Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C920

Nose: vanilla, cherries, brown sugar - classic Palate: oak spice, dried fruit, cinnamon - tasty Finish: oak spice, cream - a little too short

Rating: 10/23 So I've got this up against another Larceny Barrel Proof release and a bunch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proofs. I wasn't that impressed by regular Larceny, but I hear that these barrel proof releases are much better, so I'm hopeful. N: Sweet and a bit vegetal with a slight hint of meat. It oddly reminds me a hair of a young PX-finished bourbon. There's a spicy layer of wood that shows ginger, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, and clove. There's a flat bitter licorice scent hanging out at the bottom. This nose is fine enough, but it isn't actually enjoyable. The complexity is fine, the balance feels like it's missing something, and the actual scents aren't particularly inspiring. P: Sweet with minerals and confectioner's sugar and hints of apricot, as well as some peanut shells and maybe even peanut. There's definitely alcohol here. Not a ton is happening and this burns. It's not bad, but it's fairly boring. Some wood with bitter elements (the licorice and some smoke), but it isn't overwhelming at all. I really do taste the alcohol in here, unfortunately. The spices are expressed as an immature pepperiness that gets a tad harsh at times even. This might not burn as much as my cask strength bottle of Ry3, but it's concerningly close. This profile actually reminds me a lot of a light, low-end Booker's. F: Mineral, bitter, bland dry wood. And a long-lasting peppery burn. - Conclusion - Even Elijah Craig C920 is definitely better than this is. I think it might be time for the Larceny line to call it quits. It's not a massive gap between them, but it's clear which is better. As sort of a crushing point of comparison, my neck pour of Elijah Craig A121 absolutely destroys this, even on a tired palate. But actually, it's worse than that. I was surprised by how close to Ry3 (9/23) this was and I'm now thinking that Elijah Craig Small Batch (15/23) is better than this. Flavor-wise, this is about on part with the Elijah Craig. It might even be a hair better - so a solid 15 instead of a low one. However, this burns so much. I definitely can't go higher than a 13 here and I'm faintly toying with even a 9. Signatory's Caledonian 29 (1987) (12/23) has a big bite to it and a lot of that tart grain flavor, but it tastes more like it's achieving what it set out to. I just can't get over how much this burns while also being so light. The hints of malt and banana that the Caledonian shows off side by side win me over here, though not by a huge margin. The burn is definitely the biggest factor. Because this strikes me as a little closer to the Ry3 than to the Caledonian, I'm unfortunately going with a 10 here. Thanks to @ctbeck11 for sharing this. I think I'll be sticking with ECBP for now (assuming I can find any of it).

I'm not generally that impressed with wheated bourbons, although I understand the appeal - they're easy to drink, but similar to Irish whiskies, I find them often a little bit boring. Batches C920 And C921 were consumed consecutively rather than side-by-side. When I poured the first I wasn't thinking I was going to have more than one sample. The 920 was good but didn't leave an exceptionally strong impression. Pretty classic wheated bourbon flavors, although amped up with the barrel proof. The 921, however, was really nice. I’m not sure I can put my finger on what made the 921 stand out, but it’s one I wouldn’t mind having more of to figure it out. Thank you for the samples @ctbeck11

Spicy, spicy, spicy! Super strong, not for me.

Big initial nose of tobacco. It is then followed by a dominant spice and heat, but as you spend more time with it many more layers start to open up - burnt sugars and butterscotch help balance the spice and heat. If you dig even deeper, after a few sips you'll find some dark fruit / plum or cherry, chocolate and walnut. The mouth feel is nice and spice again dominates the front of the palate, the charred oak and proof start to dry the tongue a bit but towards the back end a chocolate and nutty note bring back the balance. A cherry flavored tobacco and clove note lead to a long, drying and leathery finish. Edit: after finishing the review I continued to enjoy my glass and realized the finish has a finish! A everlasting cinnamon note!