getting hints of black licorice but as soon as I swallowed I shuddered and the unmistakable taste of canned green bean juice hit me. I’ve only gotten this note in one whiskey before and this has got to be pure Kentucky. Finish: regret. 6.9/100

Blind sample from @thechad Nose: sweet honey, mango, detectable alcohol, faint raspberries. Palate: pear juice, apple juice, raw oak Finish: short and sweet combo of mixed nuts and sliced pears. Score 74/100

Neat in a glencairn, thanks for the sample @LandryG cheers! Nose: man, this smells just like an apple turnover with a sweet crumbly crust. Plenty of cinnamon, baked apples, sugar, vanilla, and a balanced oak presence. Palate: so gentle for being 120 proof, creamy like ice cream and does a great job coating the palate with a leathery espresso feeling. Finish: drops of quickly but has black tea, black pepper, and oak. Solid 90/100

I am finding myself to be a huge brown Forman fan as of late and have been really excited to get into this bottle. Nose: It’s got a rich banana and nilla wafer aroma like the homemade banana pudding I look forward to every potluck at church. The ethanol is not coming through on the nose, but it provides the experience of sticking your whole face in the foil bag of nilla wafers and taking a deep breath. It has a deep richness that I can’t name, but leaves me hoping to find chocolate in the palate or finish. Palate: palate is much brighter than I expected. It hits with laffy taffy and banana runts. Brown sugar and vanilla custard (think cheap John filling) coats the whole mouth. Little black pepper and cinnamon helps balance out the sweet richness. Finish: buttery slickness ends up leaving some sweet vanilla and caramel notes that have an oaky background. This sure delivered for me! Highly recommend this bottle. 90/100

Nose: snappy green banana, caramel corn, vanilla custard, creme brulee crust, Reese’s peanut butter cup, hint of almond joy. This nose is an absolute delight Palate: prominent barrel char, slight smokey banana bread, heath bar, slightly burnt banana bread toast. Compared to the richness of the nose, the palate comes across a bit thin. Finish: barrel tannins are blended nicely with a cheap dark chocolate bar (like the kinds middle schoolers sell to go on a band trip to Florida) vanilla bean and baking spices are the last to stick around Solid 77 which lands it a 3.85 which I will round down to a 3.75. If price was a factor in my tastings I would rate it higher because this is an incredible value for $30

Single barrel Specs pick 136.6 Nose: orange marmalade, spicy oak, dusty leather, banana chips Palate: plum, orange, cherry, leather, creamy creme brûlée, blackberry cobbler Finish. Long lasting pound cake, dark fruit, and an extremely pleasant ethanol tingle. Mexican vanilla extract is the last to linger 84/100

This fun blind courtesy of @trentoniousmaximus was tasted blind, neat in a glencairn Nose- red delicious apple peel, cherry pie, Swedish fish, wheaty funk, cherry peanut brittle, cherry coke carbonation Palate- sweet but drying on the mid tongue in a delightful cinnamon oak tannin way. Big red cinnamon gum, orange bitters, this has notes that strongly remind me of an old fashioned. Finish- I really love the finish here, I got smacked in the mouth with apple and cinnamon, also getting some rich spicy Latakia pipe tobacco leafs My official score was 78/100 or a 3.9 I was surprised when @trentoniousmaximusmaximus revealed the result of the blind!

Nose: slightly salty, very sweet, coconut, red grapes, orange zest, no detectable ethanol Palate: lots of coconut and sugar, does a fine job coating the mouth with green grapes, simple syrup, and honeycrisp apple Finish: faint oak, honey, slight medicinal fruit This is not complex, but is CRUSHABLE. This is so approachable and sweet that it would pair great with a dessert such as an apple turnover.

Blind tasting: neat in a glencairn Nose: alfalfa, sawdust, wildflowers, raw artichokes Palate: taste like a leather wallet full of paper bills Finish: orange bitters, young but astringent oak

Nose: vanilla, caramel, smokey barrel char, orange peel, walnuts, toffee Palate: surprisingly sweet. Plenty of toffee and caramel, pecan pie if that pie had walnuts and peanuts. Finish: cherry coke, leather, burnt oak, and heath bar