Tastes

Nose - (w/o water) Vanilla, dark butterscotch, herbal rye spice, dark caramel, light fruit, strawberry/cherry (w/ water) not much change, but sweet mint comes out. Taste - (w/o water) Spicy sweet cinnamon, dark butterscotch, light herbal/sweet mint, strawberry fruity oak (w/ water) More vanilla, butterscotch, more sweet mint, herbal spice Finish - (w/o water) Lingering cinnamon heat/tingle, sweet mint/herbal sweetness, light tannic oak, drying (w/ water) Lingering tannic fruity sweet mint, butterscotch Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite tasty. Nice mix of rye spice and dark caramel/butterscotch flavors. Does well with a tiny bit of water in that it doesn't really change the flavors much, but softens up the ethanol burn and mellows out the heat nicely. It's got a lot going for it as a rye, but the only downfall I see is that it has a super long finish, but sadly it's an almost overly sweet mint sweetness that borders on splenda sweet territory. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not at the current prices. This bottle at most should be in the $70-80 range.

Nose - Dark apple juice, light cinnamon, candied ginger, raisins, prunes, honey. Taste - White pepper/ginger spice/heat/tingle, honey, raisins, golden raisins, faint clove, cinnamon, light metallic, baked apples. Finish - Lingering lightly oaky white pepper/ginger heat, lingering honey, golden raisin sweet, apple skin/core bitter. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This is an interesting Glenfiddich with an interesting concept of marrying 20 completely random casks together. On paper, it looks as if you'd just get a giant hot mess, but this somehow works in its own way. There's a nice balance of sweet port/sherry balanced with ex-bourbon to give this nice vanilla/fruit balance. I've only tried this neat, but I could see this at a slightly higher proof and NCF doing well in a cocktail that hightlights the spicy ginger aspects of this. Maybe something as simple as a highball. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe, I need to try more of the bottle to see if it's really worth it

Nose - Light fruity smoke, fruity sea salt, orange, apple juice, fruity peppercorns. Taste - Light pepper heat/tingle, sweet salty smoke, oaky apple cider, orange/tangerines, vanilla, oily mouthfeel. Finish - Lingering sea salt smoke tingle, oaky fruit, tangerine, fruity honey. Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - This is a nice dram. Nice balance of salt and fruit to balance out the subtle smoke. I don't think this is something I'd regularly reach for, but it's different enough. I could see this pairing quite nicely with a cheese and fruit plate. The subtle smoke & brine I get would go great in a blood and sand cocktail as well as many others I think. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe, if I could get it for around $40-50

Nose - Sweet vanilla caramels, fresh strawberries, dark brown sugar simple. Taste - Sweet fruity vanilla, milk caramel, hint of orange zest, light oak, hints of fresh strawberry & cherries, light cinnamon heat. Finish - Lingering vanilla caramels, light oily orange zest, light cinnamon, faint strawberry pop/soda/cola fizz. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - This was quite a tasty one. Not much going for it on the nose, although it was pleasant. Very nice & pleasant from start to finish with no real off-putting notes. Nice balance of vanilla, caramel, & fruity notes that make this quite sippable. The proof doesn't really show as it's quite easy on the palate. This is most likely best neat although I didn't try it with the addition of any water. The fruit present is subtle but quite nice and might be masked with water or ice. The subtle fruit in this might play very nicely in a paper plane as I detect similar fruity notes in Amaro Nonino. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Maybe Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe, if the price was in the $40-$50 range

Barrel #2026 - Aged 9 years Nose - (w/o water) Dark vanilla caramel, oaky cinnamon, oaky vanilla cola, surprisingly little burn for proof (w/ water) Dark toffee, skin-on almonds, oaky cinnamon, dark leather Taste - (w/o water) Oaky vanilla cola/caramel, cinnamon heat, hint of cherry & cinnamon red hots (w/ water) Brings out more drying oaky vanilla, caramel, light cinnamon, hint of sweet cherry candies Finish - (w/o water) Lingering cinnamon heat, sweet fruity caramel sweet, vanilla caramels, light drying oak (w/ water) Lingering cherry vanilla, cinnamon heat, more drying somehow Score - 83/100 Final Thoughts - This drank surprisingly easy for the proof w/o water. The addition of water in this one seemed to help a tiny bit on the palate & opened up a tiny bit more fruity sweet. I have mixed feelings about this one, it drinks quite easy for the proof, but has a pretty "standard" nose, palate, finish. Nothing off-putting so that's a plus, but at the same time, nothing that sets it that far apart from other bourbons. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe since there are single barrel variants?

Nose - Sharp sweet ethanol notes, citrusy pomelo zest, pineapple, unripe banana. Taste - Unripe pineapple sweet, citrusy, blueberries, sweet nuts, honeydew melon sweet, "refreshing" bitterness. Finish - Lingering pineapple, mellow/faint blueberries, hints of honeydew more prominent, light fruity bitter. Score - 55/100 Final Thoughts - This was an interesting silver whiskey. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. It was amazingly fruity in nose and taste, nothing too terribly harsh about it, but this is definitely not something I'd reach for willingly. I think this was made to be mixed and I think it'd be a suitable substitute for a fruity vodka or gin in any cocktail that calls for a more fruity spirit. Would I drink it if offered? - No Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not again

Nose - Dry rye, cinnamon, oak planks, hay, dried herbs, dry leather. Taste - Spicy cinnamon, sweet vanilla caramel, black pepper spice/heat, dry sweet mint, light oaky bitterness. Finish - Lingering rye peppery spice bite, oaky vanilla sweet, light dry herbs. Score - 70/100 Final Thoughts - This one surprised me a bit in that the nose was quite muted even after letting it air out a bit in the glass. It sort of smelled like it was a bit overoaked but the palate demonstrated that it wasn't. It had a very "dry" feel to it overall in both the nose and palate like I was somehow drinking a liquid version of dried oak, rye, and herbs. Maybe I got a bad bottle? Maybe it needs a bit more air time? Regardless I'm glad I got to try this bottle, but I don't think I'll be picking up another as I think Rittenhouse Bonded is significantly better than this and at half the price too. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another

58.4% ABV 8 Year | Barrel #1465 Nose - (w/o water) Sweet dark vanilla toffee, cinnamon spice, light sweet mint, buttered rye toast (w/ water) not much change. Taste - (w/o water) Heavy cinnamon spice/heat/tingle, dark chocolate covered dark toffee, sweet mint, hint of cherry coke concentrate (w/ water) Spice softens up considerably, dark chocolate, sweet mint is barely present now, more balanced cherry coke concentrate. Finish - (w/o water) Lingering cinnamon spice, lightly drying, woody cherry coke concentrate (w/ water) Lingering vanilla, chocolate, cherry coke concentrate. Score - 92/100 Final Thoughts - This was a really great rye. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't pick up a few more bottles when I had the chance because for the price I paid back then, this is a fantastic cask strength, 8 year old rye that hits all the notes I like in a rye. Nice sweet mint I usually get from MGP combined with a nice cherry coke concentrate flavor I quite like. A tiny bit of water really opens it up and softens out most of the harsh/woody notes in this. This would be great both neat with a tiny bit of water, or in a basic old fashioned. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes

Nose - Sweet rising yeasty dough, light rye bread spice/sweet, sweet buttery creamed corn, freshly shucked corn. Taste - Sweet fresh cut corn kernels, light cinnamon spice, light vanilla caramel sweet, hint of malt, milk chocolate. Finish - Lingering sweet corn sweet, light chocolate malt, light oak bitterness. Score - 73/100 Final Thoughts - I'm not sure if my palate has changed or they've changed the rye because this one tastes like a young, barely legal rye with a very high corn content. Either that or they didn't completely flush the pipes when they switched from their new malt whisky to rye or something like that. I got lots of sweet dough, fresh cut corn, and the only thing that reminded me it was a rye was a tiny bit of spice on the nose. I think this probably fares a lot better in cocktails than it does neat, although it is very easy to sip on, it just tastes a lot like fresh cut corn. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not sure if I'd get another one after this bottle

Nose - Dark caramel, dark chocolate, candied cherries, charred cinnamon, dark roasted coffee beans, fruity oak. Taste - Dark dried cherries, dark, almost burnt toffee, light oaky bitter coffee grounds, light charred cinnamon burn/heat, dark chocolate. Finish - Lingering cinnamon spice/heat, bit tannic/dry, lingering sweet bitter oaky cherry, dark cocoa nib bitterness, dark burnt toffee. Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - This was an interesting one as it added an additional layer of dark cherry to what I'd consider a slightly oaky Wild Turkey profile. Although this one is tasty in its own right, I think it is a bit on the dry/tannic side and although I'm a fan of the fruity/coffee/cocoa nib bitterness in it, the tannic nature throws it a bit off balance. I'm not sure what they did but it feels a tad bit over oaked to me. I sadly think this would make a MUCH better chocolate cherry old fashioned as I think the bitters & dilution would help out the tannic nature of this beautifully. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not another one