New Holland Beer Barrel Bourbon

Nose - Mostly a soft vanilla, hint of cinnamon Biscoff cookies, light syrupy sweet mint? Taste - Initially thin mouthfeel that transitions to a creamy and drying mouthfeel, sweet vanilla, hint of cinnamon Biscoff cookies, light milk chocolate malt. Finish - Light lingering gentle cinnamon spice, vanilla again, white chocolate sweet. Score - 80/100 Final Thoughts - As expected from the proof, a bit thin and one dimensional. I think the bourbon is quite young, but the extra finishing in the barrel aged stout barrels does wonders for this as I think it softened up the young spirit considerably and made it quite palatable. A vanilla milk chocolate malt with a hint of cinnamon dominates, but that's a bit of what you get in their Dragon's Milk stout as well. Overall a great pairing with their stout for a perfect boilermaker (their Dragon's Milk is 11%ABV). In fact, I could see this pairing very well with many other stouts as it exhibits a nice soft chocolately malt.

In this one I taste honey and yeast. It tastes thick, similar to an unfiltered wheat beer. I understand the beer barrel concept here, but it's just too unpleasant and uninteresting on the pallet to justify a place in a whiskey collection. The burn pushes back on your nose like a shockwave, and the general smell is of cheap bottom shelf liquor. Go figure. Try it once, then do better.