On a trip to Louisville, Kentucky, a group of us started our morning off at Copper and Kings with a hearty breakfast of absinth and root beers then made our way to an amazing establishment called Proof on Main. Finding Proof and Main should be easy for anyone, you just need to look for the 30-foot-tall golden replica of Michelangelo’s David outside their front door and know you’ve arrived. Inside is an astonishing whiskey selection, gourmet food, and an incredible art gallery to explore that includes restrooms with two-way mirrored waterfall toilets for those that enjoy peeing into a waterfall while watching people pass by. Upon entering their establishment, we saw a gentleman drinking what can only be described as a bucket list tasting line-up of a George T Stagg, Eagle Rare 17, Thomas H Handy Sazerac, Michter’s Toasted Rye and Very Old Carter 27. As he was concluding the tasting, we enquired what the favorite was and he replied, to our surprise, that the Very Old Carter 27 was the victor. Curiosity was instantly sparked to try this new brand that managed to triumph over some of the most mythical bourbons out there and after some debate and online research a glass was ordered. The whiskey was absolutely stunning and possibly the best American whiskey I’ve ever tasted which sparked a bit of an Old Carter buying binge. Back at home, I managed to discover four different single barrel Old Carter’s at one of my favorite liquor stores and with bourbon fever coursing through my veins decided to buy one of each. So far I’ve reviewed three of them and this will be my fourth and final bottle from that binge buy. On the nose; it’s definitely got that Old Carter richness, with a fried dough sweetness that reminds me of a fresh and still warm cream puff stuffed with vanilla pudding and covered in rich caramel followed with chocolate covered candied pecan nuts then fruits take over with caramelized banana, black cherries, fresh cut granny smith apples and orange zest before transitioning into old leather and polished mahogany finishing with spearmint, light barrel spices of cloves, ginger, cinnamon and a medium ethanol burn. The taste starts with a rich full mouthfeel leading with that fresh, caramel covered, warm cream puff stuffed with vanilla pudding and then comes chocolate covered pecan nuts leading to fruits of caramelized banana, black cherries, granny smith apples, candied orange, spearmint then barrel spices of ginger, cloves, old leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with chocolate covered candied pecans, spearmint, polished mahogany, old leather, caramelized bananas, orange zest and granny smith apples that lingers for minutes. This is another wonderful whiskey by the Carter’s with fried dough mingling with flavors of vanilla cream, chocolate, nuts, fruits and a balanced amount of oak and leather with a Booker’s style burn from the 124 proof, but at the end of the day I think I would rather just buy Booker’s and save the money. All of their barrel selections are delicious, but out of the four single barrels, I only thought one justified the premium and was worthy of a 5. None of them could come close to that 27 Very Old Carter experience in Kentucky, but perhaps that’s because of the company and difference in atmosphere.