Tastes

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #24" Barrel No. 24-0746 Warehouse TY-G; Floor 4 Distilled - 01-30-2015 Dumped - 10-25-2024 Bottled - 11-15-2024 Age - 9 years, 8 months, 25 days Open 1 month Nose - Light caramel, cinnamon, oak tannins, muted baking spices, and light ethanol. Palate - Watery caramel, stale leaves, dry oak, cinnamon dusted unsweetened pastry, and light pepper. Finish is medium-short with dry, bitter oak, cinnamon powder, and light ethanol. This is hot garbage. I do not know what happened here, but it is the flattest 110 proof bourbon I have ever tasted. It's so bad, I'm dumping this down the drain. Shockingly bad pick for a Russell's Reserve.

58.65% abv; 117.3 proof Open 11 months Nose - Bright caramel, fake vanilla, light cinnamon, white pepper, medicinal cherry, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Caramel and vanilla flavoring, cherry cough drops, sharp oak, and light baking spices. Finish is medium with hot and spicy oak, white pepper, fake caramel. fake vanilla, Red Hots, and medium ethanol. This is the most overrated release I've tried in the last year. I've seen people say this is better than Rare Breed or Elijah Craig, which I find ridiculous. I bought this pretty soon after release and have been able to taste 5-6 year old single barrel picks from multiple liquor stores, and they all taste shiny and young. Honestly I never thought I would say something like this, I like the 95 proof bourbon better. Maybe in a couple of years as this product gets closer to 8 years, it will be able to fully compete with the barrel proof bourbons from the big distilleries, but it isn't there yet.

The Party Source pick Batch No. 012 or 072 (handwritten numbers) Initial Age - 5 years Finish - Two consecutive toasted new white oak barrels Total Age - 7 years 56.75% abv; 113.5 proof Open 6 months Nose - Deep oak, creme brulee, baking spices, rich leather, and strong ethanol. Palate - White pepper, toasted marshmallow, pipe tobacco, and oak tannins. Finish is long with sweet and bitter oak, white pepper, older leather, and medium ethanol. This was the first release of High Bank Whiskey War products in Kentucky, and they collaborated with The Party Source for 4 distinct finished barrel proof picks. I was able to taste them all at the High Bank stand during the event and then later at the bar, and chose this over the Brazilian amburana finish. They also had French oak and cabernet sauvignon finishes. I liked all of them except the French oak, but damn these are expensive bottles. High Bank clearly knows what they're doing with finishing, but I have to knock the score down simply based on price. I will note that I normally dislike Brazilian amburana finished bourbon, but High Bank's version was the best I've tried to date

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #11" Barrel No. 7315017 63.9% abv; 127.8 proof Age - 8 years Open 7 weeks Nose - Caramel, dry cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, maple, strong oak, and strong ethanol. Palate - Cinnamon powder, bitter oak, black pepper, and toast. Finish is medium-long with bitter oak, botanicals, black pepper, and medium ethanol. This one is pretty one note and boring. The last few picks from Uncorked haven't been great, their access or taste buds seem to be slipping a bit.

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #18" Barrel No. SN 39-3D Age - 9 years, 10 months 58.8% abv; 117.6 proof Open 2 months Nose - Sweet flower petals, caramel, honeysuckle, allspice, fresh rain, white pepper, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Old fashioned candies, rose petal, butterscotch, wildflower honey, and oolong tea. Finish is long with slightly bitter oak, essential oils, lavender, honeysuckle, white pepper, and medium ethanol. This may be the first time I've thought Four Roses SBBS is worth the money. It is delicate, sweet, and floral, without being too savory. Excellent bourbon, but it's tough ponying up for these blind when most have disappointed in the past.

Murray McDavid Mystery Malt - Speyside's Finest Online consensus is sourced from Glenfarclas Cask No. 900105 Distilled in 2009 Bottled in 2024 651 total bottles Aged in ex-oloroso sherry butt Age - 15 years 57.8% abv; 115.6 proof Open 4 months Nose - Fresh pastry covered in honey and vanilla cream, rich berries, red grapes, sickly sweet malt, and strong ethanol. Palate - Mixed berry pie filling, cardamon, cinnamon, gingerbread with maple frosting, and orange blossom. Finish is long with honey malt, maple, coffee cake, wine grapes, and medium ethanol. I have said this about previous Scotches, but presently, this is my favorite Scotch. It is fantastic. It is Aberlour A'bunadh and Glenfarclas 105 on steroids with a 15-year age statement. Ironically, this is $20 cheaper than Glenfarclas 105 at The Party Source. A lot of 15Y Scotch at 40% or 43% abv is around the $100 price point. The value for this is insane in the current market. If you like sherry Scotch, buy it.

The Party Source pick Barrel No. 24-0160 Warehouse TY-F; Floor 4 Distilled - 10-28-2015 Dumped - 09-13-2024 Bottled - 10-02-2024 Age - 8 years, 10 months, 16 days Open 7 weeks Nose - Black tea, honeycomb, caramel, toasted marshmallow, medium oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Maple candy, orange compote, sweet oak, gingerbread, and pine needle. Finish is long with white pepper, sweet oak tannins, toast, honey, and medium ethanol. Great pick, and I got it on sale! I'm glad RR picks are easy to find again. Between my two favorite stores in NKy, there are 5 picks sitting on the shelves.

2 oz sampler Nose - Cinnamon, caramel, red apple, pine needle, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Thin caramel, bitter oak, green apple, unsweet flowers, and light cinnamon. Finish is medium with bitter oak, light vanilla bean, and light ethanol. It's been a while since I've had this. It's ok, but there are better options under $40. If you want the Four Roses experience, pay a bit more for a single barrel.

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection 2024" Barrel No. 24-08895 Barrel House - 1-01 Bottling Date - 09-20-2024 67.45% abv; 134.9 proof Open 2 months Nose - Crème brulee, toasted marshmallow, caramel, rich oak, and strong ethanol. Palate - Brown sugar, maple, hot cinnamon bun, and sweet tobacco. Finish is long with burnt sugars, oak, campfire marshmallows, and strong ethanol. This is mostly a one-note bourbon, but that one note is so damn good. I never go into a JD SBBP expecting a complex beast. This is one of my old reliables. Even a bad version of this is a better value than 90% of the bourbons at the liquor. I waste a lot of money on more expensive whiskeys that I talk myself into enjoying. This I legitimately enjoy, and that's why I make sure I always have picks of this, Elijah Craig, and Russell's Reserve on hand when those other bourbons disappoint.

Nose - Lemon custard, orange, vanilla, butterscotch, honest roasted peanuts, and light ethanol. Palate - Burnt orange cream, lemon peel, white pepper, and peanut brittle. Finish is medium with bitter citrus, oak tannins, peanut shells, and light ethanol. My colleague gave me a few airplane bottles as a gift for Christmas. The last time I had this was when it was released. In retrospect, I was a bit harsh. It's an excellent value, and the price has stayed the same while most major distillers have raised prices. It's frequently on sale for $55 in my area. A great change up from the other stuff if you're looking for a different profile.