Tastes

I've not had such a sordid love affair with Booker's. I appreciate a cask strength bourbon as much as the next guy ( Heaven Hill's Grain to Glass Wheated, for example ) but of the Booker's varieties that I've tried, they were much too fire breathing to truly be enjoyable. Now granted, this might also be attributed to my unwillingness to try a bourbon of this caliber anything but neat. Perhaps these selections could benefit from a pip of water or two. But I can't bring myself to dilute a bourbon of this caliber in any way shape or form. So pretensions aside, I will have my whiskey and bourbon neat, from a Glencairn. Ethanol does hit on the nose of Springfield Batch but perhaps not nearly as heavy as the 124.5 proof would suggest. There is a deep brown sugar and molasses thick sweetness underlying an interesting honey roasted peanut top layer. Coconut shavings and tart green apples cut the savory sweetness but don't outshine it. Fruity blackberry jam, cherries and apple rush forward on initial taste. The proof produces a very viscous, tongue coating mouth feel that works well with the sweet/tart of the fruits. Mid taste and back brings on bitter dark chocolate and tannic oak. There's some baking spice there but again, given the fiery proof of this selection; I would have imagined the spice would be much more pronounced. The finish is long and satisfying, as is the norm with Booker's. Tannic oak and baking spice stay and take center stage whilst the dark chocolate turns a bit dry, leaving a bit of a powdery mouthfeel. Wow. I know that purists of previous Booker's batches might be slightly disappointed by the "tamer" aspect of this bottling but I found this absolutely delightful. I'm shocked that my local Total Wine quite literally had 10 or so of these bottles on the shelf, waiting to be picked. It isn't hard to find this at RRP at the moment, please do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle. You won't regret it.

A friend of mine's significant other is absolutely obsessed with Crown Royal. The type of obsessed where she has multiples of extremely rare, 4 figure bottles in her home. ( I never knew "rare" Crown Royal existed ). Admittedly, I've only had the standard Crown Royal. You know... the type that you'd have to pick if you were at a seedy dive bar in the wrong part of town trying to weigh your three whisky options: Crown, Jack and Jameson. Yuck. But I suppose it would be unfair for me to discount Crown Royal's entire catalogue just from tasting their cheapest swill. Or by the fact that they make flavored whisky ( gross. ). Sorry that makes me sound a bit of a douche snob. On to the tasting.... The nose is light, sweet and quite nutty. Like walnut Baklava. Actually I could go for some deliciously sweet Baklava right now... There's almost a rich maltiness about it similar to a good ale. Walnuts mix with honey in an almost cloying nose that's saved by a bit of spicy sweet cinnamon that rides in with just a hint of tart granny smith apples. The taste is decidedly very light. Vanilla dominates with sweet cream but there lies a bit of a floral fruitiness. Green apple, bananas and orange blossom. Back half of taste spices things up a bit and also brings in some dryness, cinnamon spice with leather. The finish is a bit one dimensional but it's rather long lasting for a Canadian whiskey. Spice lingers with a tannic bite. This is fine. Certainly better than the standard poverty grade Crown Royal but I'd hardly be convinced to give another Crown selection or really even another Canadian whisky a go. To anyone that is more experienced in this segment: what Canadian whisky do you think would actually make me a convert?

A relatively available, single barrel bourbon that doesn't exceed the $99 price point? Do I have another to add to the regular rotation? So far only Four Roses single barrel occupies that space on my shelf. Let's see how good this stuff really is... Wow is this really 110 proof? The nose is so soft and devoid of ethanol burn. You really have to get in there and give it a solid whiff. Vanilla sugar cookie with some tannic oak and spicy cinnamon dominate on the nose. There is a bit of dryness in there, some leather that adds a bit of bite. The taste opens on a bed of creamy vanilla and toffee but quickly transitions to cinnamon with warming mouthfeel. Rather strong, tannic charred oak comes on song mid taste and brings with it some tongue tingle and burnt sugar. The finish is long and dry. Oak lingers along with leather and baking spices to round out the dram. This single barrel is decidedly dry and spicy. I think I inherently seek out the classic sweet bourbon characteristics so while this isn't my favorite ~ I can appreciate just how complex and different this one is. Well worth the SRP, I say.

A few bourbon loving buddies of mine have long been trying to sway me away from Buffalo Trace's offerings, especially of the more allocated varieties. Good as they are, they are incredibly hyped and some are still very expensive and difficult to purchase on the secondary market. Two distilleries a particularly good friend of mine swear by are Heaven Hill and Russell's Reserve. As luck would have it, I found myself at my local Total Wine early this morning to pick up an online order and noticed that they were offloading many boxes. My local Total Wine shelves all of their shipment, including allocated bottles. I picked up a bottle of one of my current favorites: Maker's Mark The Heart Release. And noticed this inviting looking bottle of Grain to Glass Wheated Bourbon. How could I resist? Bottled at a fiery 121 proof, I expected hard hitting ethanol on the nose. Yes, it is present but not overpowering. Instead you get yeasty bread, tannic oak and leather and just past that rather strong start of the nose; a little sweet brown sugar, smashed sugar cane and caramelized pear. The taste starts strong with a little salted caramel and soft dinner rolls. Some slightly tannic oak and peppercorn coat the mouth and there is just the slightest tingle, hinting at the proof. There isn't an overbearing sweetness... I suppose I'm so used to that character within bourbon that it feels odd to miss it. However, the balance on this palate is stunning. Not one flavor profile overshadows the other. The finish sings full song with tannic oak, dry leather and bitter orange pith. That tingle from the spicy peppercorn on the palate carries and the finish is long and satisfying. Wow. This bourbon is stunning. Higher proof without the overwhelming burn. Not overly sweet, complex and well balanced. What a stunning selection. I'm going to have to check out some other highly rated Heaven Hill offerings, for sure.

I do love Balvenie selections. But given their price point, I can never really bring myself to purchase a bottle on my own. A very good friend of mine gifted me a bottle of their 16 year French Oak, Pineau Cask finish for my birthday. Although my strong suit isn't fruity Single Malts, I thought I'd give it a go! Quite a fruity nose indeed. Syrup covered plum with some tart grapefruit sit atop gingerbread. It doesn't smell all that sweet and in fact, smells quite spicy and tart. Unique for sure. Sweetness appears on the palate with Honey providing a soft, sweet bed for other tastes to rest on. Together with that honey, there is a citrusy but almost floral quality to the taste... definitely got that grapefruit in there but with what I assume is Geranium? There's also this sweet cinnamon spice that inexplicably reminds me of a Hot Toddy hitting mid taste that sets off a little tongue tingle. Toward the end of the taste, it goes decidedly spicy and drier which brings cinnamon and leather jacket to mind. That spicy tongue tingle lingers for the finish and there is quite an interesting warming character about it. Deep into the finish, that leather jacket fades off. Balvenie selections don't disappoint and although this one was too fruity for my taste, I can appreciate and respect the craftsmanship that's gone into this dram.

A friend of mine took me out for a belated birthday dinner and much to my delight, this fine establishment had the 2023 edition of Birthday Bourbon on the tasting menu. Granted, $40 a pour does seem a bit steep for a pour of anything but in the grand scheme of it all, I don't actually think it was that bad specifically for Birthday Bourbon. Besides: Birthday dinner, Birthday Bourbon. See what I did there? The nose sings with complexity and was a tantalizing taste of things to come. Sweet milk chocolate and cherries kick off a full bodied and sweet nose complimented by vanilla wafer cookie. Some tannic oak presents itself but is very much a background flavor to the sweet, tart and fruity character traits. I had to smell this bourbon several times, at different proximities to the glass as there was so much complexity and goodness wafting out. The palate kicks down the sweetness several notches and where the cherry on the nose was fresh, bright and vibrant; the cherries on the palate become more stewed with simple syrup. Overall the flavors become darker but still rich and complex - brown sugar and caramel swirl in toward the front of the taste and just when you thought that this would be a strictly sweet bourbon, tannic charred oak and leather dry up the taste just before the finish. The cherry becomes very muted toward the finish but is still present, along with that tannic oak from the end of the taste and leather. Somewhere between the end of the taste and finish, sweet and spicy cinnamon became a player and is more evident on the finish than any other point of the taste. Wow! My God this was truly one of the most complex, beautiful bourbons I've tasted. It won't be soon forgotten. The only problem now is; being able to find a taste with each new yearly release. Oh the struggle.

The third and final Rye whiskey I'm mustering up the courage to taste is Whistlepig's 6 year Piggyback Rye. As mentioned in prior reviews of Rye whiskies or Rye forward whiskies, I am 100% not a fan of rye. But as I've been experimenting with Manhattan and Old Fashioned cocktails, they are best had with a robust Rye. And of course, as curious as I'll always be: I have decided to try the 3 I've purchased, neat. The nose on this 6 year Rye is significantly spicier than their 6 year Piggyback bourbon. Duh... I know. This nose is much closer to what I expected out of the Rye heavy bourbon of the same name. Astringent rye floats up with spicy peppercorn, cinnamon and dry leather. There's a little bit of singed grass in there... maybe that's the rye I'm smelling. Surprisingly, the taste does open quite sweet and really the palate isn't nearly as tannic and spicy as the nose suggests. Its definitely there, though. Rye spice and peppercorn set the underlying taste but also bring a little tongue tingle that brown sugar and vanilla ride in on. There might be some vanilla in there and at first you'd be fooled to believe the cinnamon on the nose is absent. But as the taste goes down that familiar sweet spiciness of cinnamon comes in strong, along with some tannic oak and hay. The finish is all spicy. The cinnamon and oak that came on late taste stays, some of that dry leather that was found on the nose makes its appearance during the finish. I don't ... hate it. I do like the bourbon more, from the inherent sweetness but I thought I was going to despise this and I don't. It is spicy enough to stand up to a good Manhattan or Old Fashioned but sweet enough to drink neat. That said, I'm still a bourbon man at heart but I'm giving this a solid 3.25 better than average rating.

Annoyingly, I started to type out a very well thought out note on this selection and my computer decided it wanted to restart for no apparent reason. Urgh. Anyway... A distillery I never thought I'd really give a chance to before was Whistlepig. As I've stated in a previous review, I am very much NOT a Rye drinker. But I've recently taken a fascination to mixing Manhattan and Old Fashioned cocktails and nothing but the bold spice of a good Rye will do in those. So here we are. And as always, I simply must taste everything neat at least once.... The nose is a tidal wave of sweet on this bourbon. A surprise ~ I thought I'd be met with tannins and spice as is traditional with anything Rye forward. Not so here ( but then again.. I'm not 100% what the mashbill blend is here ). The nose does have a very faint, underlying hit of ethanol from the proof but it really isn't bad at all. What is the prevailing scent here is a thick, creamy combination of vanilla, maple syrup and brown sugar. As you smell deeper into the glass, some baking spice and faint hint of tannic oak mingle with stewed cherries. But really that mega sweet front on that nose runs the show. The front of taste is sweet, thick and creamy... almost cloying. Vanilla, maple syrup, and brown sugar combine with a surprisingly viscous mouth feel. As that taste goes down, spicy cinnamon and peppercorn makes your tongue tingle and ushers in tannic oak to mop up all that sweetness from the front. The finish is a great balance of sweet, spice and tannins. On top of that, the viscous mouthfeel from the taste remains and leaves a long lasting, oily finish. Peppercorn keeps your tongue tingling as the oak really opens up. A faint, underlying vanilla sweetness underlines the whole finish and beautifully wraps up this taste. I'm.... pleasantly surprised. For such an affordable bottle from a distillery I thought I'd hate... I'm actually very impressed with their 6 year bourbon. Be it in a cocktail or neat, this is a great addition to your home bar, indeed.

I'm going to admit a dirty little secret - I've been on a cocktail kick lately. For shame. But seriously, I needed to find a handful of good rye whiskies to make some decent Manhattans and Old Fashioneds out of. The problem is, neat or otherwise, I typically despise rye whiskey. I love rich, sweet bourbons and oaky whiskies and hate spice and the inherently "licorice-y" flavor some of these ryes give off. But here I was at my local Total Wine, at their Rye Whiskey section. Something I'd never thought I'd do. A random side question ~ why are green labels inherently the color of choice for distilleries when they bottle their rye selections? I picked out three and of course, always the glutton for self punishment; I will be trying all three neat. Starting with Woodford's entry into the rye category. Spicy fruit comes to mind on the nose. Peppercorn, cinnamon, cedar and candied orange rinds make the nose wrinkle a bit. But if you hang in there, some cherry flows with caramel and cocoa at the end. The palate opens lightly spicy but mint chocolate swirls in the background with an interesting rich sweetness I didn't expect from a rye. Quite tannic oak comes into play with the bitter orange rind that was found on the nose and the taste goes decidedly Rye whiskey. Grassy and herbaceous for sure at the end of the the taste transitioning toward finish. The finish carries that tannic oak straight through. Dry is the word - tobacco, cinnamon spice and grass remind you that this is indeed a rye whiskey. Even if there was a peek of sweet chocolate on that palate. I'm still not sure if I am a rye whiskey guy neat. However, I cannot argue that a good old fashioned and Manhattan need something spicier, more full bodied and bolder to cut through the bitters. As far as rye whiskies go I'm sure Woodford is one of the better ones but I'm just going to give it a middle of the pack 2.75

I could have sworn I'd written a taste on Angel's Envy before. Perhaps it was an older one and I deleted it with the intent of re-writing it some day. Well there's no time like the present. Port wine is immediately noticeable on the nose: mixed berries hits the nose with a distinct tart twang. There's a little bit of sweet nuttiness, like honey roasted peanuts but its so hard to get it past the fruit. On the taste, raspberries with caramel and raisins create an interesting tart, sweet and slightly musky taste. It isn't unpleasant though. A little bit of peppercorn and corn syrup make their way though mid-back of taste. The finish is moderate, a surprise for a bourbon that has little viscosity on the taste. Tart berries with raisins and peppercorn mingle with tannic oak. For a "budget" bourbon this certainly does the trick. Now, seemingly available anywhere; it won't disappoint.