Tastes

Open 2 weeks Nose - Caramel, Charleston honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, black cherry, charred oak, toasted vanilla, and medium ethanol. A classic bourbon nose. Palate - Light and sweet up front, light tobacco, caramel, molasses, vanilla, heavy barrel spice, and rye bread. Finish is medium-long with drier oak tannins, heavy grain, toffee, dry baking spices, and medium ethanol bite. A classic ECBP profile, and a middle-of-the-road release. Nothing stands out here, but it is much better than some of the recent duds. That seems to be the theme with A batches. They have a classic older bourbon flavor while lacking unique or syrupy notes that you'll find in the standout releases. Hopefully this indicates ECBP 2022 will be an improvement on 2021, because the A121 and B521 were subpar.

Barrel pick for North Carolina Open 2.5 months Nose - Caramel, orange peel, cinnamon stick, toasted bread, toffee, vanilla, corn dust, and sharper than expected notes of oak and ethanol. Palate - Mellow watery caramel, sweet corn, light cinnamon, light vanilla, brown sugar, watered down maraschino cherry juice, and little to no ethanol. Finish is short with oak tannins, watery caramel and brown sugar, light ethanol, and light orange. I was searching for my brother's Christmas present in one of my favorite NC ABC stores, and they happened to have 30+ bottles of this Buffalo Trace NC Single Barrel sitting near the register. You may think that's lucky, but in that same week before Christmas other NC ABC stores had Eagle Rare, Blanton's, EH Taylor, and Stagg Jr single barrels. I think I drew the short straw. Honestly I never search for BT products, but it had been years since I bought Buffalo Trace so why not try the single barrel for $30? It's the same story with Eagle Rare, EHT, and Blanton's for me. They are sweet, simple bourbons for people who don't like complex or high proof bourbons. The nose is normally pretty darn good but then they taste like watery alcoholic sugar. The hunt for these entry level BT products continues to be bewildering, but at least I can take solace in the fact that Old Forester, Wild Turkey, Elijah Craig, and Old Grand-Dad for roughly the same price are infinitely better.

Barrel pick for North Carolina Open 2.5 months Nose - Caramel, orange peel, cinnamon stick, toasted bread, toffee, vanilla, corn dust, and sharper than expected notes of oak and ethanol. Palate - Mellow watery caramel, sweet corn, light cinnamon, light vanilla, brown sugar, watered down maraschino cherry juice, and little to no ethanol. Finish is short with oak tannins, watery caramel and brown sugar, light ethanol, and light orange. I was searching for my brother's Christmas present in one of my favorite NC ABC stores, and they happened to have 30+ bottles of this Buffalo Trace NC Single Barrel sitting near the register. You may think that's lucky, but in that same week before Christmas other NC ABC stores had Eagle Rare, Blanton's, EH Taylor, and Stagg Jr single barrels. I think I drew the short straw. Honestly I never search for BT products, but it had been years since I bought Buffalo Trace so why not try the single barrel for $30? It's the same story with Eagle Rare, EHT, and Blanton's for me. They are sweet, simple bourbons for people who don't like complex or high proof bourbons. The nose is normally pretty darn good but then they taste like watery alcoholic sugar. The hunt for these entry level BT products continues to be bewildering, but at least I can take solace in the fact that Old Forester, Wild Turkey, Elijah Craig, and Old Grand-Dad for roughly the same price are infinitely better.

Pick by Bull City Bourbon Club; Named "David's Secret Chord" Barreled on 05-21-15; Bottled on 11-09-21 Age - 6 years, 5 months, 19 days 58.6% abv; 117.2 proof Open 2 months Nose - Chalky, grain, caramel, cinnamon powder, artificial cherry, vanilla, white chocolate, cocoa powder, bubble gum, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Medicinal cherry, dry rye baking spice, bubble gum, spicy ethanol, peanut brittle that is light on peanuts, fresh grains, NYC tap water, and light orange peel. Finish is medium with dry oak and baking spices, more chalk and grain, brittle caramel, and a short burst of ethanol that quickly fades. This Barton product was lackluster at first but got better as it opened up. I was afraid it would be as mediocre as the local Yellowstone single barrel I bought last year, but luckily this is more comparable to a strong 1792 Single Barrel. I'm glad there are companies like Three Chord selling near-barrel proof Barton bourbon at a good price. It always feels like Barton is selling high age stuff they don't want to NDPs, which is why I probably won't buy any of that 14+ year stuff over $100. I don't think this replaces a good 1792, which are almost always great values but harder to find these days. At $60 this is something I'd take a chance on if you find a pick and like the 1792 profile. Side note, the more Barton bourbons I've tasted the more I think it is a rye-spice cousin of George Dickel. Barton, especially the single barrels, have a lot of chalky minerality and grainy flavors. I typically find that in young MGP or Dickel. The difference is the lower rye and charcoal filtering, Dickel is definitely sweeter than Barton. But that Flintstone vitamin note people always complain about in Dickel is definitely present in 1792 Single Barrel, Yellowstone, and Three Chord. I

Open 4.5 months Nose - Grain, caramel, toasted bread, light vanilla, light cinnamon, light citrus oil, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Grainy caramel and brown sugar, cereal grain, vanilla, lemon peel, dry baking spices, and light ethanol spice. Finish is medium-short with lingering dry grain, dry baking spices, oak, light citrus, light brown sugar, and light ethanol. This is a dud compared to the fantastic Pinhook Rye Vertical Series 5 Year. At $10 more for a cheaper grain that is only 1 year older, it is a waste of money. This falls right in line with underwhelming MGP bourbons I've had in the last couple years like Old Scout, Old Soul, and Penelope. There is common theme, they all taste too grainy and dry to be in this price range. I am a little surprised given how good the Rye Vertical was, so maybe I'll give Pinhook bourbon another shot with those high proof single barrels that are recently released in NC.

Pick by Wake County ABC; Named "Capital County Select 2021" Barrel No. 16J05-1 Mashbill: 75% corn / 21% rye / 4% malted barley Barrel Entry Proof: 120.0 54.5% abv; 109 proof NAS and Non-Chill Filtered Open 2.5 months Nose - Sweet grain, dusty caramel, corn dust, light vanilla, light baking spices, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Old-fashioned hard candies (and not the good kind), diet cinnamon bun, candy corn, corn dust, grain and more grain, light caramel, and light black pepper. Finish is medium with dry rye spice and oak, black pepper, grain, light sweetness, and medium ethanol bite. Some people in my local Facebook groups really liked this bottle, so I grabbed it based on those recommendations. I don't get what they were tasting. I thought that this could be a nice high proof blend of MGP and Cathead, maybe something that differentiates it from standard MGP. It tastes like young MGP bourbon, and not a very good one. Being a single barrel pick at this proof and price I was expecting better. At least match the typical Smooth Ambler cask strength picks. It simply is a bad value considering the market of MGP bourbons and all other bourbons. I would skip this if you see it, unless you get to sample it first.

Pick by Bull City Bourbon Club; Named "Gooey Pecan Pie" Warehouse J; Floor 3 64.2% abv; 128.4 proof Open 1.5 months Nose - Fried bananas, molasses, caramel, orange infused chocolate, crème brulee, freshly oiled leather, charred oak, light grain and grass, and a surprisingly medium ethanol. Palate - Banana bread pudding, spicy charred oak, burnt caramel, toffee, cocoa, light peanuts, light orange peel, cinnamon, black pepper, and medium ethanol. Finish is medium-long with toffee, stale banana bread, caramel, oak tannins, black pepper, and stronger ethanol kick on the back end. This was the most anticipated pick we've had for BCBC in the last year, and for good reason. Old Forester single barrels of any type are very difficult to find in North Carolina. They're not easy to find generally. But here's why you should not bother with the hunt, and you definitely should not pay a secondary mark up. Brown-Forman has another product that is cheaper, easier to find, and better. That is Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof. Compared to JDSBBP, OFSBBP is less sweet and has more dry oak flavors. It also tastes watery and less chewy in the mouth despite the similar ethanol content. If you, like me, love that mouthcoating banana and syrupy sweetness from JDSBBP then this is a mild letdown. If you like stronger charred and sweet oak flavors, then I'll point you to Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. In my opinion this is what you get if you blend JDSBBP and ECBP, then add a few drops of water. I still have some ECBP C921 on hand, it's really similar except C921 has a richer, older oak flavor profile and a smidge more of caramel. Don't get me wrong, I like this a lot. I just think the readily available $70 Jack Daniel's and Elijah Craig barrel proof bottles are better if you are searching for this high proof flavor profile. **I know this is a single barrel, but I've seen a lot of review variance for these OFSBBP picks so I trust my club got a decent barrel.**

Pick by Bull City Bourbon Club; Named "Moving On Up" Barrel No. 138; No age statement Open 3.5 months Nose - Caramel, peanut brittle, crème brulee, vanilla, cinnamon, light orange peel, light oak, and light ethanol. Palate - Smooth caramel and vanilla, salty peanut shells, toasted bread, cinnamon, clove, and a touch of bitterness. Finish is medium-short with dry oak tannins, a bit of rye spice, peanut brittle, grain, and sweet fresh-cut grass. This was my first purchase of anything Jefferson's. I've avoided it because the general consensus is it is overpriced for basically every bottle they sell. For a 100 proof single barrel this isn't bad, but I have to agree with the masses. You can get similar or better stuff in the $30-40 range, primarily from Heaven Hill and Wild Turkey. This is a weak/smooth 100 proof neat. I would bet Elijah Craig, Evan Williams SiB, Russell's Reserve 10Y, and WT 101 would all do well blind against it. At $60 this is kind of a ripoff considering what else is available. In summary, this is a pleasant sipper but an unpleasant purchase.

Pick by Bull City Bourbon Club; named "Sweet Heat" Batch No. 3 60.4% abv; 120.8 proof Open 5 months Nose - Black pepper, dill, eucalyptus, caramel, allspice, clove, vanilla, light oak, and strong ethanol. This is a classic spicy rye nose. Palate - Spicy black pepper and baking spices up front, caramel, light vanilla, much lighter dill and eucalyptus compared to the nose, and strong ethanol bite. Finish is medium-long with drier rye baking spices, noticeable lack of sweetness, and spicy black pepper. This pick by BCBC is classic barrel proof high rye from a newer blender in Virginia. (They also did the Ron Izalco 10Y Rum Cask Strength pick for BCBC.) I don't know the exact mashbill because it is a blend, but my guess is it is at least 80% rye with mostly 95/5 MGP rye. In this category there are some budget cask strengths that are one note or too spicy to be enjoyable neat for multiple pours (James E. Pepper and Stellum). This is better than those previous two but falls short of MGP excellence. I would rather drink Templeton or Old Scout cask strength in this mashbill/proof range. Don't let that deter you from RY3 though, there have been rum finished cask strengths floating around NC from various groups that have been reviewed favorably. I kind of wish BCBC got a rum finished pick instead of this.