W.B. Saffell Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Caramel apples, spicy cinnamon, some barrel funk, and wood smoke on the nose. Its not a shy nose, but I wouldn't call it potent either. Honey roasted peanuts, caramel, baking spices, and oak flow nicely around the mouth. Caramel dominates the finish at first, but spice and oak mix nicely for balanced finish that isn't too dry. Mouthfeel is nice but it is not incredibly thick and viscous, but has an oily feel. Savory bourbon. Never gets too dry though. Good balance of sweet, savory, and spicy. Classic Turkey

It’s 2020. It’s December. Let’s shut this year down with a brand new whiskey (or whisky) every day. It’s my own personal whiskey advent calendar. +6! Dec. 8, 2020 The Whiskey Barons Collection. If you’re a bourbon fan who enjoys the history of bourbon, you should read up on these guys. There’s ancestor worship, there’s reaching back into the bourbon days of yore, and restoring old homes of dead guys with recognizable names. All the things. This is the fourth and most recent release in this collection. I was a big fan of the Bond & Lillards, and I hope this delivers. Nose is sweet tarts. There’s powdered sugar, citrus, oak, apple, jelly... swirl it around, there’s tons of stuff there. Body is pears, flowers, vanilla. Weird-ass combo. Wondering if you’d like that? So am I. Finish is almost too sweet at times. The pear and cane sugar can come for a vengeance when you breathe wrong, and in those moments the mild cinnamon (which I would normally like) is a deterrent in your efforts to survive. Sickeningly sweet... which is rare in the bourbon world. This is a huge letdown for me. It’s passable, although overpriced as a 375mL. I was wondering why B&L flew off the shelf while this one is still available. I’ve had many worse things, but I wouldn’t recommend this to a friend. This bums me out because these “Whiskey Barons” produced Bond & Lillard 2, which was great but slightly fell short of the even more magnificent OG Bond & Lillard 1, and now I have to square that with the fact that they made this. I haven’t had Old Ripy yet, but now I’m scared to. 2/3 is such a better track record than 2/4, and even if I’m late to the party, I’m going to maintain my own version of reality for as long as possible. Maybe I’ll crack that one next year. ‘Tis the season. I’m day-to-day on my whiskey selection, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments. Merry whiskey to all, and to all a beer flight!