Belle Meade Bourbon Sherry Cask Finish

batch 18-12 bottle 1379 I feel perhaps we need to discuss batches on this one more and this is going to be a case of this. Nose - sweet baby fruits and brown sugars. Sharp alcohol notes, really surprising on this, but yeah alcohol bites at 46%. Tart and tannic oak, very bitter. Those oak notes are tough to get past. Raisins and dates and all kinds of dark fruits with little sweetness are really strong here on the mid to finish of the nose. Up front no bourbon sweetness but it's there, just hard to get to. Taste - Dry, bitter, HEAVY oak and then on the finish it transitions to more oak. Not that vanilla barrel influenced oak, but more just a dry wood plank. There's just this light fruity sherry thing that's generic and boring that then gives way to the tannins. I'd give a more complete review but I can't get past the oak. This is one of the least enjoyable finished bourbons I have had. There is a good whisky in here, but it's been killed. I"m at a 1 star. That said I think some batches are less oaked and you'll enjoy them. But I want to be clear, this is a different oak than over oaked old whisky. It's young oak over oaked and I like that even less.

Warm amber color, legs turn into sheets. Nose is warm, rich vanilla, apricot, dates... a puff of pipe smoke, maybe a hint of peanut. Thick and smooth, virtually no burn. The mouthfeel alone is enough to leave me wanting more. The palate follows the nose and is bourbon forward with a warm wood and faintly spiced sensation transitioning into an oily Sherry finish that lasts several minutes. As I look beyond classic bourbon I would say this is a new favorite. It hits all the right notes from the nose, to the smooth and viscous palate to the oily Sherry finish... At $80 it’s no bargain and could have even more of a salty sherry kick but I’m a fan. The cask strength is gonna be on my hunting list...

Very smooth and full of flavor. I smell and taste caramel and spice. Doesn’t make my nose burn.

Still loving this so very much after a few tastings. It’s a rollercoaster and I love it. Nose is very much sherry. As if you took a complex Cabernet and poured a well aged whiskey into it. Very fruit forward, but elements of vanilla and pecan are present. It is dramatically different from the bulleit 10 year, which would be a comparable MGP mashbill but aged and finished in a very different way. Taste begins with candied nuts and vanilla, which develops into a strong cinnamon spice from the MGP rye. In contrast to the start of the taste, it’s almost overwhelmingly spicy. The spice fades, giving way to caramel and barrel notes. I am very much a fan.

Tasted as part of the cask finish 3x 375ml pack (Sherry, Madeira & Cognac.) I tend to be a purist and don't always enjoy cask finishes but Belle Meade has a way of making the cask finish shine while maintaining a balance with the bourbon. I prefer the sherry the most, then the maderia and then the cognac. All three are quite smooth. The sherry has a nice sweetness to it and is the most interesting. The maderia has an earthy flavor and a medium sweetness. The cognac is definitely the hottest of the three. $100 for 3x 375ml

Now this is a whiskey nerd's whiskey. First, the details. This is 9-11 year old high rye MGP bourbon (aged just right in my opinion), which is then further finished in what I'm guessing are quality, fresh Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, not tired used ones like some Scotch distillers are using (cough...Highland Park). I'm reviewing batch 19-01, bottle 154 (love the details and transparency). There's a lot of MGP bourbon on the market. A lot of startups and craft distillers are using it, some larger brands like Bulleit use it, and these guys at Nelson's Green Brier are using it. Some people get snobby about sourced whiskey, but I've noticed that everyone who does source it does something to it, such as age it longer or finish it in something else. If you've read my reviews for a while now you know I'm a huge sherry head, so this seemed like a well met match. The nose isn't what you'd expect. While you can detect the sherry finish, with all the classic fruit and nuts, the bourbon isn't masked or covered up. You can instantly tell the rye spice is there, but the sherry finish has almost sanded down the rough edges, balancing it out and complementing the MGP bourbon rather than compromising it; enhancing the overall experience. The taste is magnificent. All the hype on this is worthy. Usually a high rye, well-aged bourbon smacks you in the face on first visit (think Knob or Turkey). This would do that were it not for the sherry, which again, complements the bourbon and enhances it rather than masking it. The classic caramel, vanilla, and rye spice are balanced with a fruity, velvety coat that initially confuses the experienced palate, but repeat visits present a cohesive portrait combining the best of old and new world techniques. The lingering notes on the finish are reminiscent of raspberry dark chocolate ganache and caramel praline, with a lingering spicy sweetness that begs you to go back for more. A finished bourbon isn't really such an outrageous notion. When the early American settlers were making rye and corn whiskies, there weren't always new, charred oak barrels to use (That process wasn't adopted until the late 1700's). Rather, the settlers would use what barrels they had on hand, which were often fortified wine casks from Spain and Portugal. In a way, this bourbon and its Madiera finished cousin are a possible snapshot of what early American whiskey tasted like. That's about the tastiest history lesson I've ever received. Cheers all!