Pinhook 5 Year Bourbon War True Single Barrel/Vertical Series

Nose: vanilla forward with hints of caramel and barrel spices. Palate: vanilla, caramel, oak, cinnamon, red hot candy shell Finish: long and lingers. Overall: this is a really good and surprising pour. I wasn’t expecting it to taste this good. Like caramel buttered toast. Highly recommend this expression.

The nose starts off wonderfully with lots of classic bourbon notes such as vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, and popcorn. On the palate, the proof shines through with an immediate taste of red hots, cinnamon and pepper spice with some caramel undertones throughout. The finish is long with the spice and sweet notes interplaying with one another.

This was brought over by a friend who has been collecting the Pinhook series. Bottle 24/206 clocking in at 114 proof. Second in their series of what I believe are all MGP sourced barrels on their way from 4 to 9 years. This was the 5 year stop. Nose of play dough? Corn sweetness. Faint spice. Rye bread. Altogether a soft nose, nothing that screams out. Medium body with a slow building warmth, dill spice and a medium finish. Meh. I’d drink this over Buffalo Trace. Both are round and soft, grain forward. Compared to my 5y smooth ambler pick that prickles the mouth this was a but muted. He prefers the Pinhook, I’ll still take the SAOS as I love the kick and more robust spice. Different strokes for different folks.

Buttered corn bread on the nose Warm cinnamon apple pie on the palate Medium finish Westport Whiskey and Wine Barrel picked a fine barrel!