The folks at Bardstown were kind enough to send me samples of their newly acquired Green River Bourbon both the rye recipe and the wheated.

Green River Bourbon

Age: NAS

Proof: 90

Neat

Notes: The youth comes through, grain and spice, slightly herbal. Vanilla frosting sweetness.

Green River Wheated Bourbon

Age: NAS

Proof: 90

Neat

Notes: Soft, sweet, hints of nuts reminds me a good bit of Larceny. Honey wheat bread, spice on the finish. Vanilla and oak on the finish.

TL;DR: Looking forward to a higher proof and/or age stated release!

Smoke Wagon Malted Rye 3C

Age: NAS

Proof: 119.6 - I think; the hand written proof is hard to read

Neat

Notes: The nose is what I would expect from a good MGP rye with sweet, rich herbs, rye spice and vanilla extract. The mouthfeel is excellent as is the proof integration. The palate starts sweet with vanilla cream before getting into more herbal territory. The finish is long, slightly spicy and slightly dry with oak, rye spice and vanilla notes. The herbs are never overly dill forward which is nice for me.

Stars: 2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

TL;DR: One of the better MGP sourced ryes you can actually get without a hassle

The folks at Beverage King in Connecticut were kind enough to sell me one of their Blanton’s pick at retail so obviously I jumped on that. Harsha is a great guy and his ECBP pick was pretty great so I was very excited for this bottle. The Lord of the Rings one ring tater label didn’t hurt either :)

Blanton’s Single Barrel Beverage King One Ring Pick

Age: NAS

Proof: 93

Neat

Notes: Sweet nose and front palate with vanilla honey buttercream frosting notes. Then a burst of spice and oak that lingesr alongside vanilla extract for a very long finish.

Stars: 2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

Conclusion

This is right up there with the Moonshine Blanton’s pick for the best 93 proof modern Blanton’s I’ve tasted. Buffalo Trace makes some great whiskey.

TL;DR: I’d drink more Blanton’s if they all tasted like this!

WFE distilled bourbon sold through TN for some reason.

Old Kirk 6917

Age: 6 years 9 months

Proof: 129.7

Neat

Notes: The nose is sweet with a big bubble gum note. The palate is classic bourbon with caramel, vanilla, oak and cherry notes. The finish is a little hot with baking spice, cinnamon and ethanol burn which is slightly balanced by some dried fruit and vanilla extract.

Stars: 2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

TL;DR: Not at the level of a WFE Bourbon but not far off.

New Riff Single Barrel Rye

Age: 4 years

Proof: 106.5

Barrel #: 2625

Neat

Notes: Cinnamon and herbs. Syrupy sweetness. Slightly bitter both in an herbal and oak sense on the finish.

Stars: 0 - Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this over other readily available options

TL;DR: Enjoyable but unremarkable. It took 5-6 years to kill it.

I don’t drink a lot of Irish whiskey but when I do it’s usually Green or Red Spot.

Green Spot

Age: NAS

Proof: 80

Neat

Notes: Sweet and bright with honey and malt notes and hints of apple. Watery mouthfeel. Short clean finish with a touch of spice. The anemic proof underperforms at the price point and the nice, if simple, flavors carry this.

Stars: 1 - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies

Red Spot

Age: 15 years

Proof: 92 - also NCF

Neat

Notes: The nose is rich with harvest notes of apple, cinnamon, holiday spices and oak. Palate dark dried fruit, apple pie and baking spices plus more oak. The finish is medium length with lingering oak and spice with subtle dried fruit notes. Solid mouthfeel for the proof and great proof integration. It tastes bigger than 92 proof and has no heat or sting.

Stars: 2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

TL;DR: Green Spot is nice but hard to justify the price. Red Spot is a winner.

I finally got to try the new Parker’s at Moonshine and I am very glad I did!

Parker’s Heritage Double Barreled

Age: Blend of 13 and 15 year

Proof: 132.2

Neat

Notes: The nose was amazing with rich sweet wood and brown sugar. The palate brought brown sugar, rye spice, leather and delicious rich wood. Shockingly this was not dry at all. It also very nice proof integration that let you know it was big and high proof without burning and a thick mouthfeel.

Stars: 4 - Extraordinary whiskey: An all time favorite

Conclusion

Well it’s time to hunt one down.

TL;DR: The best Parker’s I’ve had and an all time standout

I finally got a chance to try the Old Fitz 19 at Moonshine and I’m very glad I did.

Old Fitzgerald 19 Fall 2022

Age: 19 years

Proof: 100

Neat

Notes: Right away it is super oaky with an almost menthol quality on the palate. There is also some subtle sweetness and baking spice. The finish was long and surprisingly spicy.

2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

TL;DR: V good but I’ll take the 17 and FOMO cured

Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Batch 37

Age: NAS

Proof: 115.2

Neat

Notes: Brown sugar, oak and heat on the nose. The palate is spice forward with rye and baking spice balanced by rich oak and vanilla frosting. The finish is long spicy and slightly dry with baking spice and oak notes.

Stars: 2 - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

TL;DR: One of the spicier batches for me. Quite good.

Last night we tasted a little EHT BP Flight. Given that we didn’t have any particular biases we just tasted these in proof order.

Batch 10 was the lowest proof at 127.3. It was my winner and was the most complex of the bunch even if it wasn’t as sweet. It also had the best finish.

Next up was Batch 6 at 128.1 proof. This was the clear last place (literally everyone had it last). It started off nice and was thick and viscous but there was a weird bitterness toward the end and it stood out as hot even in this lineup. That said it was still good.

The 3rd one we tasted was also my third place with the new Batch 11 weighing in at 129 proof. It had a really nice nose and good flavors. The finish was fine but didn’t impress compared to other batches in the lineup.

Finally we have Batch 8 at 129.3 proof. This was my second place. It was well balanced on the sweet side with cherry and spice but not too much oak. It was a tough call between this and Batch 10.

TLDR: B10 > B8 > B11 > B6