Down Home Kentucky Straight Bourbon 12 Year Batch 1

1. Sorry the picture I took I thought was better than what came through. Apologies. 2. I didn't love this when I first had it, but I had it recently in a tasting and it was so popular the raffle winner took this over the CYPB Weller. Anyway rumor is the 12 year is a single barrel and their is a 5.5 year which I believe there are 8 barrels of but don't quote me. Nose - Peanuts, light milk chocolate, some dusty corn, and just a lot of vanilla and funk. Taste - So I can tell you this, when I had it at the tasting this was awesome and I think for sure this one needs at least half an hour to open up in the glass, which is kinda an extreme thing for a 12 year bourbon. There's a lot of talk about this being possibly brown foreman's. I do get that chocolate here. There's a lot of dusty oak and corn and peanuts and vanilla. Gosh I can't get this to drink like the bottle did at the tasting and this being a single barrel I'd expected it to. It's too much of that oak and peanut for me to give this the score I'd want to give it. For me this is a barrel you blend to pass these over the top flavors into a whisky that came out flat, it's not a single barrel quality bottle. That said intense flavor, high proof, and a lot of quality elements. Gosh I wanted to put this in the 3's but I can't do it. That night at the tasting this was last among a lot of somewhat bad bourbons to be honest (despite being rare). 2.5, credit for the proof, credit for intense flavors, but you have to be so into the profile here to fall in love with this one. Re-review coming but as it has opened up and I've gotten more blind tastings with this, we're going into the 4.0 range. I completely misjudged this on the neck pour!