Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve Bourbon

Batch 17 56.75. Full disclosure going in, I don't recall this being special or really anything to talk about, but reviews are done as I sample so let's see. Nose - First not was a bit of paint thinner. There's a bit of nutty notes. OK now opening up and I'm getting a lot of vanilla. Water gives me a lot more baking spices. A bit more oak too. I also get more caramel now and almost no vanilla. Taste - Nutty, bit of spice, oak. This has a bit of a beam note, not MGP oddly enough (this is MGP juice unless I've lost my mind, but I believe Belle Meade has a proprietary mash blend with them). With water I get a bit of cinnamon, maybe a baked apple (?). I'm getting another spice, something in the clove world. This is a much more complex whisky than I remember. It's much more on the spicy forward with a good amount of oak spice. Anyway, a nice bourbon, it's good, but it's nothing special. I'd love to try some of the other batches as I'm sure there are some exceptional ones but this one is a nice bourbon, I'm glad to have it on my shelf, I might even buy another, but it's nothing special either. OK so 2 vs 1.75 is rough. I want to give this a 2 but when I think of a 2.0 it has to be something that if priced well (cheap for me or whoever buys) I'd gladly get it. This is more I might maybe grab another one but I'm not excited about it, it's just something different to have.

Picked this up on a hunch. So glad I did. 120 proof and on so tasty. The nose is amzing. I get cinnamon, all spice, cherry, and orange. Taste is just as good. Nice heat and taste of red hots candy, cinnamon spice, apple, and oak. The Finnish is long lasting and really tingles the mouth. A splash of water opens this wonderful whiskey up to A whole nother level. Great stuff. One of my current favorites.

Batch 22, 116.3 proof. Neat from a Glencairn glass. Lots of spicy cinnamon on the nose, charred orange peel and vanilla. Very slight hint of mint. Proof doesn’t stand out. Sweet caramel, vanilla, maple and brown sugar galore on the front of the palate with barrel spice, oak and red hots on the back. Really like how it starts sweet then slides to spicy. Oily and full bodied. Nice punch from the Cask Strength. Long lasting spicy finish with more brown sugar. Man that finish hangs around for a while! Almost like pop rocks. Solid MGP stuff that I will always have on hand if can be found. Definitely in my top 5. Cold weather, by the fire sipper for sure.

Just an outstanding bourbon! Nice heat but tempered with an incredible honey taste. Cask strength way to go!