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Peach Street Colorado Straight Bourbon
Distiller Score 83
As you bring this whiskey up to your face you smell big vanilla, and bold oak character with notable cinnamon and baking spice. Delicate undertones of Baker’s chocolate and baked red delicious apples follow. With your first sip, you taste rich vanilla, cinnamon and corn, with a hint of bright citrus peel. The flavors are rounded out with cooked apple, lingering baking spice and delicate toasted oak characteristics. The finish is short although the flavors of vanilla and cinnamon do linger.
Reviewed by Ryan Conklin
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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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Hirsch Small Batch Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Distiller Score 87
The first whiff carried a lot of alcohol and promises a fiery, and perhaps a rough-around-the-edges bourbon. After that initial assault, caramel corn, honey, oak, vanilla, and spice emerge. The palate boasts a lot of oak and warm spice, and is just a little rough, but in an enjoyable way. Lots of corn, vanilla, and cinnamon are in there as well. The finish is short but pleasant, with a little spicy orange zest joining the chorus.
Reviewed by Keith Allison
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Bardstown Bourbon Co. Origin Series Bottled in Bond Bourbon
Distiller Score 92
The nose is rich and enticing, with butterscotch, caramel, and peanut brittle. That nuttiness continues onto the palate, which also offers a surprising of red fruits, including apples, orchard fruits, plums, and grapes. The finish is lengthy, and showcases chocolate syrup, Tootsie Rolls, tannic oak, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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Leopold Bros. Maryland-Style Rye
Distiller Score 86
The wood is notably light on the nose which allows the depth of the whiskey to really shine through. Aromas of baking spice, fennel, orange zest, and faint notes of eucalyptus and strawberries follow next. Upfront the flavors on the palate display a youthful spirit that has a nice mouth-feel for its age. Flavors of vanilla, cooked sugars, bright citrus and berries are then followed by Baker’s cocoa, clove, cinnamon, and a peppery and smoky rye spice. The finish rounds out this nuanced style of rye with a lingering vanilla and chocolate-covered berry sweetness that simply won’t let you forget this special dram.
Reviewed by Ryan Conklin
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10th Mountain Bourbon (Old Version)
Distiller Score 75
On the nose, the whiskey is obviously young and raw. There's a lot of wood, grain, and alcohol, but also some cherry, peaches and cream, and even a faint metallic taste of copper. In the mouth, it's mellower than the nose would lead one to believe; it”s very fruity and floral, with additional flavors of wood, sawdust, and dried apricot. There's a bit of chocolate and mint in the very short finish.
Reviewed by Keith Allison
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St. George Single Malt Lot 14
Distiller Score 93
On the nose, you’ll find heavy cocoa, ripe mango, Gala apple, almonds and Nutella. The palate reveals a load of bready grain and honeysuckle under a prominent cocoa flavor. Overall, the whiskey is a lot of fun; it begins mildly, ripens to a viscous, malty crescendo that explodes in the middle, and then dries out for a lengthy finish. For extra credit, pair with a light lager for an interesting combination of light and bold flavors.
Reviewed by Michael J. Neff
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George T. Stagg Bourbon (Fall 2014)
Distiller Score 92
Very concentrated flavors of dark dried fruits (figs, dates), bittersweet chocolate (at least 80% strength), vanilla, dark pie cherries, molasses and cedar. The flavors are tight as a sausage casing until some water is added, then it really blossoms. As with many older bourbons, it has a certain mustiness, here very pleasant. Stagg always has a bit of a burn, but for fans, that's part of the fun!
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Benjamin Prichard's Rye Whiskey
Distiller Score 84
Aromas of spicy rye, tobacco, red apples, and a light cider funk are found to begin with followed by hints of anise and undertones of dark red fruit and honey. The flavors of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon and bright spicy notes of a clove-studded holiday orange are bold and have the suggestion of oak and Baker’s cocoa. The finish is subtle and moderate in length with notable rye spice, dusty wood and a creamy texture that begs for you to revisit the glass.
Reviewed by Ryan Conklin
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MB Roland Still and Barrel Proof Bourbon
Distiller Score 90
The high proof and youth delivers a whiff of alcohol on first nosing, but that settles down into honey, butterscotch, old earth, and cherries. Even with water, it's big and fiery, youthful but well-balanced. There's Andes Mints, caramel, and spice, all delivered with a real kick. This is a young bourbon done very well.
Reviewed by Keith Allison
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Jefferson's Rye Cognac Cask Finish
Distiller Score 93
The cognac is prominent on the nose with violets and dandelions atop oak, molasses, licorice, and mint. Those influences switch on a rich palate that's whiskey-forward upfront, offering rye spice, salted caramel, and brown sugar leading into grapes and blackcurrants. A lengthy, pleasing finish offers dark chocolate and vanilla, followed by a touch of heat wiped away with luscious raspberry syrup, leaving a close of tingling tannins and barrel char.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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W.H. Harrison Governor's Reserve Bourbon
Distiller Score 84
This spirituous whiskey is slightly vegetal on the nose with dill in particular standing out. The first sip took me instantly to my grandmother’s house and her German apfelstrudel. It is fruity and sharp with a touch of grilled peaches on the finish. There isn’t much of woody character, and though its high-proof is a bit mouth-numbing, overall it is a well-made whiskey.
Reviewed by Brock Schulte