Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Bourbon

Smells like sour apple pie, served a la mode. Very sharp on the palate, almost acidic. Tastes like it smells - apples, cinnamon, oak. Lingering warmth on the back end. Finish is dry. Overall, the mouthfeel is a bit thin. After a few minutes there's more vanilla on the nose, and some complexities arise on the palate - creamed corn, herbal bitterness, and baking spices that stick to the throat. A no-brainer purchase at retail, it has layers that most in this price range don't have. Am I scouring the countryside to hoard bottles even at current secondary prices? No. 6/7/17 All of the above, plus a floral note that surprised me. Still complex. Great at retail price. 7/3/18

This is good bourbon at a (sometimes) fair price. Nose is fairly mild, with moderate sugar, vanilla and oak predominant. A wisp of peppermint hides in the background, but is easier to find after a few minutes in the glass. Palate opens rich, smooth and warm, with tart apples most predominant, almost immediately giving way to caramelized brown sugar and vanilla. Rob's reference to apple crisp with vanilla ice cream is spot-on! The wood shows up leading into the finish, and while it's quite astringent, it's not objectionable in this setting. The finish itself is where that hidden mint comes out to play, but only briefly, before the wood and cinnamon heat close the show. Inexperienced whisky folk may find this part to be a bit hot, but experienced palates will find here that there's actually a distinction between wintergreen and peppermint, and maybe even a bit of eucalyptus like a cough drop. Very, very good bourbon. Sweet, but not overly sweet. Spicy but not too hot. Smooth, but you still know you're drinking whiskey. In a word: Balanced. Much more a 4.5 than a 4. Now for the elephant in the room...price. I bought 6 bottles of this more than a year ago for $32 each. Since then, I've seen them range from the same $32 in well-stocked stores for a short time before they're sold-out, to over $600 on sites like wine-finder. Whisky speculators seem to attach to liquid from Frankfort like wasps to carrion (an apt analogy if ever there was), and that might cause fear for those that have an unopened bottle. I know I thought twice before I opened my last one, and that makes me sad. Let me be perfectly clear; this is NOT $600 bourbon. It's not even $100 bourbon. Things get fuzzy around the $50 mark, as I believe that's where the regulars who inhabit that price range (any Col E.H. Taylor as an example) start to offer a better product. If you can find this for under $50, buy it. If you can find it for under $40, buy 6. If it was more reliably available, this would be my everyday bourbon because it does so much, so well. Until that day comes to pass, I'll keep looking for "dusters" on hidden shelves and bringing home EW Single Barrel or Beam 12yr.

Delicious 2 years ago, when I had my first bottle, Jan 2017, and yesterday WHEN I FOUND ME A $20 OVER RETAIL BOTTLE IN New York $65👍

Very smooth and well balanced. It isn't super complex, but it has just the right amount of smoke, spice, and sweetness. If it were more readily available, I could easily make this one my daily drinker.