Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye (Fall 2021)

This is really my first time to really spend time and enjoy a handy...a true statement is more ways than one, but we'll move on. Nose - After a good 30 minutes in the glass what was light winter green with christmas spices now gives me some oak funk and just spiced sweet notes. Has plenty of alcohol to give me a big sneeze digging into it. Clean sweetness, some hints here and there of younth, but overall a well refined massive rye sweet bomb. Taste - I'll start with the final real thought. This is a huge mouth watering big bold whisky. It coats the mouth, leaves you with spice for days, and makes no apologies for any of it. That my friends is why one can justify this being a part of that BTAC line. But how does it get there and does it really have the refinement to be BTAC? To come to this conclusion I"m actually going straight to water before I get into the notes. Brown sugar and bitter rye spice give way to sour oak and more spice. Water has unearthed all these more extreme tasting notes hidden by the depth and sugary sweetness of the ultra high abv. Lets add more water. The creamy elements of the mouth feel now give way to more bite, more bitter, more well intense and polarizing elements. My mouth remains coated and my senses are firing at 150% of their tolerance. I know we often wax over flavor memories that a whisky gives us and they are here. All kinds of spices and sugars...oak and funky elements but they all really do come together to create a full and rich experience. And I think that's why people love Handy, it isn't epic whisky in the sense of well aged and refined scotch or even a masterfully balanced bourbon. No, it's a big giant kick in the crotch that leaves you in wow of the intensity and wow factor of flavor. And for this guy, it does it with enough refinement to keep me extremely engaged. 3.5 out of 5. I'm in at MSRP all day on this and I'd go a good 50 bucks over just to say i had a bottle.

This is a grand pour. Deeply rich and satisfying. Nose: caramel. Baking spice. Richness. Palate: full bodied. overwhelming richness. It’s got notes of caramel. Some spice. Love the oily viscous mouthfeel. Tremendous. The finish lasts forever. So good.

Marshmallow fluff/Crème brûlée

Bette than I remembered

Smooth initial sip for such high alcohol content. Holding in mouth reminds me of a hint of salt on back of my tongue