Tastes

Nose: vanilla bean ice cream, baking spices, charred oak Palate: cherry pie! Also getting sweet raspberry, red candy, red dum-dum, butterscotch, brown sugar Finish: long lasting oaky finish with baking spices

Nose: very prominent vanilla, lots of vanilla custard in the nose. Finding dime cherry, and oak as well. Palate: very gentle on the palate, brown sugar, creme brûlée, sweet oak char, brown sugar Finish: leather, tobacco, and more brown sugar.

Batch 9: 130.3 proof Nose: browned butter, cooked apple, cinnamon, tons of oak presence, strong ethanol tingle in the nose Palate: flash of heat followed by rich caramel and brown sugar. Dark fruit (plums, blackberries), soft vanilla caramel, oak tannins Finish: cinnamon, mixed nuts, slight dryness that seems like it’s coming from the heavy oak. I was happy to have a pour if this at a local bar for a fair price. It’s always comforting to me when I rate a unicorn lower than a bottle that is available at every liquor store I go to. Now, if I came across one of these for MSRP I would be happy to buy it to drink, but not all good bourbon is unattainable!

Hops and Scotch Vinery pick 5 years old 116 proof Nose: cherry coke, fresh baked wheat rolls Palate: vanilla, brown sugar, flat coke, raisins Finish: very short citrus finish of lemongrass, lime zest, raisins, and a hint of pear Overall a very simple but refreshing dram, very different than my usual flavor profile I gravitate towards but fun!

Nose: dark chocolate, barrel char, pear, sticky marshmallow Palate: cocoa powder, oak, big red gum, ripe pear with the skin still on, and buttery toffee Finish: cherry candy, baking spices, and vanilla Man I love this bourbon. So nice to have delicious bottles that are always available.

Wife bought this bottle to celebrate my son being born. Finally got to crack it! Tasted neat in a Glencairn rested all of .25 seconds to take a picture before getting into it Nose: vanilla, orange, cherry coke, caramel, ethanol Palate: gooey caramel, black cherry, candied cherry, molasses, remnants of sticky cherry coke, brown sugar. This is an absolute cherry caramel bomb!! This feels rich in the mouth, and has plenty of spicy fruit that doesn’t let you forget just how proofy this gal is. Finish: ethanol burn on the front half of my tongue, bold spicy citrus in the back of the throat, dark corn syrup and vanilla/caramel in the very end. This has a long sweet oily finish.

Nose: honey, ethanol, faint vanilla and orange peel Palate: tons of citrus and some simple syrup. There is a grassy note that shows this is a younger whiskey Finish: faint vanilla, light oak, and citrus

Nose: dry leather, smokey charred oak, cloves Palate: tons of vanilla, very gentle brown sugar, surprisingly spicy with plenty of baking spices Finish: I’m all over this fig newton finish, it’s such a great balance of dark fruit and grainy sweetness

Nose: oddly enough, this smelled just like grape soda to me and @thechad there is some honey and faint apple in the mix too. Palate: “thicc” custard, a creme brulee without the caramelized sugar. Dark fruits including figs, plum, black cherries. Finish: brown sugar and wet oak with a little dryness at the end

Had a dram of this from @thechad as a blind comparison of his batch 14 to my batch 15. Nose: faint sting and citrus that reminded us of smelling the CO2 coming off of an orange soda Palate: oily slickness, buttery mouthfeel, tons of orange/lemon/plum. There is a Swedish fish quality as well. Finish: brown sugar and wet oak Thanks for the pour!