Tastes
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Four Roses Private Selection Single Barrel Barrel Strength Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed March 14, 2024 (edited March 16, 2024)“Momma’s” pick OESV aged 10yrs 6 months, 57.2% ABV Nose is full of vanilla and stone fruit (peach, plum, cherry) along with red delicious apple, blackberry, and just a touch of oak. Ethanol is basically non-existent, which is crazy given the proof. That said, the overall nose is a little tight/muted. Palate gets things moving in the right direction with the same notes as the nose but dialed up several notches. Fruit cocktail drizzled with vanilla icing along with chocolate fudge, flan, and a little butterscotch. It’s not the most complex, but very well integrated. Finish is long and lingering with Red Hots candy, white pepper, leather, and a definite oak presence suddenly appearing. Quite the contrast from the palate. Heat is there, but restrained. Mouthfeel is full bodied and extremely creamy which is a real highlight that greatly elevates the overall experience. Loved the lack of ethanol and velvety mouthfeel and while the palate and finish were also very good, it does suffer from a slight lack of complexity. That said, I am splitting hairs here as this is an excellent whiskey. I paid $119 and would do so again for any bottles of this expression.119.0 USD per Bottle -
Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C920
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed March 12, 2024 (edited April 28, 2024)Nose is full of hot baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) and peanut. Some cherry cola as well. Ethanol is moderate. Palate matches the nose nearly precisely; if you like lots of spice and peanut, this is your whiskey. Also rum soaked raisin, caramel, and black pepper. Flavors pass “punchy” and enter the realm of “in your face”. From a guy who likes his flavors dialed up to 10, this is a 15. For 6-8 years old, this seems young as hell. Finish brings more of the same and is shorter than expected for the good parts (nut, baking spices, leather, oak) and longer than necessary on others (cinnamon/chili pepper spice) Mouthfeel is full bodied and oily which is the best part of this whiskey. Oof. Hot mess express. The oldest Larceny BP I own and reviewing it so many years later shows how the expression has matured and developed over the years as you can tell the whiskeys in the blend here were much younger than subsequent releases. I think I paid 59.99 which was great at the time given the price creep in bourbon, but honestly even at that price from days gone by I would not pay that for this specific release. Lowest rating I think I have given to an LBP.59.99 USD per Bottle -
For starters, I don’t usually note the color of the whiskey because in my mind it’s very much “who cares?” but I have to say this color is extremely light, kind of a copper/straw color. Nose brings vanilla, a very green oak, toasted cereal grains, grass, pear, lime, and golden apple. There’s zero ethanol (a plus) but also very simple and muted (a minus) Palate offers the vanilla and apple from the nose, along with honey, cotton candy, almond, and toasted coconut. Very bright. There’s some complexity here, but the flavors are lacking in richness. Finish is short with marked barley (almost beer like), green tea, white pepper, sour apple, and young oak. There’s an earthy note I can’t quite put my finger on (beet?) Mouthfeel is super light, airy, and soft. Also quite dry, which worked for me. While there is nothing offensive here there is also not much to write home about; it’s…”nice”. Light and fruity but also somewhat dull. Almost like a starter kit into the world of American Single Malt, which is fine but i favor a more robust product. At $60, there is zero chance I would rebuy given what is on the market for that price (Rare Breed comes to mind)59.99 USD per Bottle
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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B523
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed February 26, 2024 (edited March 9, 2024)The first ECBP to feature less than a 12yr age statement and a pretty low proof to boot; how will this measure up? Nose offers some standard vanilla/caramel along with cedar, apple, orange peel, cinnamon, spun sugar, nutmeg, and hay/grass. Ethanol was quite pesky, detracting a bit from the experience. Palate offers some immediate tannic oak followed by cinnamon bear candy, nutmeg, caramel dipped green apple, subtle vanilla, golden raisin, and cherry. Not a lot of mid-palate action going on here; everything comes quick and at the very front of the tongue. Finish is very long and bitter dry oak along and more spices adding allspice and clove to the cinnamon and nutmeg from the nose/palate along black pepper, lime, chili pepper, and a hint of peppermint. Super spicy. It’s not alcohol heat, but the spice just overpowers. Mouthfeel is slick and oily. A more spicy and tannic profile than I am used to from these releases. While it’s certainly a good whiskey, I am missing the sweeter notes present in other releases. Is it the age? The proof? I’m not certain, but I feel this is a sub par release. At 89.99, it’s still merits a 4.0 (which should tell you something about the quality of the series) but just not a top tier release.89.99 USD per Bottle -
Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon
Bourbon — Indiana, USA
Reviewed February 24, 2024 (edited February 26, 2024)Batch 242 108.2 proof. Aroma offers cashew nut, date, fig, tobacco, old furniture, leather, sage, honeydew melon, caramel apple, and a hint of smoke. Slight bit of ethanol but overall complex and delightful. Oh wow. Palate brings more nut (now macadamia and hazelnut) along with wine, dried fruits (raisin/fig), pipe tobacco, black cherry, and toffee. Definitely tastes like there’s some quite old whiskey in here. Flavors are rich, robust, and so well integrated it’s almost hard to pick out individual notes. Just know it’s delicious. Finish is medium with plum, sherry wine, dark chocolate, citrus zest, and just a touch of nutmeg. There is also wood tannins but it’s hard to just say “oak”; it’s like layers of different woods. Tobacco and leather notes linger. Zero heat. Mouthfeel is full and buttery smooth. I know I used leather, tobacco, fig, and nut several times, but chalk that up to the cohesiveness of the profile, as these elements are present throughout the experience. Phenomenal. 6 out 5. At $199, I regret nothing and would rebuy. It’s that good, and that unique. The king of finished whiskey.199.0 USD per Bottle -
Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C923
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed February 20, 2024 (edited February 21, 2024)Nose is perkier and fruitier than most expressions from this series while still retaining core elements; Macintosh apples, caramel, spun sugar, stewed pear, vanilla, barrel char, and sweet, mature oak. Ethanol here is real, but other than that it’s a great nose. Palate brings zero fruit from those nose and throws us deep into toffee, caramel, praline, peanut brittle, burnt ends, and iced cinnamon roll. While there is nothing wrong with this palate, it was a bit of bummer since the aroma promised a truly unique experience that never came. Lacks some richness and depth. Finish brings a quick hint of apple but then it immediately sandblasted away by a blast of baking spices in the form of cinnamon, allspice, clove, and ginger along with tons of chili pepper, oak, and leather. Man this sucker finishes hot; I think my tongue is melting. There’s a hint of honey as the spicier notes fade which I found enjoyable. Mouthfeel is full and chewy, but slightly grainy with the spiciness here making things seem harsher than they should and it’s nowhere near creamy enough to balance. I do enjoy this series, but this one might be a little sub par in my opinion as I found the flavor profile to be a little too simplistic and the finish way too hot to be considered top tier. At 99.99, the combination of slight overpay coupled with a disappointing overall experience makes this probably the first Larceny BP to fall short of rebuy status.99.99 USD per Bottle -
Ironroot Harbinger (115 Proof)
Bourbon — Texas, USA
Reviewed February 18, 2024 (edited May 17, 2024)Nose brings brown sugar, molasses, dried apricot, furniture varnish, barrel char, cashew nut, maple, an appealing smoked oak note, and a hint of pencil eraser. Ethanol present thooughout which was a bit of a bummer since the aroma was otherwise enjoyable. Palate offers the brown sugar and wood varnish from the nose along with apple, vanilla, cinnamon, candy corn, smoke, and flan. Almost no mid-palate at all; rushes to the finish. Flavors are not well integrated and clash with one another. Finish brings some slight improvement in the form of cotton candy, grape must, pink peppercorn, clove, molasses, sour apple, and oak which turns toward bitter astringency. A long slow peppery/spicy burn lingers after everything else fades. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, but pretty grainy which unfortunately I have found to be a trend with Texas whiskey. While this is held is decently high regard in whisky circles in my area, I found it to be kind of weird and disjointed with plenty of off notes. Not the best example of the Texas style, as Balcones has several expressions which blow this out of the water. Like your typical teenager, this is young, weird, and unruly. At 69.99, it’s extremely hard to justify a rebuy.69.99 USD per Bottle -
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch A123
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed February 14, 2024 (edited February 15, 2024)Aroma opens with red delicious apple, pipe tobacco, wood varnish, leather, sandalwood, and caramel. There’s a significant amount of unwelcome ethanol here. (I know it’s a barrel proof but I’ve had higher proofs with less) This particular release smells closer to a souped-up Elijah Craig Small Batch which…could be better. Palate gets things moving back into the right direction with rich vanilla, Rollo candy, graham cracker pie crust, apple, date, black cherry cola, and milk chocolate. All the notes in the palate are various degrees of sweet, yet it doesn’t become cloying and I would attribute that to the overall profile not being super rich but in this case it might be a feature, not a bug. Finish comes in super quickly with ice cream sundae, cinnamon, clove, oak, and a long spicy blast of peppermint and cinnamon which goes on seemingly forever. While I appreciate long finishes, I’m not certain that these are the notes I want to linger to this extent as there is kind of a toothpaste quality to it. Mouthfeel is weighty and oily, but does have a little graininess. More challenging, less cohesive, and probably just lesser quality than any of the ECBP batches I have sampled. Does that make it a bad whisky? Not at all, and my relatively low rating of 4.0 is less “this is shit whisky” and more indicative of the quality that I am used to seeing from this brand that this one simply didn’t measure up to.79.99 USD per Bottle -
Nose is sweet, sticky, and kind of glorious; iced cinnamon roll, praline, French vanilla, toasted agave, cornbread, and a hint of wood smoke. Ethanol is low low low. Agave presence magnified as time passed. Wow, palate is wild. Caramel drizzled flan, buttered popcorn, agave, butterscotch, Bailey’s liquor, maple, and rock salt. Flavors have richness but there’s a lightness that keeps thing from getting too cloying. That said it’s not a complexity king. Finish is very long with vanilla ice cream, more butterscotch, even more caramel (this time in the form of straight up caramel syrup) black pepper, mint, roasted nut (pecan?) and a lingering oak note after everything else fades. One of the first Balcones products where the wood tastes like oak instead of mesquite. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, but smooth and silky. Slight effervescence on the finish which worked for me. Man if you love caramel, this is your jam. Bold, all over the place, and yet somehow it comes together. The corn/agave combination which makes zero sense on paper, works wonders in practice. Delicious and 100% unique which earns a few extra points in my book. At $90 I can easily justify a rebuy here. I need more hard to find Balcones expressions in my life.90.0 USD per Bottle
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Old Overholt 10 Year Cask Strength Rye (2023 Release)
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed February 8, 2024 (edited May 13, 2024)A quite enjoyable nose featuring caramel flan, toasted oak, white pepper, rye crisp cracker, cherry, hazelnut, earthy cellar, and Tupelo honey. Ethanol very low given the proof. Complex palate offers creme brûlée, brown sugar, allspice, a just-shy-of-bitter oak, black pepper, white grape, hay, and vanilla. Flavors are rich and bold. Spice slightly overshadows the other notes. Finish brings citrus rind, white pepper, tobacco, clove, chili pepper, cola and nutmeg. Some spearmint after everything else fades. Finish is on the shorter side of medium, but just a minor flaw. Mouthfeel is slick and oily without any graininess which really serves this well by keeping the sharper notes in check. As a rye it’s good, but as a whiskey it borders on excellent. More like a high rye bourbon than a traditional rye but that in no way detracts from the quality. At the $109 I paid, I have zero regrets and this verges on rebuy status.109.0 USD per Bottle
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