Tastes

Open 9 months Nose - Spicy honey, honeysuckle, sharp malt, Big League Chew grape flavored, forest after rainfall, campfire, and strong ethanol. Palate - Musty sherry, raisins, figs, wet hay, eucalyptus, citrus oil, and ashy peat. Finish is long with ash, dank peat, grain, sweet malt, honey, raisins, and medium ethanol. This is much better than the original release. That was way too hot and ashy. I skipped over No. 2 because I didn't think they would improve it that much, but reviews kept getting stronger for No. 2 and No. 3 so I finally took the plunge. I still think this is missing a little something, slightly more sherry influence and a couple more years in the barrel. If that happens in the future, it would probably be the best cask strength Scotch under $100.

OHLQ 2024 selection barrel #1 Barrel No. 24-0205 Warehouse TYR-F; Floor 4 Distilled - 10-28-2015 Dumped - 03-18-2024 Barreled - 04-17-2024 Age - 8 years, 4 months, 19 days Open 7 weeks Nose - Cocoa powder, toasted marshmallow, cherry vanilla, bright cinnamon, nutmeg, peanut shell, grain, medium oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - This bourbon tastes more like cheap milk chocolate covered cherries than anything I've had. Also a dash of cinnamon powder and cereal grain. Finish is long with semi-sweet chocolate, medicinal cherry, cinnamon vanilla frosting, and light ethanol. All I can say is thank god or whomever that I can still buy great picks from state-controlled liquor stores, because these Russell's picks are $80-95 everywhere I've looked in Kentucky. And so far, the few picks I've bought from OHLQ have been winners. This is an excellent, slightly off-profile Russell's with much more chocolate than the typical pick. If it had a year or two more to eliminate some of those sharp edges from the grain and baking spices, this might be 5 stars. Summary of the review, OHLQ does a good job with barrel picks.

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #2" Barrel No. 5852 Age - 3 years 60.5% abv; 121.1 proof Open 5 months Nose - Cereal grain, pound cake, citrus peel, vanilla frosting, cinnamon, cardamon, white pepper, eucalyptus, minimal oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Lemon custard, gingerbread, white pepper, fresh bread, juniper, mineral water, and dill. Finish is medium-long with sharp grain, cracked peppercorns, chalk, spiced vanilla, lemon oil, and strong ethanol. This is surprisingly good for the age. I've been wary of Castle & Key, mainly based on YouTube reviews and a couple of my Facebook groups. But I've been able to try their bourbons and ryes at free tastings at The Party Source, and was impressed with almost every bottle. It is eerily similar to Wilderness Trail Rye. That sweet mash process radically changes what you think a rye should taste like. I have no regrets buying this, but I'd love to see what their ryes taste like at 4-5 years.

Rickhouse C Distilled - Spring 2017 Bottled - October 2023 Age - 6 years 60.05% abv; 120.1 proof Open 3 months Nose - Sharp grain, hot cinnamon, bright cherry, fake vanilla, white pepper, orange peel, light to no oak, and strong ethanol. Palate - Hot, young grain, medicinal cherry, white grape, fresh cut grass, white pepper, and Red Hots. Finish is medium with sharp, bitter grain, fake vanilla, cracked peppercorn, dry cinnamon, musty hay, and strong ethanol bite. I meant to review this sooner, just to help save people some money. This is hot garbage. Literally. It is all sharp, young, hot grain with very little flavor outside of the fake cherry and cinnamon notes. Initially I thought I was buying the brand new Rickhouse Proof rye bourbon that YouTubers were raving about, had no clue they also had a wheated bourbon. This also received good reviews so I wasn't disappointed when I left the store. But it is just a really poor imitation of Maker's Mark Cask Strength at almost double the cost. They're not even close flavor-wise, MM CS is more refined, sweeter, and features a more pleasant cherry. I could go to the store right now and pick up the 375 mL gift pack of MM 46 CS and a private select for $45. For $80, this is a terrible buy. It's one of the worst wheated bourbons I've ever had.

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #14" Barrel No. 421 Open 2 months Nose - Creme brulee, toasted marshmallow, milk chocolate, black cherry, allspice, rich oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Chocolate covered cherries, orange bitters, custard, caramel, sweet tobacco, and cinnamon cream. Finish is medium-long with rich vanilla glazed churros, sweet oak, white pepper, orange oil, and medium ethanol. These continue to be one of the best value high proof bourbons on the market, full stop. What's legitimately surprising is there is a scarcity of many sought-after bourbons in Kentucky due to tourism, but these 1792 Full Proof picks are actually pretty easy to find. I don't get it. These have a similar profile to what people chase with Buffalo Trace products, but are cheaper and easier to find. You'll never see them more than $70 at any private store, and typically they're under $60. And people actually chase the subjectively much worse 1792 products like Sweet Wheat, BiB, 12 Year, and Single Barrel. Honestly, I think I've seen more Full Proof bottles in the last 2 years than those other 4 combined. If you see a pick, I highly recommend picking one up. It'll compete with Elijah Craig, Old Forester, or Jack Daniel's picks.

The Party Source pick Barrel No. 32035 Age - 5 years 58.2% abv; 116.4 proof Open 4 months Nose - Classic rye notes of dill, pine, black pepper, eucalyptus, dry baking spices, orange spice, caramel cream, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Spicy cinnamon, freshly cracked black peppercorn, coffee cake, gingerbread, tobacco leaf, orange oil, conifer extract, and stale honeycomb. Finish is medium-long with hot pepper and cinnamon, dry oak, dry baking spices, burnt orange peel, and medium ethanol. I'm tempted to just give this 5 stars, because it was $20. But I know that's unusual, these are typically around $50. Apparently The Party Source heavily discounts store picks that have been sitting on the shelf for months. I wish I knew that sooner so I could've saved up, because there are some stupid good sales that are still ongoing. I don't think this is the best example of an Old Scout Rye I've had, but it's still pretty darn good. Honestly, it's really difficult to beat Old Scout picks. I've bought plenty of older and more expensive MGP ryes that don't live up to this.

Liquor City Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #44" Warehouse 1; Floor 6; Rick 61 Barrel filled - 02-20-2014 Bottling date - 11-16-2023 Age - 9 years, 8 months, 27 days Open 3 months Nose - Rich brown sugar, toasted vanilla bean, sweet oak, orange, allspice, and medium ethanol. Palate - Sweet, oily oak, brown sugar, cinnamon coffee cake, chocolate orange, rye bread, and white pepper. Finish is long with peppercorn mix, musty grain, sweet oak, cinnamon sugar, slightly dry rye spices or oak tannins, cocoa powder, and medium ethanol. I lied. I said I was done with these Knob Creek picks a short while ago. But one of the store employees who helps with a lot of the picks said this was significantly better than their previous two KC SiBs that were still available. He was right. This is an excellent pick that reminds me of much older Knob Creeks. I'm tempted to bump it up to 4.5 stars, but it isn't overly complex. It's just a damn good representation of bourbon for a great price.

Kroger Wine & Spirits pick Barrel No. 22-0915 Warehouse CN-B; Floor 6 Distilled on 05-09-2013 Dumped on 06-08-2023 Bottled on 07-17-2023 Age - 10 years, 30 days Open 6 weeks Nose - Bitter oak tannins, dry cinnamon, black pepper, light caramel, clove, burnt vanilla, musty hay, and medium ethanol. Palate - Odd combination of oily and drying, unsweetened gingerbread, peppercorns, toffee, and toasted marshmallow. Finish is medium-long with strong bitter and dry oak, freshly cracked peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon, and strong ethanol. Who knew I could walk into a Kroger liquor store in Northern Kentucky and find a 10+ year Russell's pick for $15 less than nearby independent stores? The stores seemed to have a terrible selection, but surprisingly had multiple barrel picks and batches of Elijah Craig, Russell's, Wild Turkey, Knob Creek, Booker's, and more that are typically harder to find and more expensive in nearby locations. Maybe this was sitting on the shelf is because it isn't very good, arguably the worst Russell's pick I've had. On first crack, I would've given this a 2.5-2.75. Thankfully it mellowed out. It was harsh, tannic, and oddly off-profile. It's lacking the classic caramel and vanilla from most Wild Turkey products. I'll still take a chance on other Kroger picks if they're less money, they all can't be bad.

OHLQ Exclusive pick Barrel No. 6783784 Age - 8 years 63.65% abv; 127.3 proof Open 6 months Nose - Burnt caramel, toasted marshmallow, rye spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cigar smoke, oak char, and strong ethanol. Palate - Toffee, caramel, dark chocolate, cinnamon syrup, black pepper, rye bread, vanilla bean, and oak extract. Finish is medium-long with heavy oak char, black pepper, old tobacco, toffee, and medium ethanol. Another solid ECBP pick, but nothing spectacular. Time and time again, these 8 and 9 year old single barrels are as good or better than the older batch releases. I'm always pretty shocked when I can find these pretty easily compared to the batches. The only difference at this point is a slight markup in price depending on where you live.