Four Gate Batch 15.3 The Bluegrass Trilogy

Very soft rum start with a long tawny finish. Rich and warm and vanilla

Nose - plumbs and raisins with oak spice and layers of dark fruity elements over a caramel base. Make ZERO mistake, alcohol is here and it's NOT subtle. There's an element of pretty young heaven hill based bourbon to me. Still it's pretty darn fruity and very nice. Taste - BIG, really bold bourbon with huge layers of vanilla and dark fruits, light chocolates, and all kinds of sweet sweet elements here. But then we get all this really aggressive pure bourbon elements. I have to say, this has really improved since opening and drinking about 40% of it. It's really nicely done and I have to give credit here, the younger bourbons have with time become less prevalent and I'm digging this one a lot more. Surprisingly strong score here at 3.0. Even the smallest drop of water really mellows some of bitter oak notes and pushes more sweetness and creamy mouthfeel out.

Neat. Neck pour. This is the third act in the trilogy. Each act they add a new layer of finishing. I was able to buy this one by itself and, of course, went for the max finishing. Port, Sherry and Dark Rum. Yum. The bourbon is a blend of 6, 9, and 12 year Kentucky bourbons. Based on the mash, the 12 year is Barton. For a $200 bottle, hopefully it is more 12 year than 6 year. A bit nervous about that at the price but Four Gate continually blows me away. On the nose, it is far more subtle than I was expecting. First thought was raisin cinnamon bread. The port is coming through, almost like a plum juice. Getting a nice layer of raspberry flavored milk chocolate. Along the same lines, it is like Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chip ice cream. Ooo there is a layer of cheese cake too. This has more depth than initially let on. Lots of fruit, very dark, and bourbon is definitely hiding behind all the finishing. The nose is delightful. On the taste, mouthfeel is quite creamy. The initial flavors on the tongue are fantastic. Super, lip puckering sweet. Vanilla ice cream and that cheese cake hit immediately. That raisin cinnamon bread is there too. Mid-palate is all about that Black Raspberry Chip. Those notes carry through to the finish which lasts for days. That chocolate really hangs. Getting a layer of vanilla icing on subsequent sips. Getting a root beer on the finish too. Absolute flavor bomb. The flavors on this are intense and dialed up. The finish really sticks. You can chew it. Never had anything that hits these notes, I like it a lot. The finish is still with me, it’s been like 2 min. since the last sip and I am tasting waves of flavors. I’m not going to buy the whole trilogy but this intrigues me enough to consider it. See how each layer of finishing adds to it.