Batch #: 013 Bottle #: 109/191 In cask date: 11MAR2017 Bottling date: 17SEP2025 Proof: 123.2 ABV: 61.6% Author's note - skip ahead to the next paragraph for the actual review. And with that, I've finally reached the end, at least here on Distiller, and in this hobby. I began collecting whiskey and then subsequently all kinds of spirits way back in 2017. During my first year in the military in 2016, I basically discovered alcohol (or at least heavy drinking) for the first time in my life. I would drink anything and everything that I could get my hands on, although like most first-timers, it was mostly sweet ciders, flavored whiskies, and similar. By 2017, I had calmed down mentally enough to stop the excessive drinking, and luckily was able to start exploring the world of flavor without keeping an addiction to the alcohol itself. My wife and I decided to get into the collecting hobby together, and dove into the Kentucky Bourbon Trail with a trip to a few distilleries over a long weekend. It took us about another year to actually complete the full Trail, and we've probably completed the whole thing up and down (despite younger and younger uninteresting distilleries being forcefully added every year, and don't forget about “updating” the passport every so often so the old one becomes useless and you have to buy a new one to start over with) at least half a dozen times by today's standards. In the beginning, I started with just a few bottles in the collection, and it was all the cheap basics. I still have the wooden milk crate that I used to store that collection in, back when it was 6 bottles at max. From there it grew, at first where I included a few more milk crates, then a bookshelf, then several bookshelves, and now a custom-lit corner of my home with hundreds of bottles, literature, collectables, tools, etc. It was obviously fun at first, building choices up, comparing the minute differences between them, discovering my favorite products and flavor notes and how those flavors were created during the manufacturing process, then getting into the more hyper specificity of single barrels and barrel picks, all the while slowing building my proof tolerance until anything below full proof just wouldn't deliver the body that I was looking for. Along the way I learned about new brands, watched as the “big boys” played around with limited edition nonsense and fluctuated in price, and was there for the very beginning of the “bourbon boom” in 2020 - watching in horror for years after the tiny distilleries that came out of nowhere demand $100+ for their cookie-cutter 1-2 year aged whiskey, which is still a common practice today. I remember being able to walk into any liquor store (even in Ohio) before 2020 and find any Buffalo Trace or other equivalent big distillery’s products, sitting right there on the shelf next to everything else, not locked away behind the register so you have to stand in front of the cashier just to shop, ironically preventing other customers from doing so while you're in the way. I hate giving Buffalo Trace the time of day, but I remember Blanton's being $55 and accessible everywhere, but with the smartest, most deceptable marketing team on their side, they made the most profitable decision of artificial allocation and scarcity right during the height of COVID-19, allowing them to sell their products for whatever they want and at any quantity they like, since they already had all the customers hooked. It would take a blind and deaf person to not see that they're the most evil distillery we have, and yet they're blindly supported day in and out, with people willing to wait in line for a mere chance to be able to spend their money on a single bottle that's been marked up 300-400% in less than half a decade. Not that my single opinion matters, but I am proud to have continually kept my collection Buffalo Trace free for several years now, and will continue to do so for as long as they prove to be as profit hungry as they are. This behavior was noticed by other distilleries not long after Buffalo Trace started it, and now allocation feels almost commonplace for customers nationwide. The incessant “hunt” continues to feel disgusting and far too capitalistic for any hobbyist to really enjoy this any longer. With this final, 400th review on Distiller, I will begin dwindling my collection until I'm left with only the purest, classic favorites, from those distilleries that still continue to support their customers and allow their products to be purchased. For those of you in the community in and out of Distiller, I wish I could have engaged with you more. It was a conscious decision to stay quiet, more for you than me, because I already hate how purist and pretentious I can be when talking about this, but there's no way I could stand being in a room or chatting with others just like me. When the fun of enjoying started fading, it turned into educating friends, family, and whoever else would listen. I slowly became very envious of anyone who was able to just enjoy their favorites simply and without this level of extremism, and so finally, well, if you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em, right? Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me, crossed paths at the bar, listened to me babble, and, most importantly, those of you that have and continue to support your local and regional distilleries, allowing the selection we have today to be able to grow to this point - I'll keep drinking if you will, and I can't think of anything to be more thankful for than that. Of course I had to add this to Distiller, since it's technically already been added but with specific proof/ABV in the title; one of the many reasons this will be my last review is the clear lack of professionalism from people who add spirits and the equal lack of policing by the Distiller staff. Anyway, I spent most of this year trying to decide what my last reviewed spirit would be. At one point I was going to plan another distillery trip and spend thousands on a private program, and I even entertained the idea of buying my own barrel selection and giving some bottles out to family and friends as a gift. The communication from the distilleries wasn't good enough for me to justify spending thousands, so I kept thinking. I would go to Van Buren Room (Belle of Dayton's cocktail lounge), a place I frequent several times a week, and continue thinking about my choices. And then it hit me: what else could possibly top a whiskey from my hometown, and from the only distillery in Dayton? I took their tour, tried both the bourbon and rye, and surprisingly ended up with the former, despite my usual preference for the latter. As I said, I've been aware of Belle of Dayton and their products for many years now (they make my second favorite gin), but I always assumed their whiskies were sourced, young, plain, or any combination of the above, and the $100 price tag didn't help their cause. All that got put to bed during the tour, as I spoke with one of the master distillers about just how passionate the whole crew was, and how it absolutely reflected in all their products, including the whiskey. Not sourced, usually 8 or 9 years aged, always a single barrel, and always bottled at full proof or cask strength. It's also a 4 grain bourbon, and although the oats does make for a notable softness, combining wheat and rye in a bourbon is useless, as they usually cancel each other out as far as their unique flavors, and nobody counts barley in their bourbon, since I've yet to meet one that doesn't use it. Still, this hit all the big checkboxes on my list, and I felt honored to support as local as it gets, especially people who actually care about this industry instead of the profits behind it. Even though the body is quite dark, closing in on chocolate territory, there's something about it that reminds me of honey, perhaps because the meniscus is lighter than I expected. The nose is powerful, and has even notes of cinnamon, citrus, red and blue berries, sweetness from the charred oak, and a small maltiness, all of which is rounded just a bit more than usual due to the oats. That initial sip is just as powerful as the nose was, but in both cases, although it's shocking at first, it doesn't push you away or overwhelm you, as long as you're aware of what you're getting into. The berries and a touch of citrus are the initial flavors, which get sweetened by some vanilla before getting a big hit of cinnamon and some of that fresh, grassy, somewhat minty rye. The gums start heating up, but similarly not too much to be hateful. After the fruit subsides, there's some honey and a maltiness that rides out the fairly hot finish - a near perfect reflection of the nose all the way through. I'm glad I'm wrong about this one, because the wheat and rye do not contradict each other, and stand out of the way enough to be able to pick up both flavors. The oats are welcome here, and although don't provide a unique flavor, they help to elevate the malt while preventing the rest of the flavors and body from being too powerful. This seems like an obvious candidate for some water to be added, but really is quite enjoyable on its own, enough to shy away from even adding ice. It's been a fun journey, and I wish happy exploring, collecting, supporting, and, most of all, drinking to all of you.