Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon

Strong burn, light brown sugar flavors. Simple but good.

Very sweet nose, like sugar, some vanilla. Strong bite due to high alch, very rich and a lot of flavors. Like it a lot, one of my favs!

Nose: Sweet. Citrus - reminds me of the mandarins I grow in my front yard. Strawberry, banana, cherry, blueberries, think bubblegum. The rye in the mash bill shows, which is the same bill as Basil Hayden's if memory serves. Dill, basil, clove, nutmeg. Charred oak, vanilla. Cream cheese frosting. But that corn sweetness is front and center here. Palate: Dusty corn, bubblegum sweetness - almost exactly what it was on the nose. Brown sugar. A little tannin and barrel bitter shows up, especially in the finish. Medium-bodied mouthfeel, leaning towards the lighter side. Key limes, strawberries, bananas, etc. The rye is there, but just like the barrel it doesn't really come out much until the finish. Speaking of the finish, this starts out with a bright pop of ethanol, barrel, vanilla, nutmeg, dill, and thyme. That ethanol and candy sweetness stick around, but finally give way to the barrel bitter and a little more of that tannin, which hangs out for a moderate amount of time before it disappears. Other notes: It's interesting to see the high-rye mash bill from Beam in a form other than Basil Hayden (full disclosure, BH is probably one of my least-liked whiskies). This is definitely not a refined sip - the sweetness borders on cloying, though luckily never manages to go over the edge. Absolutely appropriately priced however, and no remorse. I'd bet this would really shine in cocktails - maybe a Manhattan with a very dry vermouth. This lands squarely in my list of things to recommend to people getting started in their exploration of Bourbons. Though it may not be on my shortlist of things to keep stocked, this is an excellent case of a bottle that caters to a particular profile and owns it 100% - I can only respect that.