Southern Star Paragon Bottled in Bond Wheated Straight Bourbon

2017A Release Aroma: mild green, waxy orris nose. Very slight heat Smooth, mild caramel and lightly toasted but also slightly green oak. A few drops of water smooths it further and broadens the profile a bit giving some roundness. Same taste notes but rounder

It’s full body at the beginning, with a syrup texture. The middle flattens (in a good way) like a cinnamon graham cracker, and the end finishes with a little heat. Overall a complex and great pour.

Part of a virtual tasting with Southern Distilling **this should be labeled as Paragon Bottled in Bond Nose - Sweet grain and grass, vanilla, Cherry Coke, caramel, butterscotch, cinnamon, allspice, toasted oak, and light ethanol. Palate - Honeycomb, artificial cherry vanilla flavoring, cinnamon stick, cardamon, clove, and toasted marshmallow. Finish is medium with dry cinnamon powder, oak tannins, caramel, vanilla bean, and light ethanol. Much, much better than the previous two samples. This wheated BiB is something I would buy and competes favorably with other wheated bourbons.

This is a really nice bourbon. There are 3 Paragon bourbons and this is the middle priced on, Bottled in Bond (4yr). Nose neat has honey, oak and dill with that wheat sweetness. Palate offers oak, honey and chocolate. Adding a cube of ice brings out vanilla and Carmel in both the nose and palate but does make the whiskey taste thinner. Finish is long. The problem is this whiskey is just too expensive. It’s a local for me and I really like it, but it’s significantly overpriced. I’d really like to try the cask strength version, which is $10 more, but I’d have to think about it. There are a lot of excellent bourbons for less than $70. Still, this is a really solid bourbon.