J.T.S. Brown Bottled In Bond

Nose: Sweet cinnamon with a bit of spice and heat. Palate: brown sugar and spice dominant, followed by distant caramel. Not a lot of depth otherwise. Overall: All in all, this is such a great value whiskey. If you like a sweet brown sugar bomb (I myself do), this is something that should always be in your bar.

Brown sugar for daaaays! Can't believe this is only a 20. Dollar bottle. So good for the price tag

Rating: 6/23 I know that this is a cheap bourbon, but I've read comparatively favorable things and considering that it's bottled in bond from Kentucky (i.e. not a really cold state), I have hopes. N: Oof. Thin and light with minerality and sugar water. Hints of corn sweetness. Maybe a touch of banana. An odd note of bitterness as well, but the alcohol doesn't particularly stand out. P: Oof again. The alcohol comes right our and burns. It's mixed in with sugar water and bold barrel spices. I do get hints of grass and banana as well. A hint of cherry, even. Maybe a faint caramel. F: Some sweetness lingers and the sugar water aspect of it is downplayed. There are spices as well. I get heat, but not as much burn as I'd expected. Hints of floral vanilla. Honestly, this is the best part of this dram by a large margin. - Conclusion - This is aggressive and hard to drink. It isn't balanced or mature, though I suppose there is some complexity. It's challenging and unpleasant, though not the worst bourbon I've tasted. King's Creek 4 (9/23) crushes this with its maturity, floral fruitiness, complexity, and delicacy. This is painful. As a double check, Early Settler (10/23) is way richer, fuller, tastier, and less fiery than this is. There's no contest. This is tragically going to be at most a 7. I think a 4 would be too harsh, but this is bad. I'm leaning toward a 6. Coming back to this a few days later, a 6 seems about right. A 4 still does seem on the harsh side, but I can imagine it. This is certainly not as high as an 8 because it burns so much.

I'll provide this brief review twice. This whiskey noses very grainy and lacks notable complexity with some stale wood notes. Flavor is sweet with notes of caramel and a circus peanut vibe. Short finish. Ok, round two - this is one of the best values you will find. No, it isn't complex, and it doesn't belong on the top shelf, but there are no true off flavors (the wood thing does kind of get me on the nose...it isn't a pleasant oak), but there is enough depth to the flavor, hints of vanilla if you dig a bit, and almost a bit of mint at the tail end. This is, with little doubt, the best "lowest shelf" whiskey I've had, and something I would always willingly drink, esp given the BiB stamp!

Overall: Really great value. While it doesn't have a heavy mouthfeel, it does have a decent depth of flavor. The glass morphs for the better as it airs out. Nose: ethanol forward, light apricot, sugary toasted marshmallow, maple syrup after opening up. Palate: Nutty caramel and vanilla at first that fade into a peachy fruit thinness. Not a super heavy mouth feel but enjoyable. Remarkably smooth for 100 proof. Finish: a light to medium finish, but with that quality ?cherry? note on the exhale that so many good bourbons have.

A slight bit of grain but some nice fruit and vanilla notes. One of the better BiB bottles but in the end just know you are getting a $20 bottle so don’t expect an allocated unicorn. Solid , drinkable blind, and definitely mixable.