Tastes

Open 3 days Nose - Caramel, butterscotch, soft wheat, fresh cut grass, maraschino cherries, light orange peel, and medium ethanol. Palate - Caramel, maraschino and medicinal cherries, citrus scented cleaner, wheat/grain, and noticeable ethanol punch. Finish is medium with tannic and bitter oak showing up, strong ethanol, light caramel and vanilla, candied cherries, and raisins. This is my initial impression. Penelope has been hyped for a while by NCWH but I've been unable to find the barrel strength releases in my area until last week. So far it's good stuff, not quite sure it's better than similar sourced bourbons in this price range. It tastes kind of like a higher proof E.H. Taylor Jr. Small Batch or Maker's 101 with that soft wheat, caramel, and cherry profile. We'll see how it opens up.

Open 10 months Nose - Charcoal ash, bright peat, light brine, hickory wood smoke, medicinal sugars, light honeysuckle and butterscotch, wet grass, and light ethanol. Palate - Watery ash, smoked malt, wildflower honey, unripe green apples, light burnt caramel, and light oak tannins. Finish is medium-long, oily with a sharp ashy peat and bittersweet malt on the back end. This is a good, classic Islay malt but I think Ardbeg 10Y is more enjoyable. The difference is Ardbeg has well-rounded viscous bbq and campfire smoke while this to me tastes slightly more watery and ashy. I think that lends to the medicinal/iodine notes I typically see in reviews. I love some of the other Laphroaig expressions, but for the base 10Y give me Ardbeg.

Barrel No. 5195665 Floor 5; Rick A Age 12 years Picked by Heaven Hill Master Distiller and Durham ABC Open 7 months Nose - Peanut brittle, caramel apples, light vanilla, grainy corn, strong oak spice, and light ethanol. Palate - Caramel, vanilla, oak spice, toffee, stewed cinnamon apples, and barely any ethanol taste. Medium finish with more dry oak and rye spices than on the front palate, watered-down caramel, and vanilla bean. I mostly see 9-10 year EC store picks these days, so when I heard from Bull City Bourbon Club we were getting a local 12Y pick I jumped at the chance to buy it. The standard 94 proof EC is never my go-to bourbon because of proof, but it always holds up really well against the competition. I think it's one of the best classic examples of bourbon on the shelf, and it's hard to beat these high age store picks at $30. For comparison, I also have a Blanton's on hand. That is double the price (if you can find it at MSRP), almost the same proof, and probably a little more rye content than Elijah Craig. Side-by-side, these match up really well on the nose and palate. I know the bottle is really cool, but you're really wasting your time and money searching for Blanton's when stuff like this sits on the shelves everywhere.

Barrel No. 19998 Age 2 years Bottled on 04-29-20 Open 5 months Nose - Chocolate coffee malt, imperial stout, rye grain, dry oak, burnt marshmallow, and strong ethanol. Palate - Ground coffee and cocoa beans, unsweetened dark chocolate, rye bread, light toffee, huge punch of oak and ethanol. Long finish with dry and hot oak, rye spice, and ethanol. It can be overwhelming amounts of heat and oak if you don't take small sips. My opinion on this drastically changed from first crack to now. When I split this with my friend we both thought this might be the best thing we've ever tasted. It tasted like cask strength Brown Forman whiskey with slightly more rye bread, chocolate, and molasses. It was a 5/5 no question. But after being open a few weeks it changed significantly. The sweet notes faded and it got much hotter, oakier, drier, and grainier. Cocoa beans, coffee grounds, and oak chips are all I can think of with every sip. I do not drink coffee, which I think has a big influence on my opinion. Even if you like this flavor profile, the heat and viscosity will overwhelm your palate. This is one of those whiskeys where you'll slowly sip one glass for 45 min and probably won't reach for a second.

Barrel No. 19998 Barrel pick by Spec's Age 2 years Bottled on 04-29-20 Open 5 months Nose - Chocolate coffee malt, imperial stout, rye grain, dry oak, burnt marshmallow, and strong ethanol. Palate - Ground coffee and cocoa beans, unsweetened dark chocolate, rye bread, light toffee, huge punch of oak and ethanol. Long finish with dry and hot oak, rye spice, and ethanol. It can be overwhelming amounts of heat and oak if you don't take small sips. My opinion on this drastically changed from first crack to now. When I split this with my friend we both thought this might be the best thing we've ever tasted. It tasted like cask strength Brown Forman whiskey with slightly more rye bread, chocolate, and molasses. It was a 5/5 no question. But after being open a few weeks it changed significantly. The sweet notes faded and it got much hotter, oakier, drier, and grainier. Cocoa beans, coffee grounds, and oak chips are all I can think of with every sip. I do not drink coffee, which I think has a big influence on my opinion. Even if you like this flavor profile, the heat and viscosity will overwhelm your palate. This is one of those whiskeys where you'll slowly sip one glass for 45 min and probably won't reach for a second.

Barrel No. 21-01259, Rick L-20 Bottled 01-28-21 63.6% abv, 127.2 proof Open 1 month Nose - Dense bread pudding and gingerbread cake, molasses, banana bread, toasted caramel, and medium ethanol. This literally smells like a rich, sugary baked dessert fresh out of the oven. Palate - Gingerbread and banana bread all the way, cinnamon buns, maple and toffee syrup, raisins and almonds, hints of leather and tobacco, and light ethanol. The finish is where it loses a smidge of a point. It is medium and slightly hotter than expected with chewy oak and bready sugars and a sharp spike of ethanol that quickly fades. It has been a year since I had Jack Daniel's SBBP. It was 10% off in April at ABC, so why not see if it holds up? It does. Honestly, this is probably my single favorite whiskey on the shelf. I love ECBP, various Maker's Mark finishes, Knob Creek and Wild Turkey picks, and high proof Islays. It seems the floor of JDSBBP is higher than ECBP, while the ceiling of ECBP may be slightly higher. Now that they're the same price in NC, it's more justified to opt for JDSBBP over ECBP if the reviews for ECBP are middling (as is the case for B521). I'm a sucker for fresh gingerbread cookies and fancy bread pudding from a fine Southern establishment. This hits those dessert notes better than any bourbon I've had, and I'll no longer wait a year to buy another.

Open 4 weeks Nose - Burnt caramel, strong rye baking spices, orange spiced chai tea, vanilla frosting, black pepper, light dill, and medium to strong ethanol. Palate - Brown sugar, strong black pepper and cinnamon spice, corn dust and cereal grain, and lingering oak tannins. Finish is medium with oak and rye spice, medium ethanol, light orange and citrus rind, and black pepper and red hot notes on the back of the tongue. I used to be a Bulleit hater. I think their regular bourbon and rye are one-note, overpriced, and overhyped whiskeys. But, I've come around on their pricier offerings. My turnaround started with a single barrel picked by a new store in my county, then the Blenders' Select, this, and in a week or so my local bourbon club has a single barrel pick from the founder's favorite Four Roses mashbill that I'm really excited to try. To me this is just as good as other high rye high proof bourbons in this price range. Is it better than OGD 114 and Old Scout? Yes. Is it better than Belle Meade Reserve? Debatable. Is it better than Smoke Wagon Uncut or Four Roses Barrel Strength? Who the hell knows when I'll find that out. Is it easy to find, good, and reasonably priced? Definitely.

Batch 06 58.3% abv, 116.6 proof Open 4 weeks Nose - Burnt caramel, strong rye baking spices, orange spiced chai tea, vanilla frosting, black pepper, light dill, and medium to strong ethanol. Palate - Brown sugar, strong black pepper and cinnamon spice, corn dust and cereal grain, and lingering oak tannins. Finish is medium with oak and rye spice, medium ethanol, light orange and citrus rind, and black pepper and red hot notes on the back of the tongue. I used to be a Bulleit hater. I think their regular bourbon and rye are one-note, overpriced, and overhyped whiskeys. But, I've come around on their pricier offerings. My turnaround started with a single barrel picked by a new store in my county, then the Blenders' Select, this, and in a week or so my local bourbon club has a single barrel pick from the founder's favorite Four Roses mashbill that I'm really excited to try. To me this is just as good as other high rye high proof bourbons in this price range. Is it better than OGD 114 and Old Scout? Yes. Is it better than Belle Meade Reserve? Debatable. Is it better than Smoke Wagon Uncut or Four Roses Barrel Strength? Who the hell knows when I'll find that out. Is it easy to find, good, and reasonably priced? Definitely.

Open 2 weeks Nose - Brown sugar, light orange peel, cinnamon, vanilla extract, clove, and light ethanol. Palate - Rich brown sugar and caramel, crème brulee, hint of cherries and oranges, short front palate overall. It transitions quickly to a hot finish, combination of baking spices, oak, and ethanol. But it's not a long finish, just hot. This is one of my least favorite releases of the last 3 years, only slightly better than B519. It isn't complex, and finishes a lot hotter than expected. So far I've been disappointed in the combination of ECBP price increase and their 2021 releases, hopefully their C921 knocks my socks off.

Open 2 months Nose - Pine Sol, lemon custard, fresh-cut grass, butterscotch, juniper berry, and medium ethanol. Palate - Lemon bars, lemon custard, citrus household cleaners, light dill, and light ethanol that is smooth on the tongue. Medium-short finish with some rye pepper spice, pine sap, and lemon custard. I got a sample of this from my friend, his wife picked it up in Virginia without any background information. I was extremely skeptical given the long name and convoluted label. This seemed like overpriced, young sourced rye. But, it's actually not half bad. If you like the more lemony and pine aspects of rye you might like this. It tastes like a younger Old Scout Rye, but heavy on the household cleaner element. This newer distillery may have some good stuff down the line if this 2 year rye is what they're making or sourcing.