Tastes

Nose - Classic bourbon notes of vanilla and caramel, accentuated with hints of what seems like an oaky, barrel-aged, maraschino cocktail cherry. Taste - Quite thin, cinnamon vanilla cherry sweetness, thin and light oaky brown sugar simple, very tiny hint of roasted peanuts on the back palate. Finish - Lingering cinnamon spice tingle and warmth, slight medicinal cherry cough syrup sweetness, lightly bitter oak mixed with bitterness of peanut shells. Score - 85/100 Final Thoughts - This had a lot thinner mouthfeel than I had anticipated for the proof and I definitely didn't get as much peanut funk as I have with my previous two beam product reviews (OGD Bonded & Beam White Label). This had a bit more complex notes of cherry that I quite enjoyed, but still doesn't have that "oompf" and burst of more complex flavors that I love from Booker's. Nevertheless, this is a tasty bourbon in its own regards, but I think for the price, I'll pay a bit more & reach for a bottle of Booker's.

Nose - Very little alcohol burn for 100 proof, sweet vanilla, this fruity sweetness like artificial cherry/strawberry candy, buttery sweet cream, Wherther's candies. Taste - Hits the tongue with a spicy cinnamon kick, transitions to a sweet creamy vanilla caramel, hint of cinnamon red hot sweet spice, hint of strawberry hard candy, finishing out with a drying oaky bitterness. Finish - Lingering lightly bitter oak, fading cinnamon red hot spicy sweet that transitions to a light strawberry candy sweet. Score - 86/100 Final Thoughts - Tasty for sure, the higher proof helps a bit. The fact that it's a bonded bourbon, which means you know it's at least four years old, but the fact that they leave it off means it could be four, could be older, who really knows, but it's at least four. Tastes kind of similar to Eagle Rare to me, but with a higher proof and more of a woody cinnamon kick, which is nice for this time of year. Not sure this is something I'll regularly keep in stock though, although I will admit it does have some fancy packaging and does catch the eyes of guests.

Nose - Very lightly astringent, but pleasant floral tropical honey, sweet white wine reduction with a hint of vanilla. Taste - A bit on the thin side but the sweet floral honeyed white wine makes an appearance again, light bitterness like that of pear skins or grape seeds with the faintest hint of watered down sherry. Finish - Lingering sweet-sour grape juice reduction sweetness, light sweet baking spice burn/tingle, lightly bitter pear cider sweetness. Score - 89/100 Final Thoughts - So this is quite tasty in its own right but doesn't really taste like anything special. To me it almost tastes like a watered down and slightly muted Glenlivet 16 Nadurra. It's definitely a nice easy sipping dram that is quite different from the likes of the Macallan 12 which is has a much more sherry influence. The Fine Oak 17 has a bit more of a fruity floral vibe to it that is quite tasty, but I think I prefer the Glenlivet 16 Nadurra.

56.3% ABV | Batch #007 bottled in January 2015 Nose - Intense medicinal campfire smoke, salt/brine, hint of asphalt and melted rubber, hint of a syrupy-sweet, herbal/bark/root cough syrup. Taste - Again, intense campfire smoke, black pepper spice, salty/briny dried kelp/seaweed, hint of vanilla/caramel sweetness. Tastes like this was aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Finish - Warm lingering campfire smoke, slight szechuan peppercorn tingle/burn on the tongue, but could be from the proof. Mixed with the peaty campfire smoke is this faint lingering herbal medicine cough syrup sweetness. Score - 70/100 Final Thoughts - I found this bottle to be better than the Lagavulin 16 in that I didn't get the cigarette ash nor the level of saltiness I got from the Lagavulin. There was a bit of brine and seaweed, but it was toned back a bit (possibly hidden in the proof?). It was definitely less meaty/savory but to me it was more pleasing as it reminded me of being by a campfire on a fall day. This feels like a dram I could have every once in a while if I'm really in the mood for it.

Nose - Almost don't even need to nose it in the glass it's quite potent, but getting in there is a very sweet smoked meat, salty, briny, wet ash, burnt/burning wet moss. It's almost like you took a heavily charred piece of sweet smoked brisket and decided to dunk it in a tank of whisky. Taste - Hits you with a sweet heavily smoky meaty bbq, hints of ash, black pepper spice, smoldering wet green hay, this smoky plum/raisin-like sweetness. Tastes kind of like it smells, like if you took a heavily charred sweet smoked brisket and soaked it in a whisky & then drank that whisky after mixing a bit of ash from burning leaves in it. Finish - Lingering salt/saline, ashy smoke, this medicinal-like sweetness, faint black pepper spice that pretty quickly fades. Score - 68/100 Final Thoughts - I know this is a favorite of many people, but I guess I'm just not a fan of this type of peated Scotch? I can see how this might pair pretty well with a cigar or a meaty steak, but I don't see myself enjoying this on a regular basis. I just can't get over the ashy smell and taste I get in this dram. It's like they took a charred, sweet-smoked brisket, dunked it in Scotch, and then since it's fall, they took the ash from burned leaves & steeped it in the Scotch as well. To me, it's unpleasant and a bit off-putting. I've recently tried some Bruichladdich Port Charlotte as well as the Octomore, both of which I enjoyed quite a bit more & could actually see myself enjoying on a semi-regular basis. Sorry Lagavulin, I guess there's a reason why this bottle has remained mostly untouched by me.

Nose - Very faint oaky vanilla but mostly dominated by a heavy roasted in-shell salted peanut smell combined with a dry, musty cardboard. Taste - Light vanilla, cinnamon spice with a bit of heat, lots of sweet peanut butter. Almost like they took high sugar content skin-on Spanish peanuts and made that into peanut butter, and then at the very end, mixed in some chestnut paste to sweeten it up a bit more. Finish - Lingering sweet peanut buttery taste, cinnamon heat, lightly oaky brown sugar simple syrup. Score - 60/100 Final Thoughts - I'm very curious if Beam has lessened their criteria for Old Grand Dad bonded or if maybe I got a bad bottle? I remember OGD BiB being more complex and less one-dimensional than this particular pour. This honestly just tastes like a higher proof version of the Jim Beam White I reviewed a while back for the community review which was very peanut dominated and one-dimensional. What this seems to have over the Beam White I reviewed previously is that the peanut I get from the Beam yeast is a bit more balanced and seems a tiny bit more put together. This is a bit perplexing as I don't remember previous bottles of OGD BiB being this one-dimensional.

Nose - Toasted/baked apple skins, cloves, black tea, oaked chardonnay, dark amber honey. Taste - Dried lightly medicinal jujubes, honeyed black tea, light toasted spice, baked apples, hint of black pepper spice. Finish - Light bitterness of oversteeped black tea, linger sweet/sour of jujubes, fading baked apple tart/sweetness. Score - 77/100 Final Thoughts - So the Mizunara finish on this one is somewhat minimal in that it does add a tiny bit of extra spice as well as this oddly medicinal (but pleasant) taste like that of dried jujubes, but manages to maintain a large part of the apple goodness I get from the standard Chivas Regal. Definitely tasty and worth trying if you get the chance, but I would not go out of my way to look for this one.

Nose - Toasted black tea, herbal, dark caramelized sugars, mint toffee, caramelized hazelnuts. Taste - Black pepper spice, very light oaky peat, herbal spicy mint, dark toffee, lightly bitter dark chocolate. Finish - Herbal sweetness, toasted sweet hazelnuts/chestnuts with charred skins, hint of dark chocolate lingers. Score - 91/100

Nose - Sweet peppermint, cucumber peels, buttered toast, spicy sweet vanilla, fresh green hay. Taste - Light, fruity grassy peat, white pepper spice, vanilla/toffee, melon-like sweetness, dark caramel. Finish - Very faint smoke, grassy sweet green grapes, dark vanilla, white wine reduction sweetness. Score - 92/100

Nose - Nose definitely reflects the age in you get hints of leather and sawdust. Traditional Hibiki notes of a very floral honey still exist, but over ripe pears and ripe plums make an appearance too. Taste - Light spice, a very fruity oak. A bit musty like patiently aged wood, brown sugar and cinnamon roasted pear and apple skins. Finish - Lingering sweet oaky bitterness. Faint dark amber oaked apple cider sweetness and a hint of aged muscat sweet-sour. Score - 91/100