Tastes

This stuff is so hard to find these days and after Stagg Jr was my first incredible bourbon, I really want to collect every new batch. Was lucky to get my hands on two of these. I tasted the neck pour a month or so ago and was disappointed, but am hoping this has opened up a bit. Nose: rubbing alcohol, peanuts, brown sugar, red liquorice. Getting sweeter and spicier notes after the first sip, but can't really determine what they are. Getting more of the cola vibe I love, almost vanilla buttercream frosting, cherry coke Palate: woody, nutty goodness, some oak tanin bitterness, spicy - where is anything I'm getting on the nose? Finish: nutty and more tanins, third sip finally had some cola to it, light tingle on the back of my upper lip, cinnamon Overall this isn't the quality I expect from stagg jr. There isn't a whole lot going on here for me and I'm disappointed. If you gave me this in a blind test I definitely wouldn't choose it and previous batches of stagg jr rank at the top of all my tastings. Where's the cherry cola bomb? I'm mostly getting tanins and peanuts. The heat is there, but aside from that, I'd expect this to be a much cheaper and easier to find bourbon. 70/100 - Sure I'll take some

I got to try this when some kind stranger brought it to a bottle share. The host then offered his 2018, which was also amazing, but not as good as this. I bought my own bottle and this dram is from my own bottle, which is mostly full. Nose: sweet, menthol, cherry, brown sugar, oak, red fruits, caramel, leather, plum - ok, enough nosing, I can't resist tasting this any longer - cinnamon, light bubble gum scent. What a fantastic nose. I love this nose. More cherry, with a spice. Palate: oaky sweet with a gentle burn that allows you to keep it in your mouth for a while, on the nose and on the palate I'm reminded of those jolly rancher lollipops that used to be popular and the flavor goes back and forth between cherry and strawberry. Mmmm this tastes fantastic. Finish: leaves your mouth oily, which I just love. oaky, slight tingle, but that's mostly what I'm getting. The tannins definitely linger for a while, but that's the main taste I'm getting on the finish, with a minor strawberry or cherry note I hate to do this, but I heard if you add some water to this, it'll change and you'll get some more notes, so, while I hesitate to do this, I'm going to add a couple drops (of filtered water from the fridge). Post 3 drops of water notes: omg it's milk chocolate...it still has that rye spice, but it's got an herbal milk chocolate nose now. It's like smelling chocolate gin, if that's a thing. Cherry is coming back. Getting more spice on the finish. Didn't notice much but spice on the palate. There's a bit more tingle to the palate and less of the oak tannins lingering. Nose is kind of a salted cherry milk chocolate. On the palate, post-water, I'm not really picking up much other than the mild spice. Perhaps some very minor herbal notes? Some spicy banana on the nose. Oh my gosh, it's almost like a banana split smell. You have the gentle vanilla (ice cream), banana, and then the cherry and milk chocolate could be the toppings. Arghhh this nose is so good!! Some butterscotch oak on the palate now. Onto the last sip, although I really want to pour another...Mmmm more cherry coming through with vanilla bean sweetness. Man that was so good! I love this bourbon and I think it's my favorite of all time. I have high hopes for the bottle to just keep improving as I drink the bottle down - maybe I should have a second pour........no, I must save it! Be strong! This is so good. I may have ordered two backup bottles.... 96/100 - Backups required

Blanton's Cinder BBQ Store Pick Neck Pour Nose: Coming off a lot stronger than I remember regular Blanton's. Citrus, brown sugar, pleather, tobacco, corn, waxy candy, cinnamon/clove Palate: Oh wow, that's a lot different than normal Blanton's! orange soda, caramel, vanilla creamsicle, really refreshing each sip, oak Finish: orange soda lingers, bringing on some nuttiness, barrel tannins, while that orange soda transforms into a seltzer water after taste, long finish, spice, carrots This was so much different than what I remember of regular Blanton's. This is still the smooth, easy drink of Blanton's, but the flavors are much more intense and noticeable. The longer I sipped it though, the less distinguishable the flavors became. I'll be interested to see if this changes any with some air. 79/100 - Sure I'll take some

Can't believe I was able to get this from my local store. I had lost all hope. This tasting is from the neck pour and is after I tasted Red Spot Nose: Sweet and ethanoly, honey, definitely getting the kick in the nostrils, apricots? there's some kind of candy here, like the chewy candied fruits you'd buy in the candy/sweets section, spice - cayenne pepper?, red licorice. This definitely has a spice/burn to the nose, while having a sweetness to it if you can hang in through the spice, pepper, grass? Palate: Not too spicy on the palate, some sweetness, faint milk chocolate, some light fruits getting taken away by the spice. I'm really struggling with this one, as I get great flavors, but then the spice comes and takes it away. I love red breast 12 year and kind of expect irish whiskies to taste like that and I'm really struggling to get beyond the spice. There's the lovely irish whiskey taste for a second, before it's swept away by spice. Started getting some bourbon flavors on the last sip. Finish: Short and tingly, some kind of exotic fruit, leche?, tannins There's a spiciness on this neck pour I'm struggling to get beyond. I'll probably try adding water to this on another pour. I'm disappointed in this and hoping it improves with time. Maybe adding water will help me, but for most of this dram I got tasty Irish whiskey flavors swept away by spice and I'm not a big fan of ryes or spicy whiskey. I'm hoping it improves with some air in the bottle, but I'm definitely going to put this to the side for now and enjoy more red breast in the meantime. 75/100 - Sure I'll take some

Finally was able to get my hands on this bottle. This tasting is the neck pour. Nose: butterscotch, so much butterscotch, brown sugar, some ethanol preventing me from really diving in, light honey, figs?, some light orange, there's some nuttiness that I can't identify, hazelnut maybe?, no, now I think it's walnuts... I am all over the place with this now. Barley Taste: a little smoke and barrel, front of the palate burn, sweet light fruits, maybe some fig, butterscotch, citrus, raisins Finish: getting some spice on the finish in the middle of my tongue and a mild tingling on my lips making me want to go back for more. Barrel tannins. Finish definitely tingles the middle of my tongue, but now is slightly spreading to the front of my tongue. Maybe some nuttiness - more hazelnut than walnut, wait, is that almond? I apparently need to eat more nuts, this has me all over the place. This isn't oily or drying on the palate, it's just in between the two. I prefer the oily mouth coating and am not a fan of the whiskies that dry your mouth out, so I'm content with this. I think I pick up figs on this, but my knowledge of figs is limited to fig newtons. This tasting was really interesting. I' think it could improve over time as the bottle gets some air in it. There's so much going on with the nose and the palate, and it's probably me being too amateur to pick out everything that's going on, but I'm not getting nearly as much as I had hoped on the palate or finish from a higher end whiskey. I'm also interested in adding a drop or two of water to it to see if that helps the spice die down some, but that'll have to wait for another night. I'd enjoy sharing this with friends and seeing what they think about it. 85/100 - Buying at MSRP

These tastings can all be different because they're single barrels. That being said, this review pertains to Barrel #01, straight bourbon whiskey, 90 proof. Nose: Herbal, some musk, honey, nuts, ethanol burns strongly with this one. Kind of has a potpourri smell Palate: Sweet, simple, some spice, a little nutty, you can tell this is young Finish: Some burn and tannins Basic whiskey from a new distillery that had to get something out there to make some money back. Not a bad first effort, but needs more time in the barrel. As this distillery gets older I'd certainly try their longer aged offerings. Sure I'll take some

This is so hyped and I was excited to try it. The first time, over a year ago, I was disappointed and left thinking it wasn't worth the hype. This is my second tasting and was more of a sit down and try to get the notes session and I definitely had to hunt for these: Nose: cherry, sugary sweet, cotton candy, cheap leather, butterscotch, waxy cherry candy from those country stores Palate: butterscotch, some spice, waxy cherry, cinnamon Finish: peanutty, short, light burn under my tongue on the sides, cherry Not worth the hype or the ridiculous prices of 200+ this is going for. My max would probably be $40. You can get better for less. Nose was the best part. 60/100 - Sure I'll take some

I'll start this off by stating I typically drink bourbon and am not much of an Islay drinker. I enjoy Irish whiskey and Speyside whisky, but rarely seek out Islays. However, a friend was generous enough to share a dram of this with me, so here is what I found: Nose: sweet, so sweet, like whipped sugar, marshmallows? honey, apples, toffee, some light milk chocolate, while classic Islay brine underlays it all. I'm used to the high proof stuff that lights your nose hairs on fire. I can smell this all day with no burn. The nose is incredible. Palate: At first you hardly notice the peat, but it definitely starts to build the longer you swish around in your mouth, with the sides of your tongue beginning to burn. On the initial sip it's honey, before turning to the regular Islay tastes. Sitting here trying to dissect it, I'm reminded of a raspberry that's been dropped in champagne. There's a light fruit sweetness, with a little uplifting that reminds me of champagne. Maybe some pear? I'm not used to Islay so getting beyond the peat is not easy for me. Apples with honey. Finish: Not much flavor other than some lingering peat, tobacco, and spice. What is that spice? black pepper? No... is this what white pepper tastes like? There's some spice I'm unable to identify. Overall, this is a nice scotch. Is it an entry to Islay? Not at this price point. Is it for the typical Islay drinker? maybe. Not sure who this dram is for, especially given the price, but tasty nonetheless. 75/100 - Sure I'll take some

Nose: Vanilla and cherry swirled together like a halls breezer, rye spice, leather, honey (could be the vanilla sweetness), hazelnut, slight cola to it, maybe some herbal qualities. Smells delicious, but if you're not ready for it, the spice punches your nostrils. Palate: rye spiciness, that vanilla/cherry halls breezer, cinnamon, peanut, sweet, butterscotch, a tad bit of smoke Finish: seems spicier than the proofs, lips are tingly, slight dryness, not much taste, kinda plastic or rubbery, minimal sweetness. Increasing peaty finish the longer you wait between sips. 88/100 - Always on my shelf - For the neck pour. Finish is disappointing, but the nose and palate are fantastic. Would be interested in adding a couple drops of water or putting it on ice to see how it impacts the rye spicyness

Nose: light and sweet. honey, meade like, melon, light banana and nut, light fruit - pear? Palate: slightly watery, sweet, honey, barrel, nutty, pear?, ethanol, clove? Finish: dry, quick, disappointing There's some kind of light fruit(s) in here and delicious sweetness. The sweetness also seems to have some kind of clove-like spice to it. I really had to try and get these notes, instead of them being really clear and impactful. The finish was really lacking, if there even was a finish. 3.0, could be a 3.25 - Sure I'll take some - tasty but unimpressive. Have definitely had better from Power's.