Rebel Distiller's Collection Bourbon

Gift

Nose - caramel and cloves; Palate - sweet, honey, fruity and floral, then some warmth; Finish - warm medium length finish OHLQ selection #1, aged 5 years

Smitty's Barrel

I love the ezra brooks distiller collection so when I saw this rebel yell offering I knew I had to try it

Barrel no. 7220862 on 11/2/2015

Barrel No. 7220853, picked by OC Bourbon Club Filled on 11-02-15, approximate age 4.25-4.75 years Open 1 month Nose - Caramel and butterscotch, nutmeg, corn dust and toasted grain, light citrus, light oak, medium-strong ethanol. Palate - Begins light and sweet, honey, caramel apples, buttered corn on the cob, cinnamon candy, oak and ethanol almost disappear on front of palate. Finish is medium-short, harsher oak, red hots, ethanol is astringent. This is where you can tell it is a youthful whiskey. Rounding out the newly released Distiller's Collection line, I purchased this locally. I point that out because I got the Ezra Brooks from a different county, and the pick was from a different bourbon club. This is a solid wheated bourbon, but I prefer Ezra Brooks Distiller's Collection. I haven't had Rebel Yell 100 in a while, but I'm not sure this is worth double the price. That's partially because RY100 is a tremendous value at $20. The better comparison is to Maker's Mark Cask Strength given it is just a hair above almost all MMCS releases at 113 proof. If you're a fan of MMCS this is a solid alternative for $10 less. Even if this isn't great, I think Luxco does a much better job with the Larceny mashbill than Heaven Hill. I would buy this and RY100 over Larceny and its barrel proof version any day of the week.