Wathen's Single Barrel Bourbon

Wathen's- Barrel: 4697 Bottled: 5-6-19 Pale Golden Straw Color Nose: Caramel and Coconut combine to give the mild impression of a Caramel Delight Girl Scout Cookie. Some Citrus gives this one a Tropical Vibe. Time in the glencairn yields Oak and Dry Grass along with some Floral Notes. While there is a good amount going on here, everything is light and muted. Neat: Light and Sweet. The Tropical Vibe continues with Vanilla, Banana, and a surprising amount of Citrus. Light Astringent Oak arrives mid-palate with a little Peppery Spice. Absolutely Zero Kentucky Hug, with Vanilla Sweetness and a little Mint coating the palate. Splash: A few drops of water brought out a lot of Charred Oak on the nose. Made the palate Spicy and Oaky. Made the Orange Peel way too dominant as well. Verdict: I like this one a little less with each pour. Had I rated it from the neck pour it would've been closer to a 4, but after 6 months and a quarter of the bottle down, I just have zero enthusiasm for it. There are some good elements here, but they just don't play well together. It is a Single Barrel Product (so YMMV) but I think that some of the youthful notes that would be smoothed out with a little more time are running the show here.

Little too vanilla for me