Tastes

Candy corn nose and some cherry on the palate. Flavors are very clean, almost one-dimensional, with some peach pit on the tail-end of the finish. The heat is a little distracting, but ice takes care of it. Sadly, ice also mutes the soft flavors that are there. $26-$29 a bottle I suppose its worth a shot. Don't get me wrong, its not bad at all--just simplistic. As far as wheaters go, its up there. But against other bourbons in the $25-$35 price range, I can't put this above ETL or EC12. Probably more suited to cocktails, but unfortunately this did not live up to the hype.

My first real introduction to Bourbon...and will always have a sweet-spot in my heart. Brown sugar, vanilla, leather, and subtle spice in a nice balance. Subtle barrel char is evident on the finish (without a tannic bite). When I was getting this back East at $27 a bottle I was happy. K&L in California just had 24 bottles priced at $34 that sold out in an hour...glad I picked one up for my brother. Great stuff! I wouldn't pay more than $50 for it though....its good, but not that good. For $50 go with Blanton's or two bottles of Elijah Craig.

Seriously? $25 for 12 year Bourbon with a decent profile, nice complexity, and a touch of heat? This is my go-to keep around, cook with, on-the-rocks Bourbon. Its pretty good 'neat,' but ice really tames it nicely. Nice platform for just about any Bourbon drinker...a touch more umph for the fans of "wheat'ers" and toned down for those who are into the 'hot barrel proof' stuff--you can get it just about anywhere which makes this a hands down winner. I would take this over BT anyday.