Murray Hill Club Blended Bourbon

Licorice!

Batch 10. Bottle 51/700 Nose: An abundance of charred oak layered on top of dry spices. Hidden underneath is warm vanilla sugar and graham cracker. Palate: A medium mouth feel with light baking spice and drying oak. Almost identical to the nose but lacking the richness. Finish: A medium length finish that fades to sweet oak. Overall, the nose on this blend is old and dignified but leads to an underwhelming palate. At 51.5% ABV it's just strong enough to be satisfying but may leave proof hounds wanting more.

Lots good good flavors. Sweeter than I thought it would be. Good though! Quite a bit of burn.

Excellent big bold tastes of Carmel and Vanilla with oak and spiced. Glad I opened it.

Rating: 18/23 N: Moderate with mellow corn and that big, aged musty funk. Spices and light caramel bordering on cotton candy mix in at points. Little bits of leather and a a nice light cherry flavor occasion. Whiffs of bittersweet chocolate. It's a really complex and decadent nose. The only thing I have to compare it with right now that has that same kind of maturity on the nose is Resilient 15. The Resilient is lighter and has more of that Dickel vitamin and peanut shell character, whereas this has more complexity with fullness and richness, some more cherry and leather. Based on the nose alone, this is the clear winner, though both are very good. P: More fruity and tart than I'd expected, with floral cherry coming through. There's something bitter and fruity like orange pith perhaps in here too. I'm not getting as much of that musty maturity as I'd expected or as I get with the Resilient, though there definitely is some there. This has more leather, but also a tar flavor blended with rich, bitter licorice - much like in regular Joseph Magnus, but not as strong here. It tried to be a bit leathery and it sort of succeeds, bringing in some spices that up the complexity a bit while it's at it. There isn't as much sweetness happening here as I'd expected - or perhaps the bitterness is obscuring it a bit. There's more of a bite here than I'd expected as well. F: Bitter licorice, notes of tar, faint floral cherry. It's not a super long lasting finish, but it's there for a bit. - Conclusion - This is a very good whiskey, but I was let down a bit by the palate and finish after the exceptional nose. I would say that this is about on par with my bottle of Resilient 15 overall. I'd give the Resilient the nod on the palate and finish, but not by much. What I feel like this is missing is bit more mellow musty/dusty character. I might like a bit more sweetness on the finish as well, but whiskey doesn't always need to have a sweet finish, so that's very much a personal preference thing here. I'm looking at a 17 to 18, with a 19 being faintly possible, and landing on an 18.

The 82 rating is almost disrespectful. This is proof that ratings are subjective. Always try for yourself

I like this bourbon but it is not a 100 Dollar bottle. I think that 60 to 70 range.