Yet another celebrity whiskey that nobody asked for. It turns out it actually wasn't me that really wanted this whiskey because I happen to know the names of guys who play vampires in some movie or show, as shocking as that is. Normally I would give every whiskey and distillery a fair chance to represent their product from a clean slate, but I've never met a single celebrity endorsed or made spirit that was even remotely palpable. Given that this was likely sourced from MGP gives it slight hope, in addition to the mash bill and barrel charring also not being too weird or different.
The nose is full of charcoal, sweet corn, and just a touch of barrel character, leaning towards caramel and vanilla. I might also be detecting some harsh floral notes, almost botanical-like, but it's very similar to the charcoal, which is taking over hard. Naturally there's a very minimal amount of ethanol, since, well, this is the minimum amount of ethanol needed to pass off the minimum standard of whiskey.
The body is extremely light, but the flavor starts off with heavy charcoal (think 3 or 4 times that of Jack Daniel's), shocking me to the point of needing several more sips to even detect anything else. The corn is here, very young, but thankfully not raw. The rye also comes through slightly with traditional cinnamon and some vegetal flavors. I don't taste the wheat specifically, but I can tell it's a touch sweeter than it would be without it. The finish is harsh and hot, but not from ethanol, instead letting the (likely) charcoal filtering coat the gums and quench the thirst for anything to rid the continued flavor.
This is pretty bad. I really hope this didn't come from MGP, because that would be a shame to their brand. If it truly was sourced from MGP, I can only imagine these "celebrities" didn't want to spend big money (to increase return on investment), and opted for the "clearance barrels" of stuff that should never see the bottle. This is just marginally above corn whiskey, only because the rye provides a spiciness that just barely reminds me of bourbon. If I wanted a charcoal bomb, I'd drink Gentlemen Jack; corn whiskey with charcoal ice cubes may end up tasting better than this.
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Also Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley are super into bourbon and spent a lot of time on the blend. It’s not fair to assume they just wanted to put something out to put their name on it. There are also other decent celebrity whiskeys. Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door and Metallica’s Blackened come to mind. Dismissing a whiskey because it comes from a celebrity isn’t fair and again, makes you seem unreliable and biased. Celebrities are allowed to have interests too.
TL;DR. You are being so dramatic. I am a huge fan of the show and think there are better bourbons for the price point but calling it bad really makes you seem unreliable as a reviewer. It’s a solid young MGP bourbon that many people clearly asked for.
Almost 200 people gave it a 4.8 online so looks like it’s just you as the no one asked critic. May be average but that’s most juice. If it gets a few show fans into bourbon, then good for them. Cheers!
Soooo dramatic. Under 1. LOL