Garrison Brothers Balmorhea 2020

Rating: 19/23 I recently tasted the 2021 Balmorhea and although I liked it, I found it underwhelming considering the hype and the price. Maybe this was a better vintage though. N: A touch of must to the dusty, slightly sawdusty oak. Substantial vanilla and some spices in the cinnamon and clove range. A faint hint of tart, bitter orange peel. After a couple of minutes of sniffing, some chocolate and polished wood come out. There's also a faint meaty youthfulness, but there's very little of it. It's not all that bad, but it is a slight negative. It does come with a bit of an alcohol bite, but that's entirely expected at this proof. A touch of leather in here too. Not the most complex nose, but it's fairly rich and hedonistic. P: Rich and full with polished wood and some chocolate blended together, opposing a blast of spice (black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and just some prickly burn). The spice is actually surprisingly prickly. There's a little leather too, leading into some full oakiness that's a little sawdusty. There's a bit of an oversteeped bitterness to the oak and also some vanilla coming off of it, but it really isn't that over-steeped. There's actually more of a nice, rich virgin oak vanilla mixed with sweet corn that doesn't quite taste like caramel. F: Vanilla remains alongside some minerals. Some more interesting spices come out briefly. I get dried orange peel alongside cardamom and black tea for a moment. The tannins do linger. - Conclusion - Compared with the 2021 Balmorhea, this is less oaky. Specifically, it is less over-oaked. The 2021 is richer with less of a spicy alcohol bite, but it's also less nuanced. I like the core flavor here better because it's less over-oaked, but that spicy bite really is not appealing and there is certainly something to be said about the fullness of the 2021. Resilient 15 (18/23) is a bit lighter than this, but it isn't as much lighter as I initially expected it to be. I get some burn off of the Resilient as well, but not as much as I get off of this. The Resilient is a bit more complex, but it lacks the great polished wood flavor and some of the other nice rich ones that this has. I wouldn't put this too far below the Resilient, but I do think that the Resilient is a little better. Booker's Shiny Barrel (19/23) has more burn than this does, so that makes me reconsider docking this so much for its burniness. The Booker's is more challenging, but it does have more going on and I rather like that about it. I can see an argument for this being a 19, but I don't personally buy it. I had been considering a 16 because of the burn though and I now think that's out of the question. A 17 to 19. I'm increasingly thinking of giving this an 18 as the spicy bite seems decreasingly important. I might seriously consider a 19 now too. I'm thinking that the flavor here is better than in the Balmorhea 2021. This still doesn't strike me as good value for the money, but it's in the range that I would be OK with paying its price, particularly given its uniqueness. I'm increasingly considering a 19 for this. For a moment, I even considered a 20. I think this is getting a 19. What pushed me over the line here is that although this burns more than the super smooth 2021, this still really doesn't burn as much as drams like Booker's and Old Forester 1920. Still, this is a low 19 and I wouldn't be surprised if I dropped it to an 18 on a subsequent tasting. Thank you, @pkingmartin , for this sample! It's good to know that my bottle of the 2021 just isn't up to the normal standards (though maybe it will improve over time) and I'm glad to now better understand what everyone is talking about when they wax poetic about Balmorhea.

Very unique. Fruity undertones

The nose is incredibly rich starting with buttery cornbread topped with rich wildflower honey then comes chocolate covered candied pecans leading into orange peel and cherry cough drops that finishes with hay, rising cinnamon roll dough and old sun-soaked barn with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a rich mouthfeel starting with wildflower honey covered cornbread, orange peel and cherry cough drops then comes a high tannic oak spice like a burnt piece of whole wheat toast covered with jalapeño peppers that slowly fades to reveal spent espresso grounds and rising cinnamon roll dough along with a high ethanol burn. The finish is long with burnt whole wheat toast, candied pecans, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, orange peel, cherry syrup, cinnamon red hots, golden mill flour and over steeped black tea. This one has a wonderful nose with big, bold bourbon flavors that continues on the taste with a rich mouthfeel, but on the mid-palate it then gravitates towards an overly tannic bitterness that overpowers the flavors until finally fading enough for additional flavors to come through in the long finish. I was able to taste the 2021 version which has rectified the highly tannic issue with a more balanced oak, so here’s hoping 2022 will be dialed in even better.

Nose - rich caramel, vanilla, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon bun, cocoa, marshmallow, powdered sugar, rich oak, graham cracker, brown sugar, sweet apple, candied pecan, mint, earth vegetal notes, clay, white pepper, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - salted caramel, baked apple, cherry, clove, nutmeg, sweet dough, vanilla, cinnamon, dark chocolate, mint, rich tannic oak, burnt brown sugar, pecan, walnut, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium length with salted caramel, sweet dough, dark chocolate, and baking spice flavors. With my final Garrison Brothers review, I’m tasting the 2020 version of Balmorhea. It’s rich and sweet, as expected. The nose has that characteristic cinnamon bun aroma, along with the standard caramels, vanillas, chocolates, and baking spices. There are some mint and spicy vegetal notes in the mix as well. The palate carries the sweet dessert flavors with some minty heat in the background. I’d be remiss if I didn’t compare this side by side with my bottle of 2021 Balmorhea. The noses are rather similar, but there are some notable differences on the palate. Not so much in the flavors, but definitely with the mouthfeel and finish. The 2020 is slightly brighter, thinner, and more tannic. The 2021 is thick and buttery with a longer finish that exhibits more pleasing dark chocolate notes as the flavors fade. So the 2021 version is a small step above the 2020, but this is great bourbon in its own right. Many thanks to @pkingmartin for the sample and for setting up this fun comparison.