Lost Republic Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey Small Batch Cask Strength

Spicy with a definite bite. Can taste the sweetness of the corn but even after adding an ice cube, still had a good bite to it - reminded more of a rye than bourbon. Not bad but nothing to write home about

I was excited to try this as it's local to me and a super reasonable price for a barrel strength bourbon. These guys are using MGP with a high rye mash bill. Overall I liked it. I should point out that I have never tried their standard bourbon or rye even though it's local as it tends to be kind of pricey and I'd often rather try before I buy. The cask strength release was what motivated me to purchase as that is sort of my jam. Nose: Very floral and grassy with hints of vanilla and orange peel. Supposedly this mash bill has no wheat and is high rye but it smells a lot like a wheated bourbon to me. I get a lot of grass and herbal notes like dill in the nose. Flavor: Very unchallenging and mild up front with light vanilla and honey. Not super flavorful but nothing off putting either. For the high proof this doesn't punch super hard which I liked. Just kind of weird that it has such a mild flavor at cask strength. I'm not sure what to make of this. I would say it's very balanced in that nothing really stands out as a dominant flavor. Finish: The rye spiciness comes through at the end and sort of obliterates the rest of the subtle flavors. I wish this had less rye spice not because I'm against rye spiciness but because the rest of the flavors were so subtle that this sort of killed off the good notes I was enjoying after a couple seconds. A pretty short finish for cask strength as well. Maybe this could have used a few more years in the barrel. A good value at $45 for cask strength but I feel like maybe $15 more for Stagg Jr. is a better choice given that this is a sipping whiskey.