This is a delicious mature whiskey, far from overly oaked, and full of complexity and nuance. The nose is loaded with cooked dark cherries, warm dark chocolate, macaron, green apple and Juicy Fruit gum. On the palate it’s rich and mouth coating, not drying at all. Surprises like dried strawberries and Cap’n Crunch Cereal (think sweet-sweet corn) interweave with darkly toasted bread and s’mores. For me, the 20- and 19-year-old barrels are ideally balanced with the younger 17-year barrels.
Jeptha Creed Bottled-In-Bond Rye Heavy Bourbon Review
On the palate, the Jeptha Creed Bottled-In-Bond Rye Heavy Bourbon begins with earthiness and intrigue, but ultimately the pour falls apart for me on the finish. The fact that it’s so drying is distracting, and that isn’t helped by the fact that it’s quite earthy and in need of a sweet or spicy kick to provide balance. It certainly rewards anyone patient enough to let it sit in the glass a while … as the saltiness is tempered … while the dried apple and bacon fat notes become more robust. However, that doesn’t change the fact that sitting with it for a while is made difficult by an unpleasant finish that you won’t want to dwell on.
Egan’s Conviction Irish Whiskey Review
This is an elegant and well-mannered whiskey; balanced, velvet soft, delicately honeyed while delivering a bit of spice across the palate. Easy, easy sipping that deserves some classy nibbles (think caviar and smoked salmon). The brand says this was finished in XO Cognac barrels, but I struggled to discern any Cognac influence other than a little vanilla. While I prefer bolder whiskeys than Irish, this checks all the right boxes for this designation. Fans of the category will love it, and drinkers new to the category will be delighted to start learning here. I won’t be a bit sad to revisit this regularly for my own education.
Green River Bourbon Review
I’m pleased to report that after scientifically tasting about half the bottle of Green River Bourbon, I can confirm that it’s beyond good. A nose of enticing warming spices greets you thanks to the high-rye mash bill which is followed by the standard trio of bourbon flavors (vanilla, caramel, and a hint of oak) with the addition of cinnamon and sweet candied fruit. It’s a lighter bourbon (especially compared to what I normally drink) but the mouthfeel is luscious and the finish is surprisingly long, warming, and flavorful.
Kentucky Owl St. Patrick’s Limited Edition Bourbon Review
This bourbon is truly delightful to drink. Too many multi-whiskey blends lack the synergy and symmetry that this bottle presents in spades. Its sibling, Kentucky Owl: The Wiseman Bourbon, released last September, was one of those. On the palate, it felt like every whiskey competed for attention rather than working as a unit. (It makes a good old fashioned, though.) Lastly, I recommend reading the press release below just to get an idea of how this came together. Full disclosure: When I first read it, I thought, “Here we go again. Another history story made modern and a mess in the same effort.” I happily admit that I was wrong. I’m now intrigued.
O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review
View PostSneaky Peat Whiskey Review
One of my favorite blended malts at any price is Johnny Walker Green, so when Sneaky Peat advertised itself as a Blended Malt with a bit of peat while being $15 cheaper, JWG became my instant point of comparison. Going into this tasting with that lens, I was pleasantly surprised with what I experienced while returning to the bottle over the course of a couple weeks. While I don’t find Sneaky Peat to be as complex as Johnny Walker Green, it is solidly in the same ballpark and just as good a value to me. The nose was on the weaker side but quite sweet and pleasant with pears and green apples combining with the malted barley. Faint campfire smoke brought along some sugar in the form of toasted marshmallow. The taste was silky smooth with a mouthfeel reminiscent of an Irish whiskey. The note of sweet, soft oak that joined the mild peat made me confident that few, if any, of the single malts were especially young and the sugar presented itself more like honeycomb and cocoa malt.
Old Soul High Rye Bourbon Review
As the great Yogi Berra once said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Here we have yet another bourbon with this mash bill. I think this may be the fifth I’ve tasted this year. This bourbon by Cathead Distillery is their second release of Old Soul Bourbon. The first I reviewed a couple years ago and it can found here. This release is a blend of MGP bourbon and the same mash bill distilled at Cathead. Unfortunately, the distillery would not disclose the mix of MGP vs their own distillate. There is no age statement on the bottle but on the website, they mention the age at between four and five years. This is an improvement over the first release which included some younger Cathead distillate. At 90 proof however it struck me as somewhat thin with a short finish. I believe a bit more proof and age would really improve this. However, this is an improvement over batch one and certainly worth trying at a bar or the distillery.
KO Distiller’s Reserve Bottled-In-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey Review
This is a very good and interesting rye whiskey. Interesting because of the orange vanilla notes mixed with the rye spice. Creamy on the front of the tongue with the rye spice coming through on the back. It is very enjoyable. This is the second KO Distiller’s Reserve release as earlier in the year, KO released a Bottled in Bond Bourbon. (see my review here). These Bottled in Bond releases demonstrate that there are more good things to come from KO Distilling. While the price is a little high, the quality is there. This release is one of two whiskeys released to celebrate KO Distilling”s 6 year birthday. Distribution is limited right now to Virginia, DC, Maryland and Delaware,