Paddleford Creek Small Batch Bourbon (80 Proof)

Pretty smooth and a hint of Carmel

Rating: 12/23 N: Cinnamon, some woody richness, caramel, a little chocolate, cherry, and apple. P: Decently rich with some tartness, wood, caramel, and maple. I do get a bit of that chocolate as well. It's fairly woody with some cinnamon spiciness. Vanilla and banana come in as well. Some mineral, but not too much. It's not bad, but it's nothing special. F: The wood, spice, some caramel, and some vanilla and mineral linger. Very ho-hum. Overall, a surprisingly solid bourbon at a surprisingly high price. I wouldn't seek it out, but I could mix it or sip it neat. It's a little better than Jack Daniel's. I think my original 12 was appropriate.

41.5% ABV is an interesting choice. The nose is dry with some wood and rye, so not very promising. There's some vanilla and floral sweetness on the nose too. It smells high right and lacking in robustness, a step below Evan Williams Black. The palate is sweeter than expected and the dram is harsher with a fiery kick front he spice that is tamed a bit by some minerality and a big dose of vanilla. It lacks robustness, as expected, but it also has some life to it. The surprising level of sweetness is nice, though it tastes a bit like sugar water. Although there are some decent fundamentals here, with the weak body I'm not sure it can recover to produce a great spirit if aged longer. It might be a decent mixer, but I suspect that Colonel Lee is better. In direct comparison with Evan Williams Black, which is better is a tough call to make. Actually, I think that Evan Williams has some flavors that don't quite fit together as well. This has some more sweetness and a tad more richness that could be caramel or could be light wood. The two are very comparable though. This is a slight improvement, but it probably doesn't warrant an increase in its numeric score. An increase of 1 at most. Colonel Lee definitely tastes a bit more out of balance too, though it's sweeter and packs more richness in. This is definitely a step up. I think I'll give it that extra point. It can compete fairly with Woodford Reserve, but I think it is a step lower on net. Compared with Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, I'd also say that this isn't as good. So I think it's found its place between Evan Williams Black/Colonel Lee and the Woodford Reserves. It's no Jim Beam Black, but it's passable. The price is absurdly high for the quality though.