Buffalo Trace White Dog #1

Very strong flavor with a long lingering flavor with that slow burn going down

First uncorking 🍾 Let sit for about 5 minutes. 👀: Clear as day, looks like tequila pretty much; legs are pretty thin and stays on the wall; 👃: Very strong ethanol notes, maybe some corn, but straight ethanol; 👅: Wow, this shit is oily!; corn taste shines forth; very one-dimensional; tastes like the Lalo high proof; 🏁: Very, very short finish; can't believe how smooth it is; might want to pace yourself or else you'll be ducked up; ethanol is strong at the end.

Nose: Sweet corn, creamed corn, ethanol, and a touch of malty funk. Palate: Thick and oily. Ethanol and creamed corn. Finish: The raw taste feels like it lasts forever. Summary: Is it good? Not really. Should you try New Make spirits if you're really into whiskey? Absolutely. These will challenge you and give you an appreciation of what barrel aging does. There is actual good New Make out there, but this isn't one of them.

I reviewed this just over two years ago, in August of 2022. Since then I've found that putting in just a little water improves what's already great stuff, and this review is of the juice with water. This bottle cost me $22.99 at Total Wine, which is a couple or three dollars less than the previous one. It's just a pint (375ml - I don't think in metric measurements), it's 125 proof, there's no age statement since it's never been in a barrel, and in the glass it's clear. It's Buffalo Trace's mash bill #1, but other than it having the standard bourbon ingredients - corn, rye, and barley - I can't learn what that mash bill is. NOSE: It's very grain forward, which you'd expect from something straight off the still. Sometimes I can sort out the three different grains on the nose, and sometimes I can't, especially with water. There's a little mustiness also, that seems to connect mainly to the corn, a vegetal note that I presume comes from the rye, and something that makes me think of wet wood or wool. That doesn't sound terribly appetizing, but in fact I like it. MOUTHFEEL: Creamy - three or four drops of water don't materially alter this, since it's so viscous to begin with. TASTE: There's just one note, but it contains multiple things - the note is honey butter with cinnamon. FINISH: Medium, with red pepper and honey butter. SUMMARY: I find in my handwritten notes here that the date of the previous review was August 14, 2022, so it's been just over a year and a month. It took me a long time to decide to experiment with the juice, but when I first reviewed it I hadn't even been drinking whisky for a year and I didn't know what water and ice could do. Ice ruins this, but just a little water really helps (it's good without, but for some reason after the first glass from this bottle it began smelling and tasting, in the glass, like it's rotting, though from the nose of the bottle it smells and tastes fine). This is a simple whisky of necessity, since it hasn't received any benefit from aging; this is why straight from the still, the way our ancestors drank it. But it's good to begin with, and with a little water it's very good. RATING: On my hick scale I have to rate it somewhat lower than I'd like to, just because it's such a simple whisky. If it were more complex, and retained its current character otherwise, it would have a higher rating. What I gave it is the fifth on my scale (1 is the lowest, and 8 is the highest on this scale), Good. That converts to 3.125 stars, and either 62.5/100 or 6.25/10.