Tastes

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #22" Barrel No. 24-0325 Warehouse TY-B; Floor 4 Distilled - 03-02-2015 Dumped - 08-09-2024 Bottled - 08-19-2024 Age - 9 years, 5 months, 7 days Open 2 weeks Nose - Dark chocolate nibs, black cherry, blackberry, maple, charred marshmallow, cinnamon, rich oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Creamy chocolate hazelnut, fig, cherry cordial, gingerbread, and cardamon. Finish is medium with white pepper, oily hazelnut, milk chocolate, bright cherry, cinnamon bun, and light ethanol. Very good pick with a shorter than normal finish. Pretty much in line with the past few picks I've bought with one notable exception from Kroger. I seem to get more chocolate variety flavors these days in Russell's picks than I used to get. Maybe coincidence, but I'm seeing more warehouse T__ picks on the shelves than I have in the past.

Rich caramel, sweet oak extract, maple syrup, light black pepper, bread pudding, creme brulee, nutmeg, clove, and medium ethanol. I thought the price was very reasonable at a bar compared to what they're charging for BTAC and other allocated products. This is fantastic, but there is no way I'm ever paying $300+ for this. I'm only judging off one pour, but I think some of the best ECBP releases come close to this for a fraction of the price. This is closer to the viscosity and sweetness of ECBP than a standard Russell's pick.

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 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.