Redemption Straight Bourbon

I have to congratulate Redemption for putting information on the label. I most want to know the mash bill and the age, and both are on this label. Why other whiskies don't do this I have no clue - at least, I have no clue about why they don't openly tell you what the mash bill is, since knowing that won't help you steal their recipe. I can understand, perhaps, why a whisky doesn't have an age statement - there's the deal with Knob Creek when, due to demand, they couldn't guarantee that everything in the bottle would be at least 9 years old, so for a short time they omitted the age statement. But mostly it's a simple courtesy to the person buying the bottle to provide this basic information. But on to the whisky itself. It's 88 proof, which I've come to regard as pretty low for a bourbon; I want my whisky 90 proof or better. I suspect that what I saw below would be more complimentary if the proof were 90 or 100. The mash bill is 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley. This is a two year old whisky, the minimum age for a straight whisky under American law, and a fifth cost me $29.99 at Kelly Liquors. In the glass it's a golden copper color. NOSE: First I got just a sensation of grain. Then came honey with a faint sourness, a little mint, and an earthy note. Usually I can get more after a sip or two, but with this juice what I got from the beginning is all I ever got. MOUTHFEEL: Thin, but slightly creamy. TASTE: The first note was spicy honey, with next something that made me think of lemon cough drops, though when I tried to focus on it the note slithered away. There was definitely cinnamon, and a hint of dark chocolate. FINISH: All I got on the finish was honey and dark chocolate, and it was a remarkably short finish too. SUMMARY: This juice needs more proof and more time. For an 88 proof, 2 year old whisky it's good, but there's better stuff out there for $30. I like this bourbon, but there's better available, and I probably won't buy this again. RATING: My hick scale gives it a 4 (counting from the bottom), which is Okay. That equates to 2.5 stars, 50/100, or 5/10.

Nose is sweet like an orangesicle. A bit of spice as well. Like a light pepper. That spice comes through on a neat sip, but it’s not harsh. Easy sipper. The heat and flavor lingers, but it’s pleasant. I’m surprised that the sweetness that I was smelling seems to be hidden. But with a bit of water/ice, it comes out nicely. It’s pretty good for a bottle that it aged about 2 years.

Tasted this in a blind and it did better than expected. It had a nice sweet finish, with some heat and spice, but overall a nice body.