Belle Meade Reserve Bourbon

Definitely has a spice but not a hot spice. Smooth spice. Great flavor. Love it!

Excellent easy to drink, smooth with a bit of sweetness

Open 1 month Nose - Charred oak, salted caramel and honey, toffee, rye spices, light berries and stone fruits, medium ethanol. Palate - Burst of honey and caramel sweetness, apples and melons, toasted oak, light ethanol. The medium-long finish builds with strong rye spices, oak, burnt caramel, and cinnamon apples. This is a delightful bourbon, and it's awesome to see this regularly on ABC shelves. I thought the Belle Meade Bourbon was one of the best low proof bourbons I've ever had, so I grabbed this as soon as it was available. It is excellent, but is it an upgrade over the standard 90.4 proof? In my opinion, they're pretty damn similar despite being 8.95% abv different. The question is, is this worth the upgrade? That is tricky because NC recently lowered the MSRP from $50 to $45, so I would've said yes at $50 and no at its current price. (I picked this up in SC for $41.) Either way, you can't go wrong with Belle Meade. But if you see the 108.3 proof Reserve priced $15+ more, then I would just pick up the 90.4 proof.

Nothing special...just another high proof bourbon with the usual tasting notes.

Oak with a hard cherry note at the end

Drinking this neat, neck pour. Nose starts with apricot big light caramel, light oak, hints of vanilla, toasty. Maybe a tinge of white chocolate. Finish is tobacco early with a bit of oiliness. Come through on the sweeter, honey side. Overall good, I hope to try cask strength from years past soon to compare. Not sure if the bottle price warrants, especially if MGP <9yr average.