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Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year
Distiller Score 89
A nose of sun-dried cherries dipped in honey and a bowl of cinnamon-sprinkled cereal. The palate tastes of a melted Heath bar, vanilla saltwater taffy, and charred cinnamon. The finish shows charred wood, cinnamon sugar and wheat.
Reviewed by Rob Morton
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William Larue Weller Bourbon (Fall 2013)
Distiller Score 96
A nose full of caramel, molasses and maple sugar candy gives way to the palate of seeded fruit on toast with butter and cinnamon sugar. The finish is long and complex, with light tobacco, leather and more cinnamon sugar.
Reviewed by Rob Morton
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Michter's 10 Year Single Barrel Bourbon
Distiller Score 90
Nose has green apple and caramel, along with surprising hints of green olive. Full flavored and rich. Hints of vanilla and butterscotch at the initial taste. Finishes with smoke, and an unmistakable flavor of roasted nuts.
Reviewed by Eric Abert
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High West A Midwinter Night's Dram
Distiller Score 92
The robust spicy rye notes are still present in the glass, but as it sits, red fruit tempers that just a bit. As you taste, the spicy rye comes again to the forefront along with vanilla and more red fruit. The finish is warm and spice filled with hints of chocolate and fresh whipped cream with a dash of white pepper.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year
Distiller Score 92
Sweet and spicy notes of cinnamon, raisins, brownies, vanilla, oak, and maple are found on the nose. Honey, vanilla toffee, nuts, dark fruits, and baked apple pie greet you on the palate. Finish is LONG with plenty of spice and more baked apple pie drizzled with vanilla-laced honey.
Reviewed by Rob Morton
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Eagle Rare 17 Year Bourbon (Fall 2013)
Distiller Score 95
Complex doesn't cut it for the nose, with English breakfast tea, cherries, nutmeg, and cinnamon. A palate of tobacco, leather, almond, clove, and pepper finds its way to a truly lengthy finish of citrus, additional almond and a return visit from the cherries.
Reviewed by Rob Morton
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Forged Oak 15 Year Bourbon
Distiller Score 87
It has a campfire nose, lots of wood and spice with candied walnuts, licorice, dark red fruits, and crème brûlée under the initial oak attack. On the palate, the oak and spice assert themselves but eventually give way to ginger, plum, orange bitter, tobacco, and coffee. During the warm, lingering finish one finds orange bitters, and pepper.
Reviewed by Keith Allison
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Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel Bourbon (2014)
Distiller Score 98
Baking spices smacks the olfactory receptors as you waft this over-proof spirit. Next, ripe red and stone fruits follow with cacao and mild tobacco notes coming next. The palate is full of chocolate and caramel with a rich oily mouthfeel. The finish is less spicy than anticipated, with a medium-long length. The bottling tasted was from warehouse HW, the Barrel No. was 47-2J.
Reviewed by Dennis Gobis
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High West Bourye (2015 Release)
Distiller Score 89
The spirit opens with spiced honey and caramel followed by whiffs of vanilla bean. Baked pear commands the glass on tasting; imagine the fruit drizzled with creamy toffee/butterscotch and dusted with white pepper for a lilting accent. The moderately long finish offers up oak and toasty spice that the incautious might be tempted to call curry-like, a quality, real or imagined, that helps make for a mean Perfect Manhattan.
Reviewed by Ron Bechtol
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Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof Bourbon
Distiller Score 89
This whiskey’s got all the makings of a heavyweight champ—strength, determination and a whole lotta braggadocio. But as the Champion of the World himself, Mohammad Ali, once said: “It ain’t bragging if it’s true.” The wood in the nose comes on strong, with dried oak notes so intense, you can practically hear the thuds of barrels being rolled around in the dim, dusty aging warehouse. This unfiltered whiskey is tough-talking, aggressive and it’s not putting on any niceties for anyone. On impact, it knocks you hard with fiery black pepper notes. Clearly there’s a lot of rye in this fighter’s DNA. Egg it on with a bit of water and you can uncover a bit of a softer side—tangy red berries and vanilla on the nose; apple and molasses pushing through the layers of oaky flavors. But the dry heat wins in the end. This bourbon doesn't retreat willfully. But it puts on such a dynamic show, you can’t help but rev up for another round.
Reviewed by Liza Weisstuch
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Jim Beam Signature Craft Brown Rice Bourbon 11 Year
Distiller Score 89
An exceptionally pleasant nose full of brown sugar, toasted marshmallow, dark fruit, and honey. The taste boasts caramel and oak, candied walnuts, plums, and even an odd but not unwelcome tartness. It's rich and oily, and there's spicy wood and caramel on the finish, which is warm and medium-length.
Reviewed by Keith Allison
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Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Four Wood Bourbon
Distiller Score 96
The nose on this bourbon couldn't be more complex. Vanilla, caramel, red wine, freshly chopped firewood, candied citrus, the list goes on. The first sip is like taking a drag off a slightly harsh cigar, and then instantly mellows. The palate then explodes and coats the mouth with sweet citrus, well integrated wood, cool smoke, and a non-cloying sweet, lingering finish. Gorgeous, meticulously complex, yet still approachable.
Reviewed by Paul Belbusti