Bib & Tucker 6 Year Small Batch Bourbon

A bit smoky for a bourbon

The nose is nice and rounded. There are sweet dried fruit notes with a hint of raspberry syrup. Rich toffee, some wood, a hint of chocolate. The flavors don't hit you in the face, but they balance nicely. It smells sweet and tasty. The palate has more of a dry mineral rye note than expected that comes right out, but it fits nicely with the fruitiness. Some nice sweet fruit makes its way out in short order - the raspberry playing a starting role without tasting particularly tart. The balance is nice with the wood coming in with an earthy clover presence that brings in soft tannins without being too numbing. It's always sweet on the finish and there's just enough heat to keep up the cinnamon profile and keep it from tasting flat. The mouthfeel is moderate and helps to make up for some of the light flavor. There's a nice balance in here, though it isn't terribly interesting. It's a bit like watered-down Booker's, though perhaps with a little more cohesion and subtlety. A little tobacco and eucalyptus come in at points, but they are quite mild. I just wish it had a bit more distinction to its flavors and some more robustness to its flavor. It definitely tastes like a blended whiskey. That nice low burn keeps it alive though. When I come back to it after a dip of water though, I realize that I'm really grasping for those complexities. It's quite flat and disappointingly weak. It definitely reminds me of somewhat sweeter (and better) Evan Williams. It's definitely sippable, but not a big success. It's too light for sure - it definitely doesn't taste 6 years old.