High West American Prairie Bourbon Barrel Select

Next up on my High West series is their American Prairie that was finished in brandy casks and bottled at 51% ABV. The nose starts with a mix of light sour lemon, grape must and pipe tobacco then dark chocolate covered almonds followed by pears, prunes and peach ring candy that transitions to mild earthy notes of leather and dusty oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy fruits that then veers towards a mild bitter spice that slowly fades to grape juice and pipe tobacco then dark chocolate covered toasted marshmallow followed by baked pears, apples and orange zest that transitions to black pepper, leather and mild bitter black tea with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate, espresso, freeze dried apples, raisins, ginger and a mild bitter oak spice. This is a very enjoyable dram that manages to enhance those typical bourbon flavors with the brandy finish adding some extra complexity, but the balance is slightly off with some mild bitterness on the palate and finish. These appear to cost under $40 which is a fantastic price for a tasty bourbon with some brandy notes that would be a great one to have around for a daily drinker. I'm not sure how @soonershrink manages to find all these great value picks, but a huge thank you for sharing this one with me.

Blackwell’s Winter Pick, Barrell #18365, finished 8 months in Amontillado cask, 49.1 ABV The amontillado adds a nice berry/nut component to the usual American Prairie notes, it’s a little rough around the edges and hot on the finish, yet somehow compelling to drink.

51% ABV, secondary aging in Brandy barrels. I've had the regular American Prairie, which I thought was an average to slightly above average bourbon. This was 34$, so I thought worth a flier. There was also a Double Rye Barrel Select with secondary aging in Grenache barrels, which I passed on. I had a pour of this next to the MWND and the MW is definitely the superior whiskey - the balance of deep dark fruit with the herbal rye is really nice, but this is a satisfying pour on it's own, and especially so at about 40% of the cost of the MW. There is some Brandy coming through on the nose along with pear, with underlying bourbon vanilla/caramel, but the palate opens up with juicy pear before transitioning to some rye-spiced bourbony finish. The finish concludes with a little bitter note as a reminder that the underlying bourbon is fairly average, but overall I'm pretty pleased with this, and especially so at the price.