Traverse City Whiskey Co. Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon

Starts off super hot, with notes of caramel corn and brown sugar, fades into a spicy, smooth leather flavor

Neat. Opened three months or so. Whiskey Bear 4 year pick. First impression on this one is that it was too young and green. Let’s see what a few months of air time does. Still very bright but just a little green. Caramel dominates this one. Vanilla frosting. Hints of apple. Baking spices. Almost like an apple parfait. Caramel and vanilla frosting dominate again. Apple shows up on the legs. Not much else to say. It’s tasty. For 4 year MGP, this is really good. I’d put it above Mic Drop 3.0 but still well under the 5 year SAOS floating around. At least it is better than the first impression and the overwhelming youngness subsided.

Right off the nose you know you're in for a wild ride. This bad boy clocks in at 58.4% and it shows. Winning double gold at the 2019 world spirits competition, it does have nice color for a 4 year old bourbon. Nose puts of scents of toffee and butter in tandem with Carmel and just the slightest bit of oak. Over the tongue it not overly sweet and as it rolls to the back, you feel that proof almost clean out the ears. The finish seems true to the nose and takes the breath away on the first sip but the second and third get smoother. I gave it a high rating due to the nature of being so far away from traditional bourbon country but capturing the true essence of a bourbon. Well done, easy to see why you took down double golds for small batch in 2019.

Nice smooth whiskey. Very well done

Nose is brown sugar and vanilla, but there is also a bit stronger hint of alcohol than I would prefer. Taste is powerful here with heavy Carmel and vanilla before a rising pepper burn emerges. Flavor flavor and more flavor as the layers wash over your tongue. Finish is a sustained slow burn that leaves a smooth caramel as the fire subsides. Wasn't sure this woukd live up to the San Fran award from 2019, but it definitely does. A very nice pour often!