Eight & Sand Blended Bourbon

Nose: mgp spice, vanilla, charcoal, more ethanol than expected for 88p Palate: sweet, thin, butterscotch Finish: short with late burn, touch of mint

Taste: Neat in glen cairn Nose: (3) Initially alot of ethanol on the nose but then it disappears. Lots of vanilla and spice. Some younger wood notes. Reminescent of a wood shop but in a good sort of your grandpa is building something by hand in the shop and you are helping him out type of way. Nose is a bit young. Palate (3.75): Spice and vanilla forward with cinnamon like red-hot candies. Offers a sweetness but not cloyingly or artificial. Not bad, the palate is better than the nose. Addition of water helped the cinnamon settle down a little and opened up some sweet cherry. Finish (3.5): A bit thin and dry is my biggest complaint. Stays woody on the mid palate. The saw dust from grandpa's woodshop takes over a bit. Oak blooms with a warming finish that seems better than its proof. Overall: I would have liked to see MGP pick one bourbon, give it time in the barrel, and come up with a bourbon barrel proof offering like they did with the rye Rossville Union which I very much enjoyed. I think the blending of some older whiskeys with younger ones made this a tad disjointed. It plays a bit young and woody on the back end, but the pieces for a great one are all there, just a little underdeveloped and maybe not enough mesh. I would not kick it off the shelf at the 29/bottle price because it is a quality juice and will be nice for sipping or mixing. The dry finish and the "sand" in the name though will bring a bit of comparison when sipping with bourbon friends. Five stars for the old timey bottle and steam train reference. Reminds me of the show "Hell on Wheels."

Brown sugar and spice on the nose. Slightly spicy at first, very little burn to it, quickly switching to cinnamon and brown sugar. Thoroughly enjoyed it. No buyers remorse on this one.

It’s got great flavor with a little burn on the back side. But very enjoyable for the price.