Tastes

Nose - honey, sweet malt, butterscotch, red apple, honey roasted peanuts, ginger hard candy, and light ethanol. Palate - Rich honey malt, applesauce, sweet cereal grain, light oak, and allspice. Finish is medium-short with slightly bitter oak, butterscotch, toasted bread, unripe red apple, and light ethanol. OHLQ has a 3-sample Redbreast set for $14.99 including this, the Lustau, and the 15 Year. For a tasting set that's a pretty great value considering the price of these bottles. This is the first time I've had the 12Y at home, had it at bars previously. I can see why people love this. It's a little too simple for me, but those sweet malt and fruit notes are really nice. Unfortunately they fade and pack little punch at 80 proof. Excited to try the other two samples.

Bull City Bourbon Club pick, "OFBs My Cherry Pie" Barrel No. 6790 Warehouse G; Floor 4 63.4% abv; 126.8 proof Open 2 months Nose - stewed berries, sweet oak, brown sugar, cinnamon bun, nutmeg, and medium ethanol. Palate - black pepper berry jam, burnt toast, toasted marshmallow, dry oak, dry baking spices, and peanut shells. Finish is medium-long with dry oak, black pepper, stale gingerbread, cocoa powder, clove, and strong ethanol. Another solid OFSBBS, a slight step up from the previous BCBC pick we released over a year ago. I've had 3 OFSBBS picks in the last 2 years, 2 were good and 1 was excellent. I still stand by my initial opinion on OFSBBS. They lie halfway between JDSBBS and ECBP in terms of flavor, but are more expensive, harder to find, and slightly lower average quality. If you find one at MSRP, by all means buy it because it could be fantastic. I definitely would never pay a markup, easier to grab a JDSBBS or the readily available OF 1920.

Unknown pick origin 58.12% abv; 116.24 proof Received 2 oz sample from a friend Nose - Pine needles, mint, eucalyptus, butterscotch, honeysuckle, clove, light oak, and strong ethanol. Palate - Spiced orange, delicate honeysuckle and flowers, white sugar, sweet cereal grain, clove, allspice, pine sap, and mint. Finish is medium-long with cloying, oily rye bread, toffee, hot cinnamon mint, pine, and medium ethanol. This pick is significantly better than the standard Stellum Rye. The standard version is mediocre for the money, there are tons of ryes in that price range that are better. The original is all spice and heat without complexity or sweetness. This has more baking spice and floral sweet notes. If you can find a store pick, I say go for it.

"Serpens" pick 58.12% abv; 116.24 proof Received 2 oz sample from a friend Nose - Pine needles, mint, eucalyptus, butterscotch, honeysuckle, clove, light oak, and strong ethanol. Palate - Spiced orange, delicate honeysuckle and flowers, white sugar, sweet cereal grain, clove, allspice, pine sap, and mint. Finish is medium-long with cloying, oily rye bread, toffee, hot cinnamon mint, pine, and medium ethanol. This pick is significantly better than the standard Stellum Rye. The standard version is mediocre for the money, there are tons of ryes in that price range that are better. The original is all spice and heat without complexity or sweetness. This has more baking spice and floral sweet notes. If you can find a store pick, I say go for it.

Bull City Bourbon Club pick, "Lijah Like Sunday Morning" Barrel No. 6688118 Warehouse E; Floor 4 Age 8 years 63.45% abv; 126.9 proof Open 6 weeks Nose - New leather, rich oak, glazed almonds, brown sugar, berry compote, and medium ethanol. Palate - Bold, syrupy oak, bread pudding, mixed berry pie, and honey roasted peanuts. Finish is long with rich, dense oak without the typical dry tannins, nutmeg, gingerbread, molasses, tobacco leaf, and medium ethanol. This is the second ECBP pick from BCBC in the last year, and is probably the best ECBP pick I've had (out of 5). It has the perfect mix of dark fruit, baked desserts, and older oak flavors. For me, anytime I see an ECBP pick it's a must buy. All 5 of the picks I've bought so far have been better than recent ECBP batch releases. And oddly enough, these picks have been easier to find than ECBP batches in the wild.

Blend of 4-5 year old MGP bourbon Finished in Tokaji casks for 9 months 56.5% abv; 113.0 proof Received a 2 oz sample from a friend Nose - Brown sugar, butterscotch, vanilla, Maraschino cherry, blackberry, medium oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Citrus oils, black pepper, brown butter, raisin syrup, spiced apple, and sweet oak. Finish is medium-long with syrupy sweet oak, sticky brown sugar, light black pepper, cookie batter, nutmeg, and light ethanol. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, there isn't much information out there. In general I don't like finished bourbon, but this is actually really good! My issue with red wine or port finished bourbons is the artificial fruit note takes over the palate. The Tokaji finish adds syrupy fruit and sugars, but not enough to disguise the original bourbon flavors. If I see this in the wild I may have to grab myself a bottle.

Barrel Pick, "North Carolina Select 2022" Open 5 months Nose - Strawberry and cherry candy, light caramel, honey, Frosted Flakes, light oak, and light ethanol. Palate - Cherry Jolly Rancher, berries 'n cream, honey crisp apple, watered down caramel, light cinnamon, and light rye spices. Finish is medium-short with the first hint of oak tannins, creamy vanilla and berries, and light ethanol. For the money these are great. I've never been disappointed with a 1792 Single Barrel, but because this is so light and creamy it's rarely my first choice. If you like lower proof bourbon this is a must-try and great gift. I do wish we had any lick of information on these barrels, but that's Sazerac for you in a nutshell. Slap a single barrel label or sticker on a bourbon/rye and watch the masses hunt it down like it's special.

Open 3 months Nose - Honey crisp apples, caramel, stewed peaches, light raspberry, lemon bars, and light ethanol. Palate - Oily sweet malt, lemon custard, apple pie, wildflower honey, and dried berries. Finish is medium-long with drier, sharp malt and white pepper notes, Honey Nut Cheerios, red wine tannins, and a little ethanol kick. This is freaking delightful, especially the nose. Because it is only 92 proof, it's light and sweet on the palate. At least it has some heft compared to other Irish whiskeys, but I'd love to try this at cask strength. If you've ever watched a YouTube video or read a blog about trying nicer Irish whiskey, two that are almost always mentioned are Redbreast 12 and Green Spot. For some reason, this 12Y single malt from the same distiller in the same price range is rarely mentioned. Try this first, it's superior in every way.

Barrel No. 22-04095 Rick 2-12 Bottling Date 04/22/2022 65.3% abv; 130.6 proof Open 3 months Nose - Fried banana, cinnamon bun, maple syrup, cheap maraschino cherry, mixture of baking spices, and medium ethanol. Palate - Pureed banana, maple taffy, cinnamon bun with too much vanilla frosting, pumpernickel bread, and chocolate covered cherry. Finish is medium with sticky maple syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon bun, and a hot kick of ethanol at the end. This is my least favorite JDSBBP so far, but it's still good. It has all of the classic notes of the previous bottles I've bought. The difference is this smells and tastes a little more artificial, especially the banana and cinnamon notes. It was worse on first crack, but has gotten richer over time. Still a good buy under $70, I just hope the next one is better.

Open 2 months Nose - Pralines, candied apple, dried tropical fruits, light dill, vanilla wafer, herbal tea, clove, and light ethanol. Palate - Delicate and creamy caramel, peanut butter, green apple, dill, fresh mint, clove, cinnamon powder, ginger snaps, and dry oak. Finish is medium-long, creamy oak, peanut brittle, baking spices, strong herbal blend, and medium ethanol. Soft, creamy, and refined are the three adjectives I'd use to describe this rye. To me, this drinks like an older, lower proof rye. It's not a standout, but at $60 it's an excellent value. A lot of MGP ryes in this price range will likely be younger, hotter peppery, and herbal, e.g., Stellum or James E. Pepper. This is more elegant and smooth and competes with Smooth Ambler. I'd still buy a Smooth Ambler pick if I could only choose one MGP rye under $60, but this is probably my second choice.