Nose - toffee, dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, orange, black cherry, spearmint, leather, tobacco, peanut butter, black pepper, rich oak, allspice, nutmeg, apple, moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - salted caramel, brown sugar, coffee, dark chocolate, orange, rich oak, cinnamon, vanilla, leather, pretzel, spearmint, black pepper, tobacco, hazelnut, black cherry, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with caramel, rich oak, dark chocolate, and caking spice flavors.
In a previous blind tasting, I remember trying this and thinking it was really good, but not amazing. Granted, I was multiple drinks into the evening, and this was up against some other very strong offerings. So let’s see how it fares in a more controlled environment.
The nose is beautiful. It’s reminiscent of a Texas bourbon. Rich, bold, and robust. It’s very dark with toffee, chocolate, coffee, and leather aromas front and center. The palate is powerful, but not too bright. The salted caramel note is really nice. It begs you to pick up the glass and take another sip. This sample is evaporating way too quickly.
Well this is stunning bourbon, and the profile is right in the sweet spot for me. If I have to find a fault, I wish it were a bit more mature on the palate. At almost 60% ABV, this drinks slightly bright and right around its proof. Still I want a bottle, but unfortunately they’re $400 on the secondary now, so that won’t be happening anytime soon. It would be an instant buy at the $150 MSRP. Regardless, this is an outstanding whiskey that’s worth the high price tag. Many thanks to
@pkingmartin for treating me to this one twice. Second time was the charm.