Tastes
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Nose opens with stewed fruits in the form of pear and apple, tobacco, leather, vanilla cake frosting, orange marmalade, caramel chew, old cedar furniture, allspice, clove, Honestly, there is so much depth and complexity here you get a new element with every sniff. A truly great aroma. Ethanol is well controlled. Palate brings more “dark” elements than the nose would indicate; tons of gooey caramel, Black Forest cake, ripe date, toffee, black cherry, fig newton, and dark chocolate. Saying flavors are rich and robust is a massive understatement. Finish is insanely good with…remember one of those crazy ice cream sundaes you would get from a place like Swenson’s where it was three scoops of vanilla ice cream and then you had one fudge, butterscotch, and strawberry topping on each scoop? That’s totally there in this finish. Even a hint of the chopped nuts. Just enough cinnamon, black pepper, and toasted oak to add balance and keep things from becoming cloying. Very long, but wanted it to be longer because it’s so damned good. Mouthfeel is full bodied and creamy. A delight. So some ECBP releases are spicy, some earthy, and some sweet, and this is definitely the latter and it really hit the spot for me. Right up there with the best of the best of the expression. Can’t remember if I paid $79.99 or $99.99 for this but it doesn’t matter because the rating is 5 out of 5 either way.89.99 USD per Bottle
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Nose is full of brown sugar, molasses, caramel, waffle, mesquite, burnt sugars, nutmeg, and barrel char. Ethanol nice and low. Palate matches the nose quite well with additions of creme brûlée, raisin, dark chocolate, tea leaf, burnt marshmallow, and butterscotch. Flavors are dense and rich, almost “gooey” if you will. Finish brings heat and spice in the form of jalapeño pepper, ginger, rye, astringent oak, and unattenuated alcohol but after that it magically turns sweet again with caramel drizzled vanilla ice cream, which I found to be absolutely divine. And that note LASTS. Mouthfeel is full bodied and slick with a hint of effervescence which also worked for me. Very much a densely sweet and sharply spicy affair, there is a lot to like here if that’s your jam. A wild ride for sure, but a rewarding one if you’re willing to strap in. The finish absolutely slayed me. At around $70, it meets rebuy status easily, although I will say that like many Balcones products, I have to be “in the mood” because they are a little more challenging than the average dram, but overall one of the better expressions from this distillery.69.99 USD per Bottle
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Nose is bold and spicy with cinnamon, clove, allspice, and nutmeg. There’s also some apple, pear, smoke, and peanut. Ethanol is disturbingly persistent. Mouthfeel is nuttier and less spicy than the nose would indicate. Notes of peanut brittle, cashew, vanilla, caramel flan, red apple, and dry oak. Very bright. Tastes a little young, with everything being slightly rough around the edges. Finish bring a ton of black pepper along with pleasant oak, barrel char, red hots candy, and clove. Mouthfeel is full bodied and nicely oily. Having reviewed a lot of these, I would say this release is very “on brand” for this whiskey, that being nutty and spicy. I think a little more age on these releases would work wonders; imagine what a 12-13 yr old Larceny BP would yield? Sadly, the world may never know. At 79.99, the value is solid, and I’ll probably keep buying them at the price point.79.99 USD per Bottle
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Nose is wholly unpleasant with burnt rubber, smoke, wet cardboard, grape must, earthy damp cellar, and root vegetables (turnip? beet?) But then something strange happened…the burnt rubber and cardboard aromas vanished to be replaced by overripe date, salted caramel, strawberry, and plum. I’ve never had anything like this happen before. Am I drunk? Ethanol is pronounced and spikey. Things improve on palate with prune juice, brown sugar, port wine, sherry, white grape, vanilla, fudge, clove, allspice, black cherry, coffee, and vegetal beet. While reading that back it sounds good, but it sounds better than it tastes. Hard to describe, but the flavors are unruly and over the place. Finish is long with creme brûlée, pencil eraser, barrel char, dark chocolate, toasted oak, leather, black pepper, mint, sulphur, and astringent iodine. Mouthfeel is full bodied, chewy, and slick. Maybe it’s me, but I just didn’t dig this whiskey; too many weird/off notes at every step. A hot mess express. At $119 that I paid for this bottle via mail order, I regret my life choices. Strange because I usually enjoy Balcones, but this one missed the mark big time for me.119.0 USD per Bottle
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Aroma opens with rye spice, vanilla creme, shortbread, white pepper, candy cane, apricot, fresh leather, grass, dried plum, tobacco, and oak. An inviting and complex nose for sure. Ethanol is low. Palate offers raisin, date, caramel, fig newton, smoke, prune, and macadamia nut. Flavors are rich but with some delicacy to them; kind of like a soufflé. Finish is delightful; on the longer side of medium with figgy pudding, chocolate, black,pepper, herbal mint, toasted oak, caraway seed, and dried black cherry. Mouthfeel is full bodied with a soft, velvety texture but does turn a bit dry at the end. Yeah, this is delicious. I will admit that formthe first few drams after opening I felt this was a bit tight and that the sherry/rye flavors were a bit clashy, but as more air got to the bottle it opened up and became more cohesive. A bold, innovative, and weird whiskey that somehow still works. I paid $99.99 via mail order and while I’d always like to pay less, I feel this is appropriately priced for the quality. Nicely done, Sagamore.99.99 USD per Bottle
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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C923
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed April 28, 2024 (edited April 29, 2024)The now famous C923. Big fan of the expression so let’s see how this highly regarded release stacks up. Nose is “dark” with well integrated notes of plum, caramel, date, French vanilla ice cream, fig, custard, nutmeg, tobacco and sweet oak. Complex and inviting. Ethanol is low given the proof. Palate brings the caramel and vanilla from the nose with less fruit than the aroma would indicate although I do get nice black cherry and berry notes. Add butterscotch, raisin, black pepper, hazelnut and toffee. Flavors are rich and decadent. Some heat is evident on the tongue. Finish is so damn long with a cinnamon/allspice/ginger bloom, brown sugar, old leather, and barrel char. Lingering wood note (which to me tastes more like bitter sandalwood than oak) after everything else fades away. Mouthfeel is full bodied and unctuous. A truly outstanding ECBP release. Just missed a 5.0 for being a wee bit hot, but it’s the minorest of flaws. At the $79.99 that I paid it’s highway robbery; if you find it at that price buy two and thank me later.79.99 USD per Bottle -
Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye (2023 Release)
Rye — Tennessee, USA
Reviewed April 26, 2024 (edited May 1, 2024)134.4 proof. I added just a splash of water to this, as I usually do with 130+ proofers. Nose is bold with cinnamon roll, banana bread, white pepper, lemon zest, maple, and a hint of charcoal. I like it, but it’s a bizarre nose for a rye. Ethanol is exceptionally low given the proof (water splash may have helped) Palate has a lot going on; butterscotch, rye, black pepper, baking spices (cinnamon, clove), tobacco, chocolate, and green apple. PUNCHY. Runs hot with spice throughout. Finish is insanely long with loads more spice/heat, cherry, fennel, wintergreen, barrel char, burnt caramel sugars, leather, and a hint of anise. Mouthfeel is oily but has a decent amount of graininess and dryness to it; could have used more smoothness given the intensity of the flavor profile. So it’s robust, flavorful, and complex but also kind of wild, unruly, and all over the place. Definitely doesn’t have the qualities that I would associate with or look for in a world class rye. I know there’s many that are in love with this expression but it just didn’t come together for me. At 74.99 that I paid, it’s hard to say it’s overpriced in today’s market but lots of bottles out there I’d rather have at a similar price point so falls short of rebuy status.74.99 USD per Bottle -
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C921
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed April 16, 2024 (edited April 17, 2024)Nose is rich and full with pecan, nutmeg, caramel, vanilla, allspice, cinnamon. ginger, clove, Fuji apple, and oak. Ethanol is minimal. Palate offers all the spices in the nose (so as not to be redundant see above) along with some burnt sugars, cashew nut, tobacco, gooey caramel, bakers chocolate, and blackberry. Definitely punchy. Finish is extremely long featuring barrel char, leather, semi-astringent oak, fiery chili pepper, and a hint of peppermint. There’s some alcohol heat here and a sharp and prickly mouthfeel that doesn’t do this any favors. Ends very dry. So, I love these expressions. That said, there are desserty versions, fruity versions, and spicy versions, and this falls into the latter category with a good deal of hot baking spice notes. Very “autumn”. Finish was harsher than I would have wanted, although I admit it’s a minor flaw. At $80, these continue to be an insane value in todays market. Buy with no reservations, knowing that at worst (like this one) you’re still getting a 4 out of 5.79.99 USD per Bottle -
Barrell Bourbon Dovetail (123.44 Proof)
Blended — USA
Reviewed April 16, 2024 (edited April 29, 2024)Aroma is interesting and unique, offering peach, white grape, honey, sugar cookie, banana, and pine. Ethanol is there is you huff too deeply, but diminishes with smaller sniffs. Palate offers vanilla, bitter orange marmalade, honey glaze, butterscotch, burnt marshmallow, and banana bread. Flavors are rich and punchy. Finish is long and complex with Concord grape, caramel, orange slice candy, white pepper, and blackberry. Wow…you can still taste some elements minutes later. There is a hint of ethanol which serves to be a slightly detracting. Mouthfeel is medium bodied but extremely oily and slick. Almost bordering on a dessert whiskey with many layers of complexity within the sweetness. Could have used a hint of wood for balance. At 86.99, it’s slightly overpriced but yet still a fine whiskey that I would consider rebuying depending on what else is in my current stock.86.99 USD per Bottle -
James E. Pepper - Barrell Proof 2023 release
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed April 8, 2024 (edited April 28, 2024)Nose offers cedar, cotton candy, berry, vanilla, root beer, walnut, and butter. Unique for sure, but also a little wild. Ethanol is on the milder side, especially after five minutes in the glass. Palate is full of black cherry, cola, caramel, stewed pear, fig, tobacco, and a hint of peanut. Flavors are decently robust. Pleasantly long finish brings salted caramel, toasted oak, nutmeg, finely ground pepper, and leather. Cinnamon note lingers after everything else fades. Mouthfeel is full bodied and a little creamy, which elevates the experience. Nicely unique without any major flaws, I found this enjoyable. At $60, it is priced appropriately for the market and a viable rebuy option for the sake of variety when you’re tired of the same old same old.59.99 USD per Bottle
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