Backbone Bourbon Uncut Single Barrel

After being surprised by the quality of their 4 year Rye I was excited to try the Bourbon Barrel pick from my local shop. Hopefully it is just as surprising, although this time my expectations are definitely higher. Nose is really sweet here. I would say caramel, but it's almost cola like to me. A little ethanol due to the young age, but not overpowering. First sip is caramel forward for sure. At 60% i expected this to be really hot, but it is surprisingly not. There is gentle cinnamon burn that starts mid sip, but never reaches the peak any barrel proof offerings do. The finish is quite warming as opposed to burning and fades of to a soft butter toffee close. Overall this isn't quite as surprising as the Rye. Lots of traditional bourbon flavors here done really well for a 5 year. They may not be the prettiest bottles in the world, but the juice inside is pretty damn good. Definitely recommend giving this brand a try if you see it on the shelf.

Illuminatos barrel pick