Tastes
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Batch 6 Aroma - Sweet brown sugar, candied fruits, toasted marshmallow, rye spice (pepper). Taste - Everything transfers from the nose to the palate but then some. Everything comes more amplified. Rich sweet notes (again brown sugar, candied fruits) mixed with rye notes (pepper, touch of mint). The oak presence really comes through on the finish along with vanilla notes. Touch of rye spice on the finish as well. Overall - Really nice complexity and very long finish. Price seems fair
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Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: PX Sherry
Bourbon — USA
Reviewed April 25, 2025 (edited April 30, 2025)Aroma - This smells “thick” for the proof point. (Just my initial reaction). Really giving off a strong jam-like vibe here. More dark fruits (plums, figs) than red fruits (strawberries and cherry pie) make their presence known. There’s a strong brown sugar and caramel backbone that holds this all together. As it opens up, a bit more baking spices begin to make their presence known. Taste - Caramel, dark fruits, vanilla, very light hint of baking spices. The finish is long, full of dark fruits and caramel. Then there is a slight pivot to a drying note that prevents this from being too sweet on the palate. The alcohol also makes its presence known. Overall - The finish is nice. Several minutes after a sip, the dark fruity waves mixed with caramel continue to make their presence known. The viscosity is right on par for the proof point. Was expecting a bit more sherry notes but overall this is a solid offering. 4.30 -
Aroma - The brandy barrel really jumps out of the glass. There’s some rye spices present but can’t seem to pinpoint what kind of spice. Very Subtle nose. Also getting a white wine like note as it opens up. Taste - Screams youthfulness. Lots of fruits coming forward, sharp wood presence. The alcohol is actually quite noticeable and but its nice to be honest. Overall - The palate is a bit all over the place. The alcohol heat actually helps this whiskey from losing balance though. Theres a point right around mid-palate that theres an “off balance” between the fruit and the oak but, the alcohol kind of brings it back to keep it from drifting too far off. The finish initially is drying but then it transitions to a sweet fruity finish. Intriguing to say the least. Drinks right at its proof point. Priced appropriately. I could see this being used to make an interesting Old Fashion.
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Aroma - Oak, orange creamsicle ice cream, caramel, slightly bread notes. As it opens, a minty rye note begins to become more noticeable and begins to jump out at you. My initial thought is that this going to be lacking in complexity on the palate. Taste - Everything from the nose, transfers to the palate here. Viscosity is average but the finish is really quite nice. Getting a lot of that old almost dry-oak with orange creamsicle note. Alcohol is also quite noticeable for the proof though. In fact as the finish goes on, the alcohol intensifies and the orange creamsicle note begins to fade away into the background. Once that transition stops, vanilla starts to pop up. That is an interesting experience. Overall - The saving grace of this is the finish. The nose and initial flavors on the palate are nice but nothing crazy, just really well balanced and nice. Above average to be honest. But then the finish takes you on this roller coaster from sweetness to heat back to a different sweetness. This coaster effect makes you want to take another sip because your palate is being selfish and it is experiencing its own adrenaline rush. At $80-$90 it’s definitely something I would buy. But $100 is pushing it. Anything above that is probably not worth it. I would save the cash and get 2 $50 bottles. Just saying there is no reason to spend over $100.
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Aroma - Toasted marshmallow, berry jam, rich caramel. Some rye notes coming through in winter green and cinnamon. All of these notes are faint. It’s not a very aggressive nose other than the alcohol. Not sure what to expect on the palate. Taste - Interesting… Wasn’t really expecting everything to transfer from the nose to the palate. But I get this nice addition of orange creamsicle which is nice. The flavors are well integrated and nothing really dominating. The finish is a caramel and vanilla. Long finish too but the flavors are just not bold enough. Overall - It’s good but this is a bit of a let down for me. The “hug” is very minimal at the proof. It just seems boring for a Barrell product if I’m being totally honest. There’s a lot of subtle notes on both nose and palate but it’s lacking character and identity. At the price, it is good but I much rather grab a different Barrell product.
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Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Straight Rye
Rye — Indiana (bottled in Maryland), USA
Reviewed April 1, 2025 (edited April 8, 2025)Aroma - reminds me of a rum with all that brown sugar dominating the nose. There is some vanilla.. some herbal rye notes in the background. Cinnamon red hots . Slight orange citrus too. Taste -cherry cola. Sweet brown sugar. There’s a toasted marshmallow note in the finish which I really enjoy. Really unique rye profile. Overall - bourbon lovers rye. Extremely sweet rye. Very unique flavor profile and the finish is actually really nice and long. Viscosity is a bit low which is interesting because the finish is so long. Love that toasted marshmallow brings so much more depth. Would make for an excellent old fashion or Manhattan. Definitely a bottle worth keeping on hand. Awesome value for that $55-$60 range. 4.3-4.35 -
126 Proof Aroma - citrus and brown sugar dominate the nose. Very light oak and vanilla presence in the back. As it opens I’m getting dark fruits. Very sweet profile here and it’s nice. Taste - follows the nose. But it’s more elevated. Overall - This is actually really nice. Full bodied, long finish. Exceptional offering for under $50. And this is extremely smooth for the proof. The more I sip this, the more I appreciate it. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better bottle under $50
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Rackhouse 002 Batch #10 Batch Size 30 Barrels Dumped on 2/6/24 120.6 Proof Aroma - Youthful. Quite a bit of fruit coming through.. Sweet apples, strawberries, even touch of citrus. Oak coming up towards the back. Taste - Nose transfers to the palate here quite a bit. But there is a more pronounced brown sugar note along with quite a bit of butterscotch. Also getting chocolate and toffee. The mid-palate is exceptional. So much of those awesome sweet dark tones but then the alcohol becomes overly aggressive on the finish which detracts that great mid-palate profile. The finish also has a nice bubblegum rye note that comes through. Hug is significant. Overall - Priced appropriately in my honest opinion. Nice bottle to have, has a unique flavor profile too. I’ve tried the Master Distillers select and that was outstanding. This one falls a little short just due the alcohol being so aggressive. But this bottle variations, a 115ish proof could be really damn good.
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Hard Truth Master Distiller's Reserve Sweet Mash Rye (2024 Blend)
Rye — Indiana, USA
Reviewed March 30, 2025Aroma - “A lot of a little” is the best way to describe this… Lots of different notes pop off but nothing really pronounced. Definitely getting a youthful vibe. Bright fruits and citrus…. . Oak/wood presence comes in the form of walking through Lowe’s lumbar aisle. Definitely “sweet aroma”. There is some mild baking spice notes towards the back. Taste - Wow that is actually quite nice. Lots of brown sugar, various fruits and vanilla mixed with some baking spices. This is definitely a nice dessert style whiskey as it really is quite sweet. Overall - Has a bit more body that what the nose leads on. The finish is more on the medium-long which fits the profile of a barrel proof offering. Nice flavor profile. Decent complexity. At the price, it is definitely above average and I think it could actually do pretty well in a blind tasting because I do think the profile is a bit unique
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