Tastes

The Party Source pick, "Shady's Pick" Barrel No. 21-0117 Warehouse K; Floor 4 Distilled on 12-26-2012 Dumped on 09-20-2022 Bottled on 10-12-2022 Age - 9 years, 8 months, 25 days Open 7 weeks Nose - Hot cinnamon buns, caramel, hint of nutmeg, cherry bubble gum, light minerality, medium oak spice, and medium ethanol. Palate - Honey Nut Cheerios, sweet grain, ginger snaps, brown sugar, medicinal cherry, white pepper, baking spices, and sweet oak. The finish is medium-long with drier and tannic oak, black pepper, dried stone fruits, grainy caramel, toast, and medium ethanol. This is where I dock it 0.25-0.5 points, and it was a cleaner finish earlier in the bottle. Apparently RR picks are really hard to find now, at least in the Ohio/Kentucky area. The prices reflect that in Kentucky, where RR is >$20 more than state controlled liquor. But I walked into the store and saw only 2 of these left, and the manager said they were just released and sold like crazy. I wish I bought both of them despite the price. It's the best RR pick I've had. A good Russell's pick is hard to beat. Maybe because it's the oldest one I've had? Generally they are 8-9 years old, while this is closer to the 10-year age statement of the entry Russell's 10.

The Party Source pick Sourced from Craigellachie Batch No. 23.0109.SC11.139 Distilled in 2009; Aged in ex-ruby port barrels Bottled on 01/25/2022 Age - 13 years Yield - 259 bottles 52.4% abv; 104.8 proof Open 3 months Nose - Red grapes, honeysuckle, strawberries, raspberries, milky cereal, baking spices, white chocolate, and medium ethanol. Palate - Berry infused honey, plums, cocoa, allspice, sweet malt, hay, light brine, and white pepper. Finish is medium-long with oily grain, bitter oak, black pepper, brine, dried dark fruits, and medium ethanol. This was my second purchase at The Party Source, a new release for them back in November 2022. Based on the specs alone I bought 2 bottles without tasting it. My first ever single barrel Scotch at cask strength with a 13-year age statement for only $80? Sign me up. It delivered and then some. I'm generally not a fan of port finishes, but that is mainly because it is used as a quick way to make bourbon sweeter and more expensive. Compared to a sherry-finished Speyside, this is sweeter. But it also retains a lot of Highland malt and brine character that shines through the port finish over time. The neck pour was port sweet, but it evolved over time and lost that dominant ruby port influence. Frankly for $80, it's a phenomenal buy. There are few cask strength Scotches outside of Glenlivet, Highland Park, Ardbeg, and Laphroaig that can be had for under $100 these days. The fact that there are still bottles available of this at the store is baffling. I'm impressed with my first Mossburn purchase. I hope to see more single barrels like this in the future.

Nose - Caramel, cinnamon, raisins, musty grain, copper, spiced orange, and medium ethanol. Palate - Subtle honey and caramel, raspberry, creamy malt, anise, and orange compote. Finish is medium and oily with dry sherry dark fruits, oak tannins, cardamon, black pepper, and light ethanol. OHLQ has a 3-sample Redbreast set for $14.99 including this, the Lustau, and the 12 Year. For a tasting set that's a pretty great value considering the price of these bottles. This is easily the worst value of the three. It is slightly better than the 12Y, more refined and creamier while also incorporating more sherry and ethanol heft. But it is not by any means better than the Lustau. Considering the 15Y is typically $40-50 more than the Lustau and 12Y, this should be a hard pass.

Nose - Creamy malt, mixed berries, Honey Smacks, fig, salted peanuts, light oak, and light ethanol. Palate - Rich caramel apple, fig newton, stewed peaches, honey malt, nutmeg, and almonds. Finish is medium-long with cereal grain, dry honey, copper, stone fruits, and light ethanol. OHLQ has a 3-sample Redbreast set for $14.99 including this, the 12 Year, and the 15 Year. For a tasting set that's a pretty great value considering the price of these bottles. The Lustau is a step up from the 12Y in every way, and it's typically less than $10 more. In fact, it's only $3 more right now at the main store I shop at. If you don't see a big price gap, buy this.

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.