Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon

This is a classic bourbon. Great flavor and very consistent. Seems to be easier to find in Virginia than Buffalo Trace, though a bit pricier. Great vanilla flavors, touch of oak. Good stuff

February 2018: ER10 has a very polite way of introducing some of the more "intermediate-advanced" bourbon tasting notes and is very "smooth," while being at a very approachable price point. That being said, certain barrel picks can be a real trip. October 2017: Probably deserves better than 4/5, but the heat up front is just a tad distracting even if it does actually contribute to the balance. Nose is inviting, warm, but lively, like a baking pumpkin pie. Taste is immediately slammed with some alcohol heat that is very persistent and spicy, but it complements the cranberry orange peel notes of the nose that you get in the taste which, are draped over a malty backbone. The richness would be reminiscent of port immediately, but the distracting spiciness confuses that idea before some intense study and a few fingers. With time to open and oxidize, the recurring themes are heat, prunes, maybe dark cherries cloves, allspice, and caramel. It's something that I go back and forth about whether i'd keep it always on the shelf or not, but when it fits the mood, it does a damn good job for its price band. Overall though good value for a $29 bottle! Very malt forward but it's great on a chilly evening by a fire for sure. Would do great to complement a pipe with a Balkan blend or a habano wrapper cigar. N: citrus peel, apricot, brown sugar, baking spices T: Malt, licorice, nutmeg, hazelnut/pecan, vanilla, prunes F: leather, spice, port, oak