Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve Bourbon

The juicy herbal flavor with licorice is really nice actually. The sweetness sis smooth and balanced with a nice toffee and juicy, fruity, licorice element. It kind of pops and although there is plenty of spice, that part still comes through. This tastes a bit more sophisticated than Booker's, with the rawness reduced. Either the blending of barrels or the additional age shows itself in giving this such a rich roundness. This is really a superb drink that takes some time to appreciate. The wood is there, some coffee and tobacco are there, spices come in. It's all there, but it's rich, delicious, and complex. The tannins are a bit harsh but relatively few, causing an eventual aggressive numbing, but this is still a really good drink. At the moment, although this has substantial vanilla, it has less than Booker's Shiny Barrel, but it also has less aggressiveness. This is a more mature drink to be sure, but it does take some effort to observe the flavors. The two are quite comparable in quality (both being very good), but their styles are different. In direct comparison with Booker's Kitchen Table, this is clearly better. It's smoother with more fullness and richness and a nicer balance. It certainly tatstes more aged. Booker's country ham is harsher, but has some nice flavors with a tad of complexity, so it is more comparable. It's fairly comparable to Booker's Shiny Barrel, but it's more balanced with a bit more richness. I would probabaly take this over any of the Booker's. It's very good. The balance seems better than that of McKenna 10, though the overall profile has less pizazz. I think I'd take this still.

I love MGP juice. The Belle Meade brand revival was pure genius! I enjoy this as a workhorse batch proof option. It has changed a lot as the bottle has gone down. It’s a little unbalanced with flavors and the nose is pretty hot but it is almost a 120 proof whiskey. It handles ice well which validates that I really enjoy the regular 90 proof Belle Meade quite well neat. This batch is a cherry bomb and gives a nice Indiana hug. There are glimpses of a salted caramel and pipe tobacco which I just love. I will say though that while I enjoy this offering, I would go single barrel MGP cask strength if given a chance as some have real magic in them. This is a decent value at 60 bucks but it isn’t a steal. Enjoy!

This is nice.

Initial oak taste with a burning finish

Burnnnnn

Omg WOW! It's a little pricey, but so good. Dont let the 120.8 proof scare you, definitely a sipper, but easy to drink. Batch #19-01 Bottle #892

I added one ice cube and that really opened up some great flavors. Pretty heavy Vanilla, cinnamon, oak, Carmel. Delicious