Rock Town Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey

Cinnamon and caramel aroma. Top note is sweet and smooth. Middle the vanilla comes through. Has a woody finish.

Rock Town makes some pretty good bourbon. The current "Whisky Bible" raves on the distillery. I have been tasting my bottle since Christmas--a gift. This review is for the single barrel, cask strength version, barrel 303. bottle 73of 99, 55.9%ABV. At that proof the entry is a little hot, but is full of luscious flavor. There is brown sugar, oak and barrel char, vanilla, spice, and a little old leather. The finish lingers and is slightly astringent. I think this is a fairly young bourbon, but using small barrels gives a lot of wood interaction. Now, with a few drops of water: nose has a hint of floral honey, little heat on entry, all the flavors are there but less intense, the finish is smoother and allows a touch of sweetness come through. Overall a very satisfying bourbon.

The nose has a bit of sharp fruit mixed with lots of alcohol and some bright wood. There's just the tiniest hint of chocolate and maybe coffee on the nose. It smells a bit herbal like Belle Meade Cask Strength but more organic. There's a bit of bright apple and rye nose as well. The palate is surprisingly light and sweet with some interesting herbal presence and some floral fruitiness. There are some nice orange blossom notes that are actually quite like tangerine. It's sweet with lots of vanilla. This is a shockingly smooth drink. It's also interesting in how it's light but balanced. It doesn't have that brash young taste, but it certainly isn't old. The balance is quite good and the proof really sneaks by. This is super tasty and easy to sip, though it isn't your traditional bourbon flavor. The mineral really isn't overwhelming and it doesn't taste excessively like rye. It lacks the robust presence of Wild Turkey Jewbillee, but it has some delightful balance that reminds me of Macallan 15. With water, some more wood and spice come out. The fruit and floral flavors really balance it. Why doesn't Irish whiskey taste more like this? One one hand, I'd love to taste a more mature version of this whiskey. On the other hand, it's quite good as is in large part due to its terrific balance. Aging it longer might result in the wood overwhelming the other flavors.

Barrel 595, bottle 68

Well, this is aged 22mo. This was rated highly by Jim Murray, but really this is just a young whiskey with grain-to-glass being the reason for the price. It tastes young, but does have depth that I wouldn’t expect for 22 months in the barrel. Corn is prevelant throughout. The finish does bring the most depth with some light fruit and sweetness like vanilla. But for close to $50, there are just way better options out there. 5.7/10