Belle Meade Bourbon Sherry Cask Finish

Sweet/sherry up front with soft mellow burn.

- Nose: bright and sweet fruit. sherry notes (grape, raspberry), vanilla, cherry syrup, brown sugar, lemon - Taste: Luxard cherry syrup with traditional Bourbon notes, such as honey, vanilla, and oak. They’re more bright, toasted oak notes compared to the charred oak in something like Woodford. Getting milk chocolate cherry cordials. Finish is sweet cherry with vanilla and oak.

It's that time again. That magical time of year when all the "Best Whiskey of the Year" lists come out. I've been searching around and found that most of these lists consist of highly aged Scotch and limited release or allocated Bourbon, and while I'm sure these drams are delicious, the fact remains that most of us will likely never taste most of these, so over the next five days, I present to you this longhorn's humble top 5 whiskies of 2020. Most of us could agree that this was not our best year. However, all the time spent at home resulted in expanded imbibing of our favorite brown beverage. This is the criteria for my list: (1) The whiskey has to be readily available on store shelves. No special releases. This means the most excellent Wild Turkey Masters Keep expressions I tried and rated this year are out, though you should feel confident to buy on sight. (2) Every dram on my list is $80 or less. Everyone should be able to taste great whiskey, and yes, I realize my definition of "great" might be different than others, but that's the fun of what we all do here, and (3) I had to have tasted it in 2020. None of the whiskies on my list were released this year, but this year is when I finally got around to them. Coming in at #3 is perhaps the most unique entrant on my list this year. Once derided, MGP juice is now sought after product in its well-aged format, which seems to hit its stride around 9-11 years. Some of these "craft" startups that build a line around MGP product are starting to come into their own, either by aging the juice further, doing unique cask finishes, or in the case of this bottle, both. I wanted to included the Wild Turkey Masters Keep Revival on this list, but it violates my rule of no special releases. This bottle is still readily available and checks all the right boxes for a finished bourbon. Finishing a bourbon in sherry casks is different than finishing a Scotch/Irish/Japanese whisky in a sherry cask. The latter tends to be dominated with the sherry, making it a much more sherry-forward experience. Because bourbon is a...feistier spirit shall we say, I want the sherry to complement and envelop the bourbon, not mask its inherent spicy, caramel flavors. This bottle achieves this splendidly, with a oaky, spicy, mature MGP bourbon wrapped in a fruity, jammy sherry blanket. If you're not careful, you'll find yourself with an empty bottle faster than you'd like. At around $80 depending on your market, this is the most expensive bottle on my list this year. If that's a bit steep for your budget, may I also recommend the equally excellent Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve for about $20 less depending on your market. Cheers!

Interesting smell and flavor with the sherry finish, first finished bourbon I’ve enjoyed