skillerified
Garrison Brothers Guadalupe (2023 Release)
Bourbon — Texas, USA
Reviewed
May 7, 2023 (edited May 9, 2023)
N: Dripping, sticky floral honey, peach candy, barnyard funk that also somehow feels like it's been contained in a hard candy, paper pulp, lightly smoked meat topped with grilled peach or pineapple rings, lots of other less specific fruity things going on, and a slight hint of ethanol.
P: Big red wine notes, dried cherry, touch of red wine oak, caramel, dusty book, cooked vanilla, little bit of honey, earth, and that characteristic GB dry funk that comes across, to me, as wet cardboard.
F: Ethanol hot, wood, earth, dust, sticky cherry compote, mint/menthol, green tea, honey, maybe some dark chocolate.
This might be my favorite GB release. But I'm pretty sure it's also going to be the last one I buy. GB has a cult following. And there's often a reference in reviews to some sort of "funk" note that seems to be unique to GB. Every GB bottle I've tried, from Cowboy down, has had that same wet cardboard note that this one has. (I would guess at this point that it's a product of a proprietary yeast strain.) That note here is lighter than any other GB I've tried, and comes late after that lovely port finish has its say, but it's still more than enough that I have no interest in another bottle of this, much less any of the even more wet cardboard-y bottles. Others seem to taste this funky note differently, but I've had my fill of wet cardboard bourbon. I'll leave future releases to the cult.
I'll add, I think every GB release is overpriced by about a 2:1 ratio. This was a $150 bottle. If Balcones had released this, I'd expect it to be more like $75-80. I guess if that funk hits you right, maybe you disagree, but I've lost the ability to imagine that now.
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Yes I totally agree avoid all Garrison wet cardboard products.....excellent idea
@PBMichiganWolverine I think retail is $250, up from $220. I've seen $300 often enough though.
@skillerified what is the going rate nowadays for the Cowboy?
Yep. I've passed on 2023 Cowboy a few times now. Just the fact I've seen it sitting on a shelf multiple times this year suggests it's not moving as fast as it used to, anecdotally I suppose.
I’ve still only had the Cowboy and Balmo. I enjoyed Balmo, but not at a price anywhere close to SRP. It’d have to drop below 70 for me to think worth it. The most recent Cowboy price increase also appears to have priced me out of buying again.