pkingmartin
Saint Cloud 7 Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
October 24, 2021 (edited February 10, 2022)
To change things up, @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a series of samples that have either shapes or some code on them to prevent me from being able to know what they are until after I’ve tasted them. Will I mistake a rye for bourbon or completely miss a finish, who knows, but I’m dying to find out so let’s continue this blind challenge with the vial that has a B7 on it.
The nose is thick and rich starting with caramel pecan clusters covered in dark chocolate followed by fruits of grapefruit, pears and nectarines that transition to spices of dill, anise, cardamom, cloves, leather and antique polished oak with high ethanol burn.
The taste is a viscous mouthfeel starting with caramel pecan clusters covered in dark chocolate followed by fruits of grapefruit, pears and nectarines that transition to a medium spice mid palate that slowly fades to spices of dill, anise, saffron, cardamom, cloves, leather and antique polished oak with high ethanol burn.
The finish is long with dark chocolate orange, poached pears, dehydrated cherries, candied pecans, spearmint, anise, cardamom, cloves, leather and antique polished oak that linger for minutes.
This is exactly the way I like my bourbon with those traditional bourbon notes, along with some different fruits and spices than normal that are turned up to a 10 with a viscous mouthfeel that maintains the same notes as the notes before a long lingering finish that once it fades brings me back in for another taste.
Well this is gunning for a 5 for me, so time for a whiskey cage match. The first round was with Lux Row 12 year which was close, but the Lux Row came out ahead due to its better balance whereas the faults of this started to show with more of a spice on the mid-palate than the Lux Row 12 year. The second match was even closer with the Heaven’s Door 10 year Redbreast finish, but again that spice was the Achilles heel in the match that made it lose. Still this is an amazing whiskey that deserves a high score and I can’t wait to find out what this is.
So Lex, what is this mystery whiskey that’s incredibly delicious but just shy of perfection………….. Saint Cloud 7 year “Pegasus”.
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@Anthology I will have to check my bottle when I get home for notes on casks. I think the cat is out of the bag and this is well known to be Willett 7y bourbon. The profile really reminds me of Noah’s Mill now that it is fully Willett distillate (changed over circa 2018) - something described by others as “funky cinnamon.” Probably not worth the $150 it was going for when Noah’s Mill sits around at $65. That said, it’s a steal compared to their young family estate bottlings.
@Anthology It’s possible, but I’m not sure. @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington Might know more about this one.
@pkingmartin Do you think the “above normal” spice came from the French oak? I remember reading somewhere when this first came out (no age statement bottling) that it was aged entirely in French oak
Pot still and KY…my guess is Willett…?
Sounds decadent
@PBMichiganWolverine has to be Kentucky (assuming they are truthful) based on labeling and there is mention of being pot-still. Those two pieces of the puzzle leave very few options as to where this could be from.
The spearmint and rye notes + pot still have me wondering if this is some off-profile Willett. I’ve never tried their 6-8y self-distilled and aged family estate stuff, and despite looking for one have had zero luck. Still left guessing where this came from but the heafry price tag for a 7y single barrel places it within wallet-shot of something like Willett. Who knows (probably @dhsilv2) but, perhaps, we are better off not knowing…
@PBMichiganWolverine I don’t think so. Based off the review by @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington, it could be Woodford or Towns Branch but not sure.
So many to keep track of —-is this a MGP ?