ctbeck11
Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Bourbon
Bourbon — Texas, USA
Reviewed
January 14, 2021 (edited January 23, 2021)
Nose - black cherry, berry, buttered popcorn, sawdust, candy corn, butterscotch, vanilla, cream, nutmeg, dusty corn, leather, frosting, cocoa, brown sugar, sweaty oak, apple, moderate to high ethanol burn.
Taste - cherry, rich caramel, sour berry, apple, wheat, black pepper, grape candy, spicy oak char, cinnamon red hot, allspice, powdered sugar, brown sugar, plum, sawdust, buttery corn, toasted marshmallow, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium long with cinnamon red hot, spicy oak, caramel, and black pepper flavors.
Hey! My first Garrison Brothers. The richness they’re able to get from a short amount of Texas aging is remarkable. You can almost taste the musty, sweaty wood. That said, there’s still some unmistakeable youthfulness, particularly in the palate. I’m fine with spicy, harsh bourbons, but would like to see a bit more complexity and depth of flavor to endure the burn.
One interesting characteristic is this sawdust note a couple others identified, especially on the nose. I absolutely get that one as well, but it seems to morph between buttered popcorn and this dusty, powdered sugar, frosting aroma. Pretty cool.
Overall, this is solid bourbon. Unfortunately, GB charges absurd prices for whiskey that’s not absurdly great. This can’t compete even with some bourbons close to half its price. Fortunately, I was very generously provided a sample of this by @ContemplativeFox, so I don’t have to buy the bottle.
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@jonwilkinson7309 Thanks! Looking forward to trying more eventually.
Great review. I'm with you though - fine whiskey, but the price renders a lot of their whiskeys to "try before you buy" status. And sadly, Covid has killed my whiskey bar ventures, so try is not currently an option.
@PBMichiganWolverine Maybe one day we’ll get access to high quality retail miniatures. Until then, we’ll have to make do by trading samples with other like-minded enthusiasts. @ContemplativeFox Agree. I think it’s one that would make sense to split with a group of friends, but not go for a whole bottle unless you really love the profile.
This one's growing on my @ctbeck11, but even as an acquired taste I can"t say I love it enough to buy another bottle at the prices they're asking.
I'm always annoyed that it's only the cheap stuff you can find in 50 ml @PBMichiganWolverine . I'd love it if I could buy a bunch of samples in the states, especially in 30ml bottles
@ctbeck11 totally with you on this one. I’ve been told that GB is amazing, but I’ve also been told it’s Booker’s amplified. And I’m not a fan of Booker’s normal releases. So...spending close to $200 seems like a gamble. I wish US would do what UK has—-smaller 3cl sample sizes, a try-before-you-buy
I paid $177 and then was gifted another for xmas so I have 2 bottles....well 1.5 now. ctbeck if you dont like the profile it prolly isnt worth it. Get some Glendronich or something else totally awesome
@ctbeck11 the colorado allocation of cowboy sold out literally immediately. I'd grab it if I were you.
@Ctrexman That cowboy bourbon keeps calling to me. I’ve got $300 in Total Wine gift cards and have been contemplating what to buy. It’s hard to justify the cowboy bourbon for that kind of money, but it’s on the short list.
Havent tried this yet but Im willing to bet I would still like it(fanboy). The Cowboy Bourbon is absurdly great but carries that in price as well.