Tastes

Barrel No. JB000207032 Open 6 months Nose - Salted unshelled peanuts, light mint, salty caramel, shiny citrus rind, light oak, medium ethanol. Palate - Salty peanut brittle, cereal grain, light honey and caramel, astringent tannic oak, sharp ethanol bite. Finish is medium-short, mostly tannins and ethanol on the back end. Finish lacks sweetness and peanuts. It tastes young and would've been better blended with other barrels. If I judged this on the neck pour, it'd be a 4.25/5. Alas, the quality dropped off after being open a couple of weeks and it sat on my shelf collecting dust. I believe the 95 proof single barrel I bought over a year ago was much better, less bite and much better rounded sweet peanut flavors. I know this is priced unusually high in NC, $40 while some states have it for less than $30. At $40 this is a definite skip, I would buy the Jim Beam Black instead for much less money, or just buy Knob Creek anything. It makes sense to rebrand their single barrel at a higher proof if you're selling at this price, but they did a poor job picking this barrel.

Barrel Pick by Smoking Barrels, dubbed "Knight Rye-der" Barrel No. 27, Floor 3, Rick 3 Age 6 years 55% abv, 110 proof Open 8 weeks Nose - Orange peel, black tea, Maraschino cherry, honey, strong rye spice, light dill, light oak, medium ethanol. Palate - Spicy when it hits the tongue. Floral, honey, toffee, oranges, rye spice and tannins. The finish is oily, tannic, and medium-long, with sharp citrus and floral notes, plenty of spice, and strong oak building at the back end. This is a really solid rye, and a much better price than the cask strength which is $10 more but only a couple proof points higher. This compares favorably with 2 ryes I bought in 2020 at similar abv, the Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye and Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye. I liked this more than WT RB Rye, but I thought BCBC knocked it out of the park with their Knob Creek pick. Still, solid classic rye flavors near cask strength at a good price. If you like MGP rye then you'll probably love these barrel picks.

Open 4 weeks Nose - Burnt vanilla, boozy maple caramel syrup, gingerbread, strong oak and medium ethanol. Palate - Dense sugars, mixture of crème brulee and maple syrup, Christmas fruit cake, raisins, berry compote. Long, oily finish with building heat from ethanol and oak, but it isn't overwhelming for the proof. Mouth is coated in cinnamon syrupy goodness. Somehow the closest ABC to my workplace happened to put out a case of C919 a year after it was released. This was the only ECBP I had not bought from 2019-2020, so I quickly grabbed one given it was one of the highest regarded ECBP releases in recent years. It does not disappoint and has everything you expect. It's on par with C920 and A119, but B520 remains my favorite release to date.

Barrel No. 20-06873, Warehouse 1-02, Bottled 11-04-20 65.5 % abv, 131 proof Open 3 weeks Nose - Dark chocolate covered bananas, toffee, maple syrup, cinnamon, rye bread, browned butter, light coffee grounds, medium ethanol. Palate - Chocolate cake, bread pudding with raisins drizzled with maple syrup, mint chocolate. Long finish with more rye spice than in the nose or palate. Dry oak, cocoa powder, orange peel, medium ethanol. I ventured into Virginia to seek this bottle out, and it was worth it. This is one of the best whiskeys I've had, and surpasses the amazing Jack Daniel's SiB BP I purchased last year. It has everything the regular barrel proof has, but slightly more spice and bread notes while the standard "bourbon" barrel proof is a sweet dessert bomb. It tastes much more like a high rye bourbon barrel proof than a rye whiskey, which probably has a lot to do with the charcoal filtering that is uncommon with rye whiskey. If you see this, buy it. I doubt it's easy to find now, but Jack Daniel's should make rye single barrel barrel proof a staple on the shelves right beside their standard barrel proof. It's that damn tasty.

Open 4 months Nose - Cereal grain, mint, butterscotch, orange peel, light baking spices, light oak and ethanol. Palate - Peanut brittle, butterscotch, rye spice, watery honey. Finish is medium-short with little change in flavor from front palate. Minimal hint of ethanol, despite it being 96 proof. I think this is a waste of your money. It tastes like leftover Elijah Craig watered down with Rebel 80, which is odd because it is higher proof than both of those. You'll be much more satisfied saving $10 and buying Elijah Craig or saving $20 and buying Rebel 100. Lux Row is hit or miss for me at this point, I enjoy Rebel and Ezra Brooks but think David Nicholson and this are mediocre. It's tough when I can directly compare with the respective Heaven Hill product and conclude Lux Row did a bad job with this one.

Bull City Bourbon Club pick dubbed "Ryed 'n Durty" Barrel No. M765 Age 7 years 57.84% abv, 115.68 proof Nose - Black pepper, toasted nuts, mint leaf, toffee, molasses Palate - Allspice, nutmeg, oak, toffee, black pepper, sweeter than expected. Long and strong finish with strong rye spices, oak, ethanol, mint. My review is primarily based on taste since this was served at an outdoor bar in plastic disposable cups. I'm not knocking them, what they're doing every Wednesday is a fantastic deal. Alley Twenty Six in downtown Durham is serving one special whiskey at cost, whether you want it neat or in a cocktail. The Barrell Rye is $100 in NC, so a $5.75 pour is phenomenal when it would normally be north of $20. This was a BCBC pick I did not pick up, but the flavor is definitely there. Next time I'll bring my own Glencairn. They had the newest WhistlePig Boss Hog ($500 in NC) for $33 a pour this week, just to give you an idea of the deal you're getting on Wednesday. After two pours of Barrell Rye I got a Manhattan to go with it, one of the best Manhattans I've had in a long time.

Open 16 months Nose - Musty cereal malt, berries, hints of brine, maple syrup, honey roasted peanuts. Palate - Light stewed fruits, gingerbread, toasted nuts. Finish is medium-short with a light oily mouthfeel and hints of baking spices/gingerbread cookie. This has been on my shelf for a while. It's fine, but there's nothing special about it that grabs my attention. I think I liked Monkey Shoulder better, but it's been a while since I've had that. If you like blended malts, this is definitely one to check out given its price and proof. However, I'd rather spring for a bourbon in this price range or pay more and get a single malt.

Open 5.5 months Nose - Strawberry and raspberry jam, baking spice, grain, red wine, hints of oak. Palate - Agave infused with stewed fruits, butterscotch, merlot. Hints of oak and baking spices build on the back end of the tongue. Short finish, the sweetness doesn't last long. Ethanol is barely noticeable. This is an excellent alternative to Angel's Envy. It is significantly cheaper, easy to find, and an equal or better whiskey. I'm not the biggest fan of low proof wine-finished bourbons because I think they're simplistic and fruity, but they have their place. This is the type of bourbon that could be a gateway for a lot of people to explore more whiskey. I know Angel's Envy was for some of my friends. Major props to the bottle design too. It amongst my favorites and is definitely one to reuse. Solid "wood" cork top, great shape, and it never dribbles when you pour.

Barrel No. 15D17 Purchased in Louisville at Liquor Barn Open 4 weeks Nose - Butterscotch, toffee, nutmeg, clove, orange rind, leather, medium oak and ethanol. Palate - Butterscotch candy, chocolate covered caramel, orange blossom honey, rye spice, oak. Medium finish with dense syrupy flavors mixed with rye spices and oak. This is the best rye I've had to date. It hits all the right notes of a barely legal rye and surpasses Pikesville, Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye, and WT Rare Breed Rye with its richness of more syrupy notes common in higher abv barrel proof bourbons. The difference between this and those other awesome rye whiskeys is less astringency and tannins from rye and oak. I think the barrel entry proof of 100 and the estimated youthful age of ~4 years have a lot to do with this, considering the rye content is only 56% here. It's honestly a phenomenal whiskey and I'm on the lookout for anything Wilderness Trail. Fantastic bottle too, beefy synthetic cork and rectangular shape are perfect for reusing as a decanter or infinity bottle.

Batch 20C Open 1 month Nose - Grilled buttered corn, wildflower honey and agave, cinnamon frosting, medium to strong oak, medium ethanol. Palate - Silky sweet up front, caramelized corn, toffee, maple syrup. Long finish with lingering corn sweetness, cinnamon powder, medium oak that isn't overly tannic, and ethanol that creeps up on the back end. This multi-corn bourbon is unlike almost anything else I've tasted. It's dense and syrupy, rich with sweet corn flavors mixed with baking spices and caramel vanilla that you'll find in a typical bourbon. It doesn't have floral and spicy notes typically associated with wheated or high rye bourbons. Given its high corn content, you may think it's similar to Jack Daniel's or George Dickel, but it's not. This tastes like a strong alcoholic version of honey or agave, but much heavier than mead. If you've had Chattanooga Whiskey or Balcones Baby Blue, I think you'll really like this. Even if you're unsure, a 115 proof Texas bourbon for $50 is a sweet deal.