Requested By
pkingmartin
Old Carter 13 Year Kentucky Bourbon Single Barrel #98 (2020 Release)
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aboulogne
Reviewed December 27, 2021I know it’s special because it’s one of 160 or so bottles. High ABV and evaporates in my mouth. Scoring high for the uniqueness. Feels like a cinnamon stick in my throat. Love it because my friend Mike tells the best stories. -
aboulogne2
Reviewed December 27, 2021 (edited November 20, 2022)Just so good. High proof, pretty sweet, all around perfect bourbon. -
ContemplativeFox
Reviewed June 24, 2021 (edited June 25, 2021)Rating: 19/23 N: Nutty and sweet. Maybe hazelnuts with caramel sauce. It smells like a delicious dessert. After giving it a little time, some wood starts coming out. It's blends in nicely, adding complexity and maturity. The wood brings with it vanilla and spices (ginger, cinnamon, and clove). I get hints of milk chocolate at times too. The complexity, balance, and decadence are all really on-point. It smells very nicely matured. P: Big and bold with richness and fullness. Tons of spice (clove, cinnamon, and pepper) up front, checked by some a little sweet but undercooked caramel. There's a clear layer of wood that's a bit louder than I'd expected and really comes out toward the middle of the palate. Hints of milk chocolate are around, but they never become very strong. Some tartness starts coming out, bringing in bitter orange peel. I never quite get a char flavor out of the wood - it's more just a lot of wood with cloves and heat. I get surprisingly little nuttiness in the palate - and what I do get is mixed with some minerals and sour mash. The complexity here is nice, but the balance is a bit off. A few drops of water bring out some more oily funky must and mellows the heat substantially. It becomes richer and a tad sweeter, with maybe a bit more nuttiness (though maybe it's just more toastiness). Adding more water actually somehow increases the burn substantially. Side by side with Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve, I get a bit of a caramel molasses rum flavor from this. Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 also tastes like dessert in comparison. F: Wood and spice. A bit of tartness with a hint of orange peel, but that's about it. A bit more going on in the finish would be really nice. - Conclusion - Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof (21) crushes this in terms of complexity. This is definitely not as good of a bourbon. Would I take this over Wild Turkey 116.8 (18) or Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve (19)? It's a tough call. This is tasty with some bold, mature flavors, but it's not super complex and the heat is borderline overwhelming. I briefly had this up at a 20, but now I'm thinking it's more of an 18 or 19. I'll give it the 19. Thanks to @pkingmartin for the sample :) -
pkingmartin
Reviewed May 22, 2021On a trip to Louisville, Kentucky, a group of us started our morning off at Copper and Kings with a hearty breakfast of absinth and root beers then made our way to an amazing establishment called Proof on Main. Finding Proof and Main should be easy for anyone, you just need to look for the 30-foot-tall golden replica of Michelangelo’s David outside their front door and know you’ve arrived. Inside is an astonishing whiskey selection, gourmet food, and an incredible art gallery to explore that includes restrooms with two-way mirrored waterfall toilets for those that enjoy peeing into a waterfall while watching people pass by. Upon entering their establishment, we saw a gentleman drinking what can only be described as a bucket list tasting line-up of a George T Stagg, Eagle Rare 17, Thomas H Handy Sazerac, Michter’s Toasted Rye and Very Old Carter 27. As he was concluding the tasting, we enquired what the favorite was and he replied, to our surprise, that the Very Old Carter 27 was the victor. Curiosity was instantly sparked to try this new brand that managed to triumph over some of the most mythical bourbons out there and after some debate and online research a glass was ordered. The whiskey was absolutely stunning and possibly the best American whiskey I’ve ever tasted which sparked a bit of an Old Carter buying binge. Back at home, I managed to discover four different single barrel Old Carter’s at one of my favorite liquor stores and with bourbon fever coursing through my veins decided to buy one of each. So far I’ve reviewed three of them and this will be my fourth and final bottle from that binge buy. On the nose; it’s definitely got that Old Carter richness, with a fried dough sweetness that reminds me of a fresh and still warm cream puff stuffed with vanilla pudding and covered in rich caramel followed with chocolate covered candied pecan nuts then fruits take over with caramelized banana, black cherries, fresh cut granny smith apples and orange zest before transitioning into old leather and polished mahogany finishing with spearmint, light barrel spices of cloves, ginger, cinnamon and a medium ethanol burn. The taste starts with a rich full mouthfeel leading with that fresh, caramel covered, warm cream puff stuffed with vanilla pudding and then comes chocolate covered pecan nuts leading to fruits of caramelized banana, black cherries, granny smith apples, candied orange, spearmint then barrel spices of ginger, cloves, old leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with chocolate covered candied pecans, spearmint, polished mahogany, old leather, caramelized bananas, orange zest and granny smith apples that lingers for minutes. This is another wonderful whiskey by the Carter’s with fried dough mingling with flavors of vanilla cream, chocolate, nuts, fruits and a balanced amount of oak and leather with a Booker’s style burn from the 124 proof, but at the end of the day I think I would rather just buy Booker’s and save the money. All of their barrel selections are delicious, but out of the four single barrels, I only thought one justified the premium and was worthy of a 5. None of them could come close to that 27 Very Old Carter experience in Kentucky, but perhaps that’s because of the company and difference in atmosphere.200.0 USD per Bottle
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