Garrison Brothers HoneyDew

Sweet throughout but pretty flat

This is not flavored whiskey. This is bourbon with honey essentially t-bagged into it for a little bit, and then proofed down to 80. I initially had low expectations because of this, but I was pleasantly surprised. It has all the dusty, woody caramel, sweet tea, and spice I would expect from GB, and a light kiss from the honey. Not even close to being too sweet. I used it to mix a couple times, but I think I prefer it neat. Solid buy at its retail price in the mid 60s.

Rating: 12/23 N: There's that classic Garrison Brothers sawdust, though it's a bit more mellow here, possibly due to the lower proof. Then I get a kind of vegetal grassiness with some sweetness like slightly watered down clover honey, mixed with some bitter herbal smell that must be the bitter side of the honey. I still get some of that sweet corn with the sawdust in here, but not a ton of it and there aren't many distinct smells to it. P: What hits me first is bourbon, but obviously low proof bourbon. The sawdust with some corn sweetness. Then the sweet honey hits with its vegetal and bitter backing. The bitterness is flatter than I'd expected. This is pretty watery though. It's hard to pick out much complexity and that honey flavor comes across as kind of brash. A dash of milk chocolate, which would explain that vegetal flavor a bit if there were actual milk chocolate used to make this. A little grassy at times. F: Really just watery with some washed out wood, like teabags being steeped for the third or fourth time. A little honey sweetness and bitterness, but not much. It's sort of like drinking a highball at the end of an evening of tasting, when my palate is fairly tired. I'm not liking this. - Conclusion - This is disappointingly a bit watery and isn't as sweet or hedonistic as I'd expected it to be, especially when put side by side with Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey. I'm torn because this is better as a bourbon, but it's also not a great bourbon, whereas the Jack Daniel's actually is a liqueur and it owns that identity. The regular Garrison Brother Small Batch (14) is fuller with more complexity, and a more coherent identity. Between the two, I'd take the regular Garrison Brothers, and it's just an OK whiskey. So there's no way this is getting a 14. Comparing mellow, fairly sweet whiskeys, I'd probably take Buffalo Trace (which I currently have at an 11, but have to believe I underrated) over this too. I might take Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star (12) over this as well, but that's a closer call. I think I'll be going with a 12 for this, though I could see a 13 and an 11 isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. If this were several percent higher in proof, I could imagine going up a point or two, but at the end of the day I'm not convinced that lightly honeyed was that good of a concept here. I really thought it would be, but I see problems in how it worked out here. I'd be curious to see a batch of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof done with some honey-soaked cubes and a batch of this done with ones soaked in grade B maple syrup. Those seem like they might be better combinations. This tastes like clover honey was used, which is far too light for a bold bourbon like Garrison Brothers. Thank you, @ctbeck11 for the sample!

The honey isn’t overwhelming, but it hits you quickly and then disappears. You get the classic Texas whiskey oak flavor in there, too.

Nose - rich honey, raw cinnamon bun dough, salted caramel, vanilla, brown butter, marshmallow, sweet oak, graham cracker, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - honey syrup, cinnamon bun, apple, salted caramel, frosted wheat, vanilla, sweet floral notes, candied pecan, melted chocolate, toasted oak, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with honey, caramel, and toasted oak flavors. I’m heading south from Waco to Hye, Texas for the next few days and reviewing some Garrison Brothers releases. My first thought was to wonder why I’m paying $80 for a bottle of 40% alcohol that’s not far off from a flavored whiskey. But I bought it anyway, since I’ve had extremely positive experiences with Garrison Brothers. This is an interesting experiment, and I think they pulled it off. The nose and palate are both dominated by honey and doughy cinnamon buns. There are other aromas and flavors, but they’re relegated to the background. I’m actually not disappointed in the low proof. It’s thick and rich as it is. This is good whiskey, but it’s not great whiskey. I wouldn’t buy this again at $80. It feels more like a $50 dram. I’m willing to shell out for the Balmorheas and Cowboys, but this doesn’t deserve the premium.