Early Times is a Brown-Forman brand that really leans in on the patriotism and early American distilling angle. It was also cheap, bottled in bond and generating some hype online so I picked up a bottle alongside the Dickel BiB last week. So we’re going to keep the affordable Bottled in Bond drinkers reviews rolling!

Early Time Bottled in Bond

Age: 4 years (back label and BiB)

Abv: 100 proof

Color: Amber

Price: $22 for a liter

Neat

Nose: Vanilla, caramel and light ethanol.

Taste: More vanilla with supporting caramel and grain notes and a bit of oak and spice. Average mouthfeel for 100 proof.

Finish: Short and hot with mostly cinnamon spice and some caramel trying to balance it.

Conclusion

This whiskey was fine, the proof and mouthfeel were nice, the classic caramel and vanilla notes are always enjoyable and while the nose and finish were a little harsh for me. It really didn’t stand out at all and I don’t see myself every reaching for the bottle over other things. I definitely preferred the Dickel to this, even considering the price.

All that said, if you’re looking for decent, cheap drinker with some classic notes and extra kick this will do. It’s about the same price as Evan Williams Bottled in Bond and a little better in my opinion but when I wanted ~100 proof on a budget I’d spring the couple extra buck for Wild Turkey 101.

TL;DR: Nothing special, good price. I prefer it to EW BiB. Benchmark BiB is better though.

0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this

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Scale

George Dickel recently released a 13 year old bottled in bond expression at a very reasonable price and it hit Texas this week! I’ve been enjoying Barrell and Smooth Ambler’s Dickel sourced releases and am a fan of bottled in bond so I had to pick one of these up.

George Dickel Bottled in Bond Fall 2005

Age: 13 years

Abv: 100 proof

Color: A medium amber

Price: $40.99

Neat

Nose: Chocolate milk powder, toasted marshmallow and a bit of mineral water

Taste: More chocolate, marshmallow and minerality with some warm spice and faint oak notes. Decent mouthfeel but thinner than I expected.

Finish: Medium length finish where the age really shows with strong oak notes with supporting spice and chocolate.

Conclusion

I liked this whiskey though it’s not going to convert you to Dickel juice if you’re not a fan and overall isn’t anything crazy to write home about.

It is very comparable to the new 13 year Smooth Ambler Old Scout Single Barrel Select so I decided to do a little side by side. Unfortunately all of my first bottle of SAOS SiB Select evaporated so I can’t compare this whiskey directly with that one but I did pick up a second bottle in trade from a friend who doesn’t like Dickel. It clocked in at a slightly lower 96.8 proof than the first one’s 99 proof and wasn’t quite as tasty. Compared to the 96.8 SAOS bottle the Dickel BiB was had a stronger nose, thinner mouthfeel, less spice, more oak on the finish and a bit more of that Dickel mineral/vitamin note. Overall I preferred both bottles of the SAOS SiB Select to this but not by a huge margin.

TL;DR: If you’re a Dickel fan on a budget this hits all the right Dickel notes at a great price but if you can swing the extra $24 I’d go with the Smooth Ambler.

On a side note some folks are concerned about the lack of age statement on the label; it’s on the website and in their press materials. I think that’s just for classic marketing bs so they can reduce the age of future releases without having to change the label but who knows.

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

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Scale

I had the good fortune of attending the Spirit of Speyside festival this year and naturally went to Glenfiddich. Among several awesome experience I got to bottle my own 15 year cask strength NCF bottle.

Glenfiddich 15 Cask Strength

Age: 15 years

Abv: 117.8 proof

Color: A medium gold

Price: 120 GBP

Neat

Nose: Soft and sweet with rich honey and sherry notes.

Taste: An amazing mouthfeel that viscous and velvety with strong notes of sherry, honey, oak and malted grain.

Finish: Medium length finish with warm honey, a bit grain and a little spice.

Conclusion

This was another delicious whisky from Glenfiddich and continues to highlight how much we are missing out on cask strength releases from them here in the states. I actually asked Ian Miller, the semi retired distillery manager, about the possibility of getting more cask strength releases in the US but he wasn’t super forthcoming and I don’t have a lot of hope.

I loved the mouthfeel and nose on this one and was especially surprised by how easy it was drink given the proof. I tried the standard 80 proof 15 year after this and it was night and day different. All these cask strength single malts are ruining me for the cut down 80-86 proofers. On the other hand compared to this year’s festival bottle, a 15 year Port Pipe matured 117 proof monster, this was noticeably less sweet but had a better mouthfeel and was more complex with the spice and oak notes. It was also 80 GBP cheaper so there’s that.

If anyone can suggest a cask strength Speyside we can get in the States please let me know!

3 Stars - Excellent whiskey: I would be willing to hunt down a bottle

I didn’t even realize I was doing a series on some of my favorite wheated bourbon until I was 3 parts in! We started with Old Rip Van Winkle 2018 then hit Maker’s Mark Private Select and finally Old Fitzgerald 9 year. At the request of u/NorthernBourbonite I’ll wrap this series up with Rebel Yell 10 Year side by side with the Old Fitz and then get back to all the scotch I brought home from my anniversary trip. Rebel Yell 10 year is a single barrel wheated bourbon from Lux Row Distillers which is distilled at Heaven Hill. SO let’s see if it stacks up well against the Old Fitz 9 year!

Rebel Yell 10 Year

Age: 10 years

Abv: 100 proof

Color: A darker amber

Price: $59.99

Barrel: #5083222

Neat

Nose: All sweetness with warm butterscotch, honey and a hint of oak

Taste: Dominated by warm, sweet butterscotch with a supporting oak note, solid mouthfeel though I was hoping for a little more viscosity.

Finish: Short finish with more warm sweetness and a bit of bitter oak

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

Conclusion

Overall I really enjoyed this whiskey even though the finish was a bit disappointing. It hit on that warm, sweet butterscotch note I love in good wheaters, had a solid mouthfeel and was aged long enough to have clear oak notes. I’ll definitely be on the look out for another bottle now that this one is getting perilously low. A single barrel, 10 year old 100 proof tasty wheater for $60 is a great deal to me.

All that said compared to Old Fitz 9 it came up just a bit short but given that it is cheaper and easier to find it wins out on that front. Both whiskies were same color, to my eye at least, though the Rebel Yell was a little thinner with less nuttiness, more butterscotch and more bitter oak on the finish. While this wasn’t the barrel to do it I could certainly see a honey barrel of this eclipsing the Old Fitz.

Quick note that I did the review and tasting notes first and then did a quick blind side by side and was able to tell them apart primarily by the mouthfeel and finish. Had I done the blind tasting cold it would have been harder for sure.

When Heaven Hill started a line of age statement, bottled in bond wheated bourbon that came in a taterific decanter I knew I had to try it. Thankfully my go to whiskey bar had it in stock and when it was done I was left wanting more. Another member of our local bourbon group helped me get a hold of one locally even if it was a bit of a crazy price. While it might feel bad to buy from a shop that’s selling things well above retail sometimes you don’t have a lot of options.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond 9 Year

Age: 9 years

Abv: 100 proof

Color: A darker amber

Price: $170 ($90 is retail)

Neat

Nose: Warm and sweet with honey and vanilla notes

Taste: Sweet and viscous with loads of butterscotch then oak and a little bit of peanut. Lovely mouthfeel.

Finish: Slightly dry, short to medium length finish with oak and sweet peanut notes, almost like an unsalted peanut butter

3 Stars - Excellent whiskey: I would be willing to hunt down a bottle

Conclusion

Overall I am big fan of this whiskey which hits all the right wheated bourbon notes for me even if the finish was a little too short for me. At 100 proof it was easy to drink neat while still having plenty of flavor and a nice mouthfeel. That said it was not worth what I paid for it though if I could buy this for retail I’d keep one on my shelf all the time. That’s not really what one off releases are about though.

I’m pretty confident I prefer this to the 11 year though I never had the chance to try them side by side to be sure. While the ship has likely sailed on the 11 year, I know there are still some of the new 13 year olds out there in Austin so I’ll be on the hunt to see if I can get one at a more reasonable price than I did with this guy.

Maker’s Mark’s Private Select Program let’s you pick 10 staves that are inserted into the barrel for 9 weeks to impart new flavors. It’s interesting in that you can create your own new The downside is that you don’t know what you are going to get until the bottles arrive. Most of the selections I’ve seen have combinations of most or all of the stave types so I curious when I saw Oak only used 2 stave types.

Maker’s Mark Private Select Oak Liquor Cabinet 2019

Age: 6 years

Abv: 110 proof

Color: A medium amber

Price: $64.99

Staves: 5 Roasted French Mocha, 5 Toasted French Spice

Neat

Nose: Rich spices, a bit of ethanol, warm butterscotch,

Taste: A medley of baking spices, more butterscotch, cinnamon, vanilla. A little hot.

Finish: Long finish with warm spice and cinnamon. A bit of a burn

On a rock

Nose: Sweet and spiced with butterscotch and warm baking spice notes

Taste: Thick and excellent mouthfeel, a much better balance of baking spice and butterscotch,

Finish: A long finish with warm, lingering spice

Conclusion

This was was very good on the rocks and it’s that time of year here in central Texas. When I first cracked this it was too hot for me neat, a little open time mellowed it out enough to be enjoyable though I still prefer it on a rock. The intersection of the butterscotch notes I often get from wheaters and the rich spices from the finishing staves was very unique.

I’ve had a few Maker’s Private Selects now and this was easily one of my favorite. I think the focused stave selection helped a lot. I wish Maker’s would release this just a couple more years of age on them as 6 years for a cask strength wheater just isn’t enough time to get the sweet spot in my opinion.

That said it’s a tasty, cask strength wheated bourbon I was able to walk into a store and buy off the shelf at a reasonable price which isn’t easy to do these days. So if you’re a fan of wheat and high proof I’d definitely recommend grabbing a Maker’s Mark Private Select.

7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar

Fair - Worth the money, happy with my purchase

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Scale

While Old Rip Van Winkle is the youngest of the Van Winkle line up it has long been one of my favorite bourbons and is generally cheaper for me to drink it at a bar than to purchase a bottle. Unfortunately, someone finished off the Wizard Pappy allocations from my usual spots; thanks to a local bourbon group and some luck I ended up with a 2015 and a 2018 ORVW without paying completely exorbitant prices.

I needed something special to break in my new review scale and Austin Bourbon Hunters Northside glencairns so let’s see if this tastes as good at home as it did at drink.well!

Old Rip Van Winkle 2018

Age: 10 years

Abv: 107 proof

Color: A dark amber

Price: $59.99 - (my cost was ~$150)

Neat

Nose: Sweet brown sugar, warm spice and vanilla. Strong aromas without being harsh.

Taste: More brown sugar, dark cherry and warm spice with a viscous, velvety mouthfeel and just a bit of vanilla

Finish: Medium to long finish that’s slightly dry with a balance of sweet honey, baking spice and oak notes

Conclusion

This was delicious. It’s everything I want from a wheated bourbon very sweet with brown sugar or butterscotch notes, enough age to mellow out any harshness and have some nice oak without becoming too bitter or dry, some nice fruit notes to round it out and 107 proof is right in my preferred proof range (generally 100-110).

This was definitely a significant step up from the other 107 proof Buffalo Trace wheater, Old Weller Antique, and while it shared some of the same basic characteristics the extra aged does it a lot of favors. I am going try and grab some samples of a couple OWA store picks and do a blind tasting to control for the hype factor.

I would immediately buy another bottle at ~$250 though I’m not sure I’ll ever have the chance.

4 Stars - Extraordinary whiskey: An all time favorite

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Scale

I had the great fortune of being able to visit Scotland during the Spirit of Speyside festival this year as part of my anniversary trip. Naturally I had to go to my favorite distillery, Glenfiddich, unfortunately I didn’t get until the day after they released their festival bottle but by a stroke of luck I was still able to grab one! This year’s expression was fully matured in Port Pipes which is a first for Glenfiddich. It was hard not to crack it while I was still in the UK but I managed to wait to get back to the states and then immediately opened it. So now that I’ve had a few pours let’s see how it stacks up!

Glenfiddich Spirit of Speyside 2019

Age: 15 years

Abv: 117 proof

Color: A medium amber with a red tint

Price: 200 GBP

Neat

Nose: Honey, sweet cherries and faint floral notes.

Taste: More honey and cherries with a little bit of oak and spice. Thick and luscious mouthfeel.

Finish: Long, warm sweet cherry pie.

Conclusion

This was delicious! I really enjoyed the strong Port influence, the mouthfeel and all the flavor that comes from the high proof. I had the chance to try several other cask strength Glenfiddich expressions while I was there and now I am very sad they aren’t readily available here in the States.

I do think with a few more years of aging this would have been a perfect 10 but I still really enjoyed it and am going to try and savor the rest of the bottle. I have more souvenir bottles to work through and review in the coming weeks!

4 Stars - Extraordinary whiskey: An all time favorite

I just got back from a trip to the UK where I had the chance to drink a fair amount of Blanton’s Gold and snag a couple of bottles to take home with me. Blanton’s Gold is a higher proof, export only version of the sought after bourbon. Let’s see what we are missing out on here in the States with a little side by side tasting.

Blanton’s Gold

Age: NAS

Abv: 103 proof

Color: A deep gold

Price: ~$120 on Amazon UK

Bottle: Warehouse H Rick #56 Barrel #1912 Bottle #135

Neat

Nose: Sweet caramel and bright citrus

Taste: Rich oak with more caramel and citrus plus some baking spice

Finish: Medium to long finish with oak, warm spice and vanilla

On a rock

Nose: Sweet caramel but the citrus notes are gone

Taste: Very nice mouthfeel with oak and caramel notes, the citrus and spice are quenched by the ice

Finish: Short with a bit of oak

Conclusion

This was some great bourbon. Compared to usual Blanton’s Single Barrel this was slightly darker, spicier, oakier, more caramel than vanilla and had an improved mouthfeel. It also held up to ice much better if that’s your thing. It was an all around upgrade. It’s a fun souvenir from Europe and if I could pick it up in the States I would from time to time but the regular expression is close enough for me.

Next time I’ll try to track down the SFTB.

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

Blood Oath is a divisive series of sourced bourbons from Luxco. Between the unknown sourcing, inclusion of finished whiskeys and fancy packaging these bottles have been subject to a lot of hate and a lot of tatering(full disclosure: I am on the tatering side here). This year’s relase, Pact 5, is a blend of 3 bourbons: a 13 year old, an 11 year old wheater and an 8 year old finished in rum barrels for an undisclosed amount of time. So let’s see if it lives up to the hate or the hype!

Blood Oath Pact 5

Age: A blend of an 8 year, 11 year and 13 year

Abv: 98.6 proof

Color: A deep gold

Price: $99.99

Neat

Nose: Sweet vanilla and banana notes I often associate with rum with a subtle nuttiness.

Taste: Less vanilla than the nose with caramel notes, more rummy bananas and that hint of slight nuttiness alongside a solid mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length finish with nice vanilla and caramel notes. I don’t know where the rum notes went though.

Conclusion

I really liked this one and it reminded me of a bananas foster. It’s definitely a dessert whiskey for me alongside things like Barrell Dovetail and High West A Mid Winter Night’s Dram. Overall it is a great whiskey(assuming you like finished whiskies) that’s probably a little on the high side pricewise but I’d happily pick up another bottle at retail. I think it edges out Dovetail in taste but costs nontrivially more ($85 vs $100) so it’s a bit of a toss up if you are looking for a rum finished whiskey.

Looking forward, I am still trying to track down a bottle or at the very least some samples of Pact 1 to do a comparison of the Pacts in the near future and I am reworking my scale to differentiate more between the growing number of 7 and 8 point reviews.

Quality

8 - an excellent bottle I’ll buy from time to time

Value

Fair - Worth the money, happy with my purchase

Scale

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