Nose: Rounded, sumptuous and decadently nostalgic. Few wheaters can touch this nose – the sweet, confectionary notes just melt and simmer throughout the glass before overflowing into your nose. Warm, moist brown sugars, bubble gum, ginger, cinnamon, and very buttery. You can literally smell the butter melting on top of the pancakes. Freshly buttered toast, melted milk chocolate, some orange spices, potpourri and a little cherry cough lozenge sitting on top of piles of big baking spices – all balanced by gorgeous notes of sweet American oak and a squeeze of lemon. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ The grape soda note I get from some of BT’s bourbon comes through here, even more so than some bottles of Eagle Rare. I attribute this to BT’s corn strain specifically which may sound odd but it’s definitely here and works very well with the rest of the nose. You can’t not love this nose – even if you aren’t a fan of wheated bourbons. Nosing this is the quintessential confectionary shop – it literally hits every note you’d imagine while standing in one. I’d be giving this a 100 if it were for the nose alone….. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: Sluggish & disappointing – their is no other way of saying it. Nothing offensive and with nice qualities, but a huge letdown from the nose. Demerara sugars, bubblegum, raisin and some of the really nice baking spices from the nose, but not as intense. The wheat is stated beneath all the sweetness but isn’t as rich as your average Weller 107. The mouthfeel is rounded, but never takes off and lacks any depth or substantial texture other than “sweet”. The palate overall is quite buttery, which one should expect from a wheater and the support of the oak accompanies the sweeter notes mentioned above, with just a hint of barrel char and a non-astringent wood polish note, but overall everything is a half hearted yelp compared to the harmonious melody that was sung on the nose. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Medium in length. Honey & spices pop right from the start of the finish. A picture of every classic holiday spice you can muster from childhood memory unfolds: rich baking spices – cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla spices, moist brown sugars, more demerara sugars, muscovado sugars and some black pepper as well. Oak and sweet vanilla stride hand in hand next to the baking spices followed by a mere hint of smoke. The BT corn note from the nose is back here on the tail end of the finish along with nicely accentuated notes of golden wheat, reminding you of exactly what kind of bourbon this is, and the continual, unrelenting baking spices remind you exactly who’s last name is on the front of the bottle. This is a Van Winkle every inch of the finish, although I would of liked to of seen this finish march a little further on past the ‘Medium’ threshold. The spice domination turns slightly bitter right on the end but remains lip smackingly sweet, and delivers on just about everything you should expect from the finish of a Van Winkle. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 83.5 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com