Redwood Empire Grizzly Beast Bottled in Bond Bourbon (Spring 2018 Vintage)

Nose: fruity, earthy, baking spice, caramel. There is a slight bitter oak note that I don’t know if I find altogether pleasant. Taste: Carmel, earthy, baking spice, oak. Score: 3.75/5

NEAT NOSE - Lots of Caramel with hints of Cherry PALATE - Sticky, viscous caramel that coats the palate supported by some cherry on the back-end. FINISH - Unbelievably smooth but short, unfortunately. BUY? - Absolutely, but I’d love to see the price about $10-15 lower. BUY AGAIN? - Maybe not this batch due to the price, but I do look forward to future batches.

Alot to explore here and dive into. Reviewed well by several tasters at recent casual friend's tasting. Reminds me of an Old Forester mash, and in fact I intend to do a comparison tasting in the future. This is an interesting crafted bourbon, and a plus for bottled in bond. Smooth, consistent, some syrup throughout the tasting experience. Dark cherry is what is prevalent with some other fruits and tanginess that I have difficulty picking out on first tasting. This is a 5-grain bourbon, and the 2018 batch has a different mash than the 2017 4-grain mash. A light, syrupy chew. For a 5-year, this is smooth and consistent throughout, and as expected missing wood oak notes. With some aging years added in the future, I really look forward to what this Northern California distillery offers in the future to grow on this 5-year tasting experience. I's like to see this more in the $60-70 range.