Tastes

Nose - Sweet oaky vanilla, hint of cinnamon & cloves, dark caramel sweetness. Taste - Lightly oaky, vanilla coke, caramel/toffee sweet, light cinnamon bitter. Finish - Lingering vanilla/caramel coke sweet, lightly creamy, light cinnamon spice heat, faint sweet oaky bitterness. Score - 80/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very light an inoffensive bourbon from start to finish. It's a great "generic" bourbon from start to finish with a slightly more oaky presence throughout. Classic notes on the nose, typical on the palate with a hint more caramel sweet and oaky bitter, but overall very sippable. Best neat or used in cocktail where a lighter bourbon is needed like a Paper Plane. Would be great to use as an intro bourbon for people new to bourbon, maybe with a tiny bit of water to soften it up even more or a single ice cube. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No, I most likely won't get another bottle.

Nose - Sharp vanilla/corn syrup sweet, oaky cinnamon, cloves, alcohol soaked oak. Taste - Sweet spicy vanilla simple mixed with corn syrup, cinnamon spice, tannic oaky dryness, thin caramel, hint of cloves, hint of oaky bitterness. Finish - Lingering vanilla simple/corn syrup, hint of cinnamon spice, creamed corn sweet. Score - 76/100 Final Thoughts - This was a bit strange in that the nose seemed to have 2 parts, the first was an initial wave of super sweet clean vanilla, followed by this oaky afterbite. This seemed to follow a bit on the palate as well as I get somewhat classic bourbon notes, but it's followed by this pretty intense corn syrupy sweet that I kind of got from Mellow Corn. I'm not sure I really like the balance of this as it has this "too sweet" vibe and a mouthfeel of what I imagine oak aged vodka would have. Flavors aren't horrible, but not great. I think it's just a bit confusing to the palate. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe, if there weren't better options. Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Strong oaky vanilla, dark caramel, light cherry/strawberry candy, sweet cream butter. Taste - Drying & tannic mouthfeel, sweet oaky vanilla caramel, strawberry preserves, light chocolate latte foam sweet, cherry syrup, light cinnamon, drying oak. Finish - Drying oak, light cinnamon heat, cherry/strawberry syrup-like sweetness, oak. Score - 81/100 Final Thoughts - Relatively pleasant nose, a bit on the oaky side, yet "soft" on the nose in that it doesn't have the heavy/dark caramel I like from a good Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. It almost feels as if they finished this in a microbarrel for all 3 finishes as it picked up quite a bit of oak, but has this nice soft sweet very lightly fruity finish. This one was quite strange for me, it didn't smell overoaked but it was quite tannic on the palate, combined with a sweetness that is very difficult to explain in that I didn't get the usual dark dried stone fruits from the sherry but it tasted more of a fresh fruit syrup sweet. This was a bit confusing from start to finish and while not unpleasant, not something I think I'd reach for very often. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No, especially at current prices.

Nose - Dark apple juice, barrel aged white wine, hint of milk chocolate, sweet brioche, light brie cheese funk. Taste - Fairly thin but nice creamy/buttery mouthfeel, sweet spicy muscat/apple juice, light cinnamon spice, dark golden raisins, tiny hint of dark chocolate latte foam. Finish - Lingering dark grape/apple juice sweetness, light cinnamon spice tingle, musty grape, almost cognac-like finish, but fades quickly. Score - 84/100 Final Thoughts - This one has a very pleasant nose, gives the impression of darker apple/grape juice, but doesn't quite hit the rich leather/tobacco notes that I tend to get with older Scotches. I attribute this to the lower proof & the chill filtration. It's a very approachable dram for sure. Flavors are on point, but they're all very subtle. I think it really falls flat on the finish as it's incredibly short and fades away to almost nothing fairly quickly. A great intro "higher end Scotch" I'd say. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - Not at current prices, if I found a bottle for ~$70USD yes

Nose - Dark fruity malt, baked apples, dark honey, ozone? like this thick humid nose in the glass, dark unfiltered apple cider. Taste - Smooth & creamy mouthfeel, dark sweet apple cider with a tiny hint of blackberries, light leather tart & sweet tobacco richness, dark floral honey, light hint of smoke. Finish - Quickly fading apple cider creamy sweet, vanilla latte foam sweetness, tiny hint of white pepper tingle, hint of sweet tobacco/leather bittersweet. Score - 90/100 Final Thoughts - This one had a great nose, very thick and viscous. It had this density of air like just before a huge thunderstorm. Very nice balance of malt & fruit on both the nose and palate but it has one of the shortest finishes ever. The creamy sweet quickly ramps down and then fades away, leaving only a minuscule alcohol tingle on the tongue. This one is definitely best neat, and it's dangerously sippable. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - Yes Would I buy a bottle? - Yes, but only if it was <$100USD

Nose - Vanilla butterscotch, fruity brine, dark barrel aged apple/pear cider, caramel apples. Taste - Creamy mouthfeel, gentle white pepper tingle, vanilla butterscotch, sweet white wine soaked sultanas & plums, golden raisins, baked apples/pears, toasted brioche, milk chocolate. Finish - Lingering chocolatly foam, oak aged fruity pear/apple cider, light white pepper tingle. Score - 91/100 Final Thoughts - I am very pleasantly surprised by this one. It is quite delicious, very well balanced throughout and dangerously easy to sip on. Nice chocolaty caramel apple-like on the palate, but doesn't punch you in the face for any of the flavors. Zero off putting notes and flavors that you could enjoy any time of day. Probably best enjoyed neat, but I could see this working very well in a more subtle spirit forward cocktail too, like a chocolate old fashioned. Would I drink it if offered? - YES Would I specifically order it? - YES Would I buy a bottle? - Maybe

Nose - Dark apple/pear cider, subtle sweet nutty fruit, dried low sugar dates, very light brine and wisp of smoke. Taste - Buttery/creamy malt, hint of dried apples, dull muted smoke, light salted/brined sour apples, hint of dried jujubes, dry spongy fruit flesh sweet, light fruity bitter. Finish - Lingering faint fruity sweet, light sea spray, light smoke, lingering jujube subtle sweetness. Score - 78/100 Final Thoughts - This had a great nose off the initial pour and develops with a bit of air time in the glass. Unfortunately that's about the only place where this shines as it is tasty on the palate, but the combination of flavors you get on the tongue versus the nose is a bit confusing. You get more sweetness on the nose, but on the palate it tastes like a dried out powdery apple that has lost most of its sweetness & crunch. Sadly similar to a dry tasting jujube, where it's still sweet, but barely, and you get more spongy air filled sweetness. The subtle wisp of smoke & brine are nice and do help balance it out a bit. I feel this is something best enjoyed on a fresh palate as it's quite subtle. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Nose - Sweet lightly bitter pear cider, light brine, faint salty campfire smoke, light ash, and hints of vanilla. Taste - Sweet salty, lightly smoky pear cider, light white pepper tingle, coconut water, citrus peel pith bitterness, vanilla. Finish - Lingering light saline smoke, fruity fresh pear, white pepper tingle. Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This was an interesting one in that it had this nice light salty smoky balance throughout, but it seemed a bit one dimensional other than that. The ex-bourbon cask really does help highlight their base spirit quite a bit. My palate tends to appreciate a light smoke paired with a hint of sherry or port a bit more, so this wasn't exactly my favorite, but it was relatively well balanced. I could see this being used in a cocktail that could utilize the light salty smoke present without a sherry/port sweetness like a penicillin or even a blood and sand. I wouldn't turn down a dram of this, but wouldn't order it at a bar nor buy a full bottle myself.

Nose - Corn syrup, lightly buttered corn grits, light vanilla simple. Taste - Sweet creamy buttered corn grits, light white pepper spice/heat, vanilla simple, light cinnamon. Finish - Lingering corn syrup vanilla sweet, cinnamon heat. Score - 75/100 Final Thoughts - Pretty clean and straightforward nose. No off putting or offensive notes. Amazingly not as strong "corn" notes as I would've expected because it has a more "mellow corn" flavor throughout. Not the most interesting one, but not bad by any means. I'm not sure how I'd drink this as it's not the most interesting neat, and the flavor doesn't exactly lend itself to a great cocktail. I wouldn't turn down a pour of this, but it's not exactly something I'd specifically order either.

Nose - Very clean nose, lightly buttered popcorn, subtle vanilla cream, light oak Taste - Sweet buttery sweet creamed corn, vanilla buttercream frosting, hint of smooth cinnamon spice Finish - Smooth creamy sweet corn, vanilla cream cheese frosting, background of cinnamon heat. Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - I guess I went into this one with relatively low expectations. Since this entered the barrel at a pretty high proof, most of the unique flavors have been mostly distilled/stripped out. This was pretty one dimensional but pleasant throughout. Not exactly something I'd willingly order at a bar or reach for, but if offered a pour, I wouldn't turn it town. Nothing really off-putting but at the same time nothing really exciting about it. I could see this doing very well in a more vanilla/caramel desserty old fashioned.