1792 Single Barrel Bourbon

My bottle of 1792 sib is a store pick from Warehouse package in Albany GA. The color is medium gold. The nose is lightly floral. I get honey sweetness and a hint of cherry. I don't get a lot of spice. This is fairly mellow with just the slightest bitter sweet citrus note on the finish. Overall this is an enjoyable pour. In my previous experience with 1792 offerings I've noticed they tend to come to life the longer they've been opened. I'm hoping that is true with this bottle as well.

Rating: 16/23 Bottle kill tasting here. This has had an absolute ton of air. N: Musty wood and spice. Vanilla. A hint of mineral and just a dash of banana sweetness. It's a lot more complex than I'm making it sound. It's a very good nose. I don't recall it smelling this good before, so the air must be largely to blame here. P: Sweet and light with a spicy (cinnamon and ginger) kick backed by some interesting depth from the musty wood and some moderately rich vanilla. There's some light banana sweetness coming out starting partway through and a layer of tartness from the sour mash throughout that occasionally develops a light cherry element. There's a bit of mineral here and there, but nothing too much. It's decently full, nut nothing amazing in that regard. It's perhaps also less full than I would expect considering the proof. I enjoy the palate well enough, but it isn't as complex or mature as the nose led me to believe. F: It turns more bitter on the finish with the wood persisting along with a bit of the banana and some spice. This is the least enjoyable part of the experience. - Conclusion - After taking in the nose, I was prepared to lavish this with praise in the way I have several other bourbons once they've been aerated for a while. The palate, despite being good, was a serious let down though and the finish left me even less enthusiastic. Despite that disappointment though, this seems decently competitive with Russell's Reserve 10 at a similar price point. I think I would probably prefer the Russell's Reserve a bit though. Or I'd take Elijah Craig Small Batch, Wild Turkey 101, or Early Times Bottled In Bond for substantially less. Overall, I'm going with a 16 for this. If I were to go anywhere from here, it would, unfortunately, be down to a 15.

New Hampshire Liquor store pick: Nose: a mix of ethanol and corn. Some may find it fruity, but I can’t get past the corn smell. Taste: a mix of floral and fruity with a bitter ending. Not very good in my opinion, but floral and fruity tend not to be my favorite flavor profile. The bitter ending makes it taste odd. I’ve had the bottle open for a few months now and still tastes the same as the neck pour.

Vanilla brown sugar up front bready banana finish almost no bite or burn.