Tastes

Open 3 weeks Nose - Honey malt, milk chocolate, light medicinal cherry, clove, cardamon, mild oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Cereal grain, freshly baked rye bread, honey, medicinal cherry, and caramel. Finish is medium-long with prominent honey malt, spicy rye grain, black cherry, and light ethanol. Not my favorite New Riff release. The malt is a little strong for my preference, reminding me of Chattanooga or some Texas whiskeys. It's still a good price for a barrel proof special release. I never feel like I've spent too much with New Riff products regardless of how much I like them.

Volume 1 of 5 Code BR-22A Bottled - June 2024 56% abv; 112 proof Open 4 days Nose - Brown sugar, milk chocolate, cherry, hot maple doughnut, cinnamon, medium oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Chocolate covered cherry, maple syrup, caramel filled chocolate, orange compote, nutmeg, and bread pudding. Finish is long with sweet oak, barrel char, cocoa nibs, cherry cordial, unfrosted cinnamon bun, and light ethanol. I'm ecstatic this series is back, even though they jacked up the price $15. Sure, there are Maker's Mark Private Selections for the same price in almost every liquor store. But after years of fantastic Wood Finishing Series releases, I trust the master distillers over the random stave profiles from stores and clubs. I personally think this is a great release. The chocolate covered cherry and maple carries from the nose to the palate to the finish. It is very consistent. Some people may knock it for not being complex, but I would argue most great batches and single barrels from 1792, Elijah Craig, Jack Daniel's, Knob Creek, or Russell's Reserve aren't necessarily complex either. (Yes, I have a bias towards huge distilleries that put out excellent whiskey for under $100). They just hit the notes you want in a bourbon and most importantly, want you to take another sip. As soon as that long finish dissipates, I take another sip. That's the mark of an excellent whiskey. If you see this around MSRP and have liked past Maker's Mark finished releases, pick it up.

Warehouse L; Floor 1 64.3% abv; 128.6 proof Open 2 months Nose - Gingerbread, clove, black pepper, spruce tip, toffee, grilled peach, medium oak, and strong ethanol. This is easily the best part. Palate - Dry grain, dry baking spices, rye bread, gingerbread, maple sugar, tobacco leaf, and lemon custard. Finish is long with dry, hot grain, tannic oak, cinnamon powder, clove, pine, lemon peel, and hot ethanol. The final nail in the coffin for Old Forester single barrel barrel strength. I was already out on the blue label, but I was shocked to find this in my preferred liquor store . It was barely over MSRP and plenty of bottles available. YouTubers raved over this when it was first released, but I have only seen it in the wild a couple of times marked up severely. I couldn't pass it up. It turns out, this is not very good. I've said this with the bourbon as well, but the difference here is even greater. The Jack Daniel's barrel proof rye is significantly better than this for $20 less. This is flat and muted. All burn and little flavor.

Open 6 months Nose - Sweet cereal grain, salted peanuts, grilled peach, clove, allspice, light oak, and light ethanol. Palate - Honeynut Cheerios, peanut brittle, peach cobbler, praline, milk chocolate, and pine syrup. Finish is medium with dry grain, honeycomb, light bitter oak, clove, white pepper, and light ethanol. These New Riff seasonal releases are really fun, and this might be my favorite of the last two years. Normally, I try them at the bar before buying, but I took a leap on this blind. It's different from your average rye, even most of New Riff's ryes. I typically don't like a grain-forward whiskey, but it works well here with the honey and pine notes. The short and dry finish keeps this score at 4, but it's still a great value. If you happen to stop by New Riff, I highly recommend trying a sample.

Open 4 weeks Nose - Caramel, oak, cinnamon, toasted marshmallow, pine needle, lemon peel, medicinal cherry, and medium ethanol. Palate - Chocolate caramel candy, coffee cake, clove, orange compote, and vanilla ice cream. Finish is medium-long with sweet oak, dry caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, lemon oil, white pepper, and medium ethanol. This is definitely an elevated, refined version of Wild Turkey 101, but the real question is whether it's worth the price? Yes and no. You absolutely should not buy this heavily marked up from MSRP. For a couple of weeks I was unable to find it for $50, so I tucked my tail between my legs and bought it for $60 from my preferred local store. I think it's a very solid $50 bottle. I would not recommend anyone pay over $60. At that same store I could have instead bought Rare Breed for $50 or a Kentucky Spirit pick for $65. The major positive takeaway from this release is that Wild Turkey did not charge $300+ like they have been doing these past few years for their limited releases. Hopefully they'll keep throwing us poor people a bone once in a while, but I doubt it.

Barrel No. 65313 Bottle No. 180 out of 242 NAS 58.3% abv; 116.6 proof Open 8 months Nose - Toasted chocolate malt, Milk Duds, clove, wet forest, nutmeg, vanilla frosting, unripe peach, medium oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Honey and chocolate malt, Honey Buns, clove, pipe tobacco, cereal grain, sour cherry, and green apple. Finish is medium-long with grainy malt, cocoa powder, honey syrup, light oak, white pepper, clove, and light ethanol. This is an interesting bourbon. It comes from a small distillery in Lexington and is only distributed within Kentucky. I've had the opportunity to try 3 of their bourbons multiple times at tasting events at The Party Source. It has a lot in common with bourbons that use a higher than normal percentage of malted barley. Think Chattanooga Whiskey. It also shares some characteristics with Ironroot. Sometimes the high percentage corn bourbons aged in the Deep South can mimic higher malt bourbons, at least in my experience. It's good, it's different, but I would try this before you buy.

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #5" Barrel No. 4-E5-178 Sourced from Four Roses Distillery; mashbill - OESO Open 3 months Nose - Flower petals, gingerbread, strawberries, cardamon, fresh tobacco leaf, Red Hots, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Spiced berries, rosewater, chocolate hazelnut, cocoa powder, orange bitters, and star anise. Honestly a really close comparison is Coca Cola Spiced. Finish is medium-long with noticeable oak tannins, cinnamon powder, dried rose petals, lavender, orange bitters, and light ethanol. This is a savory and floral bottle of bourbon. Bulleit does not disclose where their single barrels come from, but I was told by one of the employees who helped make this pick that it was OESO mashbill from Four Roses. It makes sense when you taste it. Light on rye spice, heavy on floral and brighter fruit notes. I think the proof hurts this. If it was barrel proof, those notes would overwhelm the palate. At 104 proof, it is slightly watery and dampens those flavors. Otherwise, good pick. I've been impressed with every Bulleit Single Barrel I've bought.