Tastes

As a native North Carolinian, I'm proud of our excellent beer and sometimes excellent wine, but in my experience our whiskey falls far short of nearby states. In the past I've only had Defiant and TOPO whiskeys, both rapid-aged whiskey in stainless steel barrels. Defiant is average and overpriced for what it is, TOPO is terrible and severely overpriced. It pains me to say that because a lot of Top of the Hill staff played on and sponsored my soccer team. Their vodka and gin is alright! Anyways, a lot of NC distilleries are young which means their whiskey is either sourced or very young. In general they aren't reviewed well and seem overpriced, so I avoided trying any of these newer distilleries in recent years, until now. Rua has gotten so much love on here and on the Whiskey Vault, I had to buy it. First note, Rua American Single Malt Whiskey is currently released at 92 proof so the Expert Review is out of date using the older 80 proof version. My bottle was aged for 15 months, which is remarkable for the color, nose, and taste I get. The trick is they age this whiskey in 25-gallon barrels, half the size of traditional barrels used for bourbon. The climate is also a little more humid and warmer than Kentucky. Not quite Texas heat but you should get faster aging based on my 33 years living here. I get sweet bread pudding or a cinnamon muffin on the nose, but it lacks the banana flavor you'll find in Brown-Foreman products. That nose carries through the taste, it is beautiful, sweet, but not overwhelming. At the moment my two closest comparisons are Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and Balcones Baby Blue, which is surprising considering this is only malted barley. This shows how much charred oak and climate contributes to flavors we may associate with corn. I know I like referencing bread pudding for some bourbons, but this may be closer with dense breakfast pastries/cakes that are heavy with cinnamon and vanilla cream. The finish is medium and the sweetness disappears quickly, which I think is a positive. I get zero alcohol burn sipping on this. For a single malt this is much closer to bourbon than Scotch. Presently, this is the best NC whiskey I've had and I'd love to try other products by Great Wagon Road. It likely requires a distillery visit since I've never seen any other product sold around Chapel Hill. Release #50, aged 15 months in 25-gallon barrels

I received this bottle for free over 5 years ago, and saved it for a special occasion because I knew this was being discontinued. After defending my dissertation I opened both this and a Macallan 17Y in celebration. There was no comparison between the two, this is the far superior Scotch, and one of the best Scotch whiskeys I've had. Before this year I've never had peated Scotch before, then I jumped right in the deep end with Ardbeg 10. I love that Scotch, but I really think the milder peated Scotch hits every note just right. This and Talisker 10Y being the best examples I've tried. Disclaimer - my bottle is 43% abv, but I could only find 40% abv listed on Distiller. The nose is a beautiful sherried peat, not overwhelming at all like a heavily peated Scotch. It is somewhat sweet, with a little citrus zest, maybe orange? It is drier on the taste, the oak and sherry stand out while the peat is more muted than I expected from nosing. I also get a little brine, but not nearly as much as other coastal or island Scotch. The wood lingers on the finish, as it is surprisingly oily and lasts long. Although it was aged in toasted barrels, not charred, I can't quite tell where that makes a difference. I would not say this is an overtly complex Scotch, but the flavors mesh together so well that it's highly drinkable. It's a shame you cannot find it regularly if at all these days, but it's possible one of their current releases is similar to this.

I purchased a 375 mL for $26.95 on sale, it is typically $29.95 and the 750 mL is $56.95. I've always been curious about this bottle, but the price was daunting for a name brand single barrel. I'm glad I was able to buy it on sale, because it is certainly better than Black Label and Gentleman Jack but still not worth the purchase price. The nose is stronger and more pleasant than their base offerings and is the best part about this whiskey. It is remarkably similar to Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. Even with charcoal filtering, you still get that signature Brown-Forman nose of cinnamon, oak, and banana. What separates this from Woodford and Old Forester, and also the Black Label and Gentleman Jack, is this Single Barrel Select is less sweet and drier on the taste. At least from memory. I also have an Old Forester 1897 open and this barrel is more oak and tannin forward. My guess is this barrel is on the higher end of the 4-7 years age that is estimated for their single barrel choices. I also get black pepper on the taste and finish in agreement with multiple reviews I've seen on other websites. Do I recommend buying this? I do not. I like this whiskey, but for $57 you can buy a ton of excellent bourbon at or below that price. This is severely overpriced for what it is. Gentleman Jack at 80 proof is $34.95 when you can get another premium Tennessee whiskey, 13-year old George Dickel BiB, for $35.95. Charging nearly $60 for a 94 proof single barrel without disclosing all of the barrel information is egregious to me. There are multiple barrel proof bourbons available in NC cheaper than this bottling. Plus, the Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof is only $13 more. I haven't had that one yet, but I imagine it's a much better value. Barrel 18-2134, Rick R-21, Bottling Date 04-10-18

Why have I ignored Old Forester until now? One answer is the price of the Whiskey Row series. The other is the underwhelming reviews by the expert reviewers on Distiller. It seems they aren't too keen on the Whiskey Row series, while the user reviews are consistently higher. After buying this I have to agree with users, this is good stuff and I look forward to trying more Old Forester bottles. You can definitely tell it is a Brown-Forman product, I get a lot of similar flavors as I have with Woodford Reserve and its Double Oaked line. For a BiB it is not as pungent as cheaper BiBs. On the nose I get vanilla, oak, and alcohol. But not overpowering, light and delicate. I get more berries on the tongue in addition to that spiced dessert flavor. Not too oak-forward. I also detect banana as I have with Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's. That banana flavor is a dead giveaway for Brown-Forman. I do agree with other reviews that the finish is quick and slightly disappointing. I imagined it would linger longer at this proof. The smoke or mustiness pointed out in reviews is non-existent for me. Overall this is a solid, flavorful bourbon that is a little pricey but you won't regret the purchase. I'm really looking forward to trying the higher proof 1920 next.

This is a beautiful Scotch I've saved for years until I finished graduate school. I got it for free from my cousin who did marketing for Edrington in Manhattan. She did not let me touch the Macallan 25, but let my brother and I have the 12 and our choice between the 17 or 18, among other freebies. I chose the 17 since it was not a common release and my cousin also preferred it. When I learned of the price for this Scotch ($150-200), and the fact the product was discontinued, I decided to save it. Five years later I finally opened this bottle in August and despite the degradation of the cork it's been an enjoyable experience. I'm glad I got this for free since I would never pony up that much money for a bottle until I'm financially secure. It is a really great Scotch, but there's no way I'd ever pay close to $200 for something like this. The sherry influence is somewhat muted despite two of three barrels used for aging were ex-sherry casks. I actually get more of a double oak maturation flavor I find in American single malts and double oaked bourbons. If I didn't know any better I'd say this was a light, refined Jim Beam Double Oak that was finished in sherry for less than a year. Another whiskey I've had recently that comes to mind is Rua American Single Malt, but this is lighter. It honestly tastes much more like a bourbon than Scotch, albeit a bourbon with low char. I think the tasting notes by the expert reflect this comparison.

My county (Orange County, NC) received a store pick single barrel of this, so I had to pick it up despite the exorbitant price. The week prior I had purchased Jim Beam Double Oak and I could not pass up the opportunity to buy the clearly superior product. The only other time I've had Woodford Reserve Double Oaked was at the distillery. I remember enjoying it immensely, but I was also hammered by the time I got there. (Third distillery of the day, my friends and I killed a fifth between each distillery.) Buttery oak is so prominent on the nose. Unlike Jim Beam's offering, this smells smooth and delicious and in no way artificial. I think of a caramel coffee bread pudding with a dash of oak, something you'll find at an upscale southern restaurant. If you've had a rich bread pudding then you'll know there are few desserts better suited to conclude a meal. I surprisingly had an amazing bread pudding at a brewery last month, the quality far outweighed the dinner. That bread pudding buttery oak is all over the tongue, and the syrupy quality is strong. It is sweet enough that you will probably get 2 drinks max out of this before you want to switch to something else. The oak and sweetness lingers, while the alcohol taste is minimal. Overall I would almost classify this as a dessert liqueur despite its abv, it's something to savor and enjoy. I think people who do not necessarily enjoy whiskey might like this since the sweetness dominates the alcohol.

My county (Orange County, NC) received a store pick single barrel of this, so I had to pick it up despite the exorbitant price. The week prior I had purchased Jim Beam Double Oak and I could not pass up the opportunity to buy the clearly superior product. The only other time I've had Woodford Reserve Double Oaked was at the distillery. I remember enjoying it immensely, but I was also hammered by the time I got there. (Third distillery of the day, my friends and I killed a fifth between each distillery.) Buttery oak is so prominent on the nose. Unlike Jim Beam's offering, this smells smooth and delicious and in no way artificial. I think of a caramel coffee bread pudding with a dash of oak, something you'll find at an upscale southern restaurant. If you've had a rich bread pudding then you'll know there are few desserts better suited to conclude a meal. I surprisingly had an amazing bread pudding at a brewery last month, the quality far outweighed the dinner. That bread pudding buttery oak is all over the tongue, and the syrupy quality is strong. It is sweet enough that you will probably get 2 drinks max out of this before you want to switch to something else. The oak and sweetness lingers, while the alcohol taste is minimal. Overall I would almost classify this as a dessert liqueur despite its abv, it's something to savor and enjoy. I think people who do not necessarily enjoy whiskey might like this since the sweetness dominates the alcohol.