pkingmartin
Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon (2021 Release)
Bourbon — Texas, USA
Reviewed
April 5, 2022 (edited May 29, 2023)
The nose is dense and rich starting with figs, brandy soaked cherries, dusty old leather bound books and dark maple syrup then dark chocolate covered candied pecans followed by cinnamon apple crumble, orange flavored crème brûlée and baked pears that transitions to ginger, cloves and a moderate sawdust with low ethanol burn.
The taste is a rich mouthfeel starting with apricots, cherries jubilee and dusty old leather bound books then dark chocolate pecan pie followed by cinnamon apple crumble, orange zest and baked pears that transitions to ginger, cloves and a moderate sawdust with medium ethanol burn.
The finish is long with a spicy mocha, candied pecans, apple fritters, creme brûlée, honey covered cornbread, leather bound books and moderate ashy oak.
No surprise here that the Cowboy has stayed true to itself with those intense traditional bourbon flavors that manages to also bring in notes of old Armagnac. It's an incredible bourbon that is nearly perfect for me with its only flaw being those dusty sawdust notes that throw off the balance ever so slightly.
Since I still have some of my 2019 left, I decided to do a side by side in which I found that the 2021 edges the 2019 out with a slightly richer mouthfeel and a better balance of flavors.
Thanks @soonershrink for the generous sample of this one.
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@pkingmartin I don’t think anything is wrong with your palate. You’re good. This is something I’ve always wondered about in my whiskey journey. We often hear folks talk about the odd bad bottle In a batch as a way to explain quality inconsistencies. The unsolved mystery in the world of whiskey batches. Maybe Scooby Doo can help us figure this one out haha. Great review! Keep them coming!
@Anthology Good questions and I have no idea. Perhaps my palate is off and more sensitive now to tannic notes than before but my wife had the same reaction on tasting the sample from Skill and also really enjoyed the sample from Sooner. I’ve had a few bottles of Cowboy over the years and usually felt that the oak was dominant but never overwhelming until this sample. I’ll be interested on what Skill and Sooner think if they are able to side by side the different bottles.
How is it even possible to get a bad bottle from the same batch? It’s not like it’s a single barrel release where ymmv from barrel to barrel. It’s the the same batch juice dispensed from same container through same nozzle/equipment to Skiller’s bottle and Sooner’s. Doesn’t not make sense. What are the possible scenarios where one is great and the other isn’t? 🤯
@soonershrink Hard to say no. I'll find you on the Discord. @PBMichiganWolverine I don't think there's anything "wrong" with the bottle. It's the same profile I've gotten from all GB releases, but turned up to 11 (or even 12). Nothing tastes off about it in a preservation sense. I just poured some two days ago (before these comments) and felt nothing had really changed - maybe a touch softer with some oxidation. It's just an oaky beast with a sawdust disposition - which is all GB, in my experience.
@skillerified wow…this sounds like something went wrong with the bottle or sample vial?
@skillerified yikes! I can send over a sample from my bottle if you'd like to have a proper Cowboy experience.
@soonershrink Yes, that's the bottle I have.
@soonershrink Yep, according to the label that @skillerified put on it.
Was the new sample also the 2021 batch?
Revisiting this with a sample from @skillerified. The nose is surprisingly different with the sweet and fruity notes still present but now being overpowered by over-steeped bitter black tea and sawdust. The palate doesn’t improve on what’s found on the nose and veers quickly to tannic bitterness like sipping on a bitter tea while eating a bowl of sawdust with the fruits and sweet notes vying to be present but still overpowered and finishes highly tannic like getting your teeth clobbered by a two-by-four and a bag of mulch being poured on you while you try to make sense of what just happened. Thankfully the bitterness on the finish eventually fades to creamy rich chocolate, mild coffee and caramelized citrus, but can’t make up for the rest of the experience. This is the exact opposite of the sample I tasted from @soonershrink that seems extremely over oaked which has ruined the decadent bourbon that my previous sample had contained. Hopefully this was just a fluke bottle that something went wrong with, but with the $250+ prices, I’m reluctant to reach for a Cowboy if it could be a coin toss on either a decadent, stunning bourbon or downright dreadful oaky mess. Sorry @skillerified that you didn’t get a proper Cowboy experience and I’ll be sure to send you a sample if I ever get one is a better example of what a Cowboy bourbon should be. I’d rate this sample from @skillerified a 1.5.
@PBMichiganWolverine That’s a good question and it’s definitely possible. I think if anything they are dialing in the balance better.
Wondering if the increasing the age with each yearly release ?