Rhetoric 21 Year Bourbon

Bouche : caramel, sirop Finale : poivrée

Great peppery caramel odor. On the tongue it’s pepper, apples, lots of oak and char.

Nose: Sloghtly dusty with spices, vanilla and a little flower Taste: Very soft with lots of spice and a touch of leather that mixes with a light flavor of smoke and charred oak Finish: Medium soft finish with a bit of smoke coming through over the oak and spices. Leaves a lingering taste that is a bit sweeter with vanilla

Was able to taste this along with Barterhouse 20 and the 22y Rhetoric. Spoiler alert, this was my least favorite. Nose: sawdust, Werther’s butterscotch candy, turpentine, apricot jam Body: light and at the same time oily, no more burn than room temperature water Palate: Delicate flavors of apricot, dried wood... and sadly little else. The finish was short to medium and turned back toward a Werther’s butterscotch candy, then gone. This is not a bourbon that many bourbon drinkers would dislike but more than a handful would likely shrug at. It wasn’t the orangesicle and oak bomb that was Barterhouse, nor was it the spicier and more earthy Rhetoric 22 year. What a difference a year can make! I know the Barterhouse isn’t a fair comparison but the 21 to 22 was a noticeable improvement in balance and complexity, though the low proof on all left a want for more depth.