Blackened Whiskey

Nose: musty fruits, candy hearts, barrel char, slight baking spices, vanilla. Taste: wood, sour fruit, and a muddling of the nose notes. More: I really wanted to love this whiskey. But it's sort of a mess. Are there interesting notes there? Yes. But they are so muddled together and messy it's hard to pick it apart. In general this whiskey feels like a rushed product. They wanted it in a year so they rushed the sourcing, rushed the "aging" and came out with a rushed product. I love Dave Pickerel, I love a lot of what he did. I don't love this whiskey. Is it bad? No... Is it good? Maybe... Do I love it? No. I am glad it is at a fair price point.

The nose leads into tough whiskey, like rye and bourbon, but then you can smell some sweetness, likely from the brandy. The taste is mellow and a tad harsh at the same time, and is kind of like a choose your own adventure; swallow it without air and you get a heated, smooth finish, but inhale after the finish, and all of a sudden a sweet, friendly whiskey appears.

Batch 91. Musty orange, oak, cinnamon and ethanol on the nose, pretty sweet and smooth with barrel spices on the palate, spicy, peppery medium finish. A splash of water does this no favors. The nose turns sickeningly sweet and the palate becomes harsh.