Today I’m continuing my 1792 series with their cheapest expression and the one that introduced me to the lineup. I was still nice and early in my bourbon journey when I was exploring low cost bottles that were supposed to be better than the bourbon I knew and didn’t particularly care for(JD, WT101, JB, etc). Spoiler alert, it lived up to that very low hype bar :)

Review

Age: NAS

Abv: 93.7 Proof (46.85% ABV)

Color: A deep gold

Price: 24.99

Neat

Nose: A nice balance of caramel, oak and rye spice notes

Taste: Slightly watery mouthfeel with primarily caramel notes and a nit of spice

Finish: Short but sweet and caramelly with a hint of spice

On a rock

Nose: The caramel note transforms into something closer to honey and the spice is muted though the oak note holds steady

Taste: Still a little watery though the ice helps with the mouthfeel. More honey with smaller notes of oak and rye spice

Finish: Still short and sweet with just a touch of spice

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

Conclusion

It’s a little thin on the mouthfeel and the notes aren’t as strong as I like nowadays but it was a great intro in better bourbon and I love the higher proof and extra aged variants. If you’re early in your journey or looking for a great intro for newcomers I’d highly recommend this great, super affordable bourbon. I also usually have it on hand as a great to share whiskey :)

Russell’s Reserve is the fancy version of Wild Turkey, long time readers will remember my super accurate mid flight review of the 101. Anyways I haven’t explored the high end WT world all that much yet but when my favorite shop got in a Single Barrel Select and it was available for delivery before a work happy hour that I’d promised to bring bourbon to I couldn’t resist. Potential spoiler but I ended up picking up another bottle for my house too, just to be safe, and I’ll be nosing and sipping that one this evening.

Review

Age: NAS

Abv: 110 Proof (55% ABV)

Mashbill: 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley

Color: A deep amber

Price: $55.99

Neat

Nose: Surprisingly hot at first though big oak and toffee notes cut through the heat

Taste: Much tamer than the nose as far as heat goes and the same notes stay very prevalent

Finish: Long finish where the oak gives way to a creamy vanilla finish

On a rock

Nose: The heat is gone leaving a balanced set of oak, toffee and vanilla notes

Taste: This is where this bourbon really shines for me with an great mouthfeel and bold oak and toffee flavors that have no trouble standing up to the ice. Very tasty.

Finish: Still long and still oak fading to vanilla

Conclusion

Another great store pick from Oak Liquor Cabinet. This one is a little hot for me neat but is delicious on ice. I’d love to try a variation on this that was aged for a few more years or finished somehow to add a another note and tame the heat a bit. So far this is my favorite expression from Wild Turkey but I’ll have to try some more of their high end offerings.

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

In honor of Dave Pickerall, Whistle Pig’s late Master Distiller, I’ll be reviewing Whistle Pig Rye 10 Year. This whiskey is distilled in Canada and bottled at the Whistle Pig farm in Vermont. Without further ado let’s get to the nosing and sipping.

Review

Age: 10 years

Abv: 100 proof (50% ABV)

Mashbill: 100% Rye

Color: A medium gold

Price: $72.99

Neat

Nose: Very rye spice forward with oak and sweet notes lurking in the background

Taste: The 100% rye is very clear here as well with more bold spice notes as well as distinct sweet vanilla notes. The mouthfeel is also wonderful on this dram.

Finish: A long sweet linger with a bit of something floral or herbal as well.

On a rock

Nose: The ice can’t contain the strong spice notes which shine through alongside something sweeter though I do lose the oak from the neat nose.

Taste: The sweet vanilla is very prevalent with ice and the rye spice takes a bit of a backseat.

Finish: More of the spice comes through in a finish that stands up brilliantly to ice. Long and well balanced between spice and vanilla sweetness.

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

Conclusion

This is an excellent whiskey and while I’ll only occasionally buy a bottle it is my go to whiskey for pairing with steak when I’m eating out. The strong, well balanced flavors that hold up well to ice make this a great fit for a long Friday lunch. Despite the higher proof it still drinks very smoothly and has an excellent mouthfeel. While it is a little pricey it is also very widely available again making it a staple of restaurant drinking. Thanks for the great rye Mr. Pickerall and I hope the folks you left behind can keep up the great work and honor your legacy.

Another great pour from The Roosevelt Room. This is the 2017 iteration of Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition. It’s a blend of a their 15 yr OESK recipe, 13-year-old OESK and 12-year-old OESV. Apparently this is a low rye release for Four Roses but would be high rye most anywhere else. Anyways let’s get to it.

Review

Age: 12 years

Abv: 108.6 proof (54.3 ABV)

Color: Copper

Neat

Nose: Very sweet just short cloying but in a “The Price is Right
sort of way with notes of brown sugar, charred oak, baking spice and a bit of clove

Taste: Amazing mouthfeel and taste with thick brown sugar and oak notes balanced by rye spice

Finish: A long lovely linger that starts sweet and fades to a spicy tingle reminiscent of holiday spice with hints of something fruity

On a rock

Nose: The ice mutes the oak a bit and brings the baking spice forward leading to an excellent balance of sweet and spicy

Taste: Very similar to neat but with slight more spice brought in and a pleasant cherry note in the background

Finish: A bit shorter than the neat finish with brown sugar and cherry sweetness fading into a spicy linger

Conclusion

Wow! This was amazing especially with just a bit of ice. Unfortunately finding a bottle of this is basically impossible. Four Roses makes some amazing bourbon and I wish they would scale up production on these special editions! For me they are a favorite on par with BTAC,

9 - a favorite I’d like to keep on my shelf

Scale

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The 1792 series continues and this time we are getting into some of the rare stocks with the 225th Anniversary. This one took a bit of work to track down as it was a one time commemorative release to celebrate the 225th anniversary of Kentucky joining the union, mostly for good. Otherwise this is a small batch, extra aged release in the same odd bottle shape that confounds my whiskey organization attempts.

Review

Age: NAS but the bottle says “nearly a decade”

Abv: 92.15 proof (46.075% ABV)

Color: A deep amber with hints of red

Neat

Nose: Starts with a sweet brown sugar note complimented by dark cherries and a bit of balancing baking spice

Taste: Very similar to the nose though the spice is a bit more muted. This could easily fill in for a cherry pie as a dessert. Excellent mouthfeel especially given the middling proof

Finish: A little shorter and hotter than I would have liked. The baking spice mingles with the brown sugar in this medium length, medium heat finish.

On a rock

Nose: The spice is gone leaving the intoxicating brown sugar and cherry combination

Taste: The baking spice and cherries comes to the forefront with the brown sugar note taking a back seat. Even better than it was neat. Oddly the ice actually made this feel a bit thinner in the mouthfeel for me.

Finish: The heat from the neat finish is gone and the spice and brown sugar notes remain for a medium duration.

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

Conclusion

First off this whiskey was excellent as I’ve come to expect from the higher end 1792 expressions (I’ll have to do the small batch at some point haha). I really enjoyed the fruity notes in this one and wasn’t expecting them. Surprisingly the neat finish was a bit hotter than the 1792 Full Proof despite coming in over 32 proof points lower. The hot but sort of short finish kept it out of the 9 territory but just barely! My favorite 1792 so far but only by a nose.

Still working my way through my Heaven Hill tasting kit. This was the only whiskey in there I had never heard of and I had no idea what to expect. I typically enjoy wheated bourbon but I’d never had a wheat whiskey before. Hopefully it holds up!

Review

Age: 7 years

Abv: 90 proof (45% ABV)

Color: A medium amber

Neat

Nose: An interesting nose with a note that reminds me of buttered whole wheat bread with a touch of honey

Taste: The flavor is hard to place on this one, more wheat and sweet?

Finish: Short and semi sweet with a bit of harshness

On a rock

Nose: Sweeter than the neat nose like honey and wheat bread

Taste: A touch of bitterness among the sweet and wheaty notes. Something like bread with a sweetened tart berry jam

Finish: Warm and sweet, the best part of this one for sure

Conclusion

Well I definitely need to taste more wheat whiskies, I was terrible at this haha. Overall it was fine but relatively underwhelming. If this dram is an indication of how whet whiskies are in general then I can see why they aren’t as popular as corn and rye.

TL;DR: Different, not my favorite, curious about the wheat whiskey category.

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

The 1792 review series continues! The Bottled in Bond is a bit harder to find than the Single Barrel, Full Proof and Small Batch but not as harder as some of the others. Bottled in Bond refers to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, when the US government was focused on real problems like crappy bourbon. As weird as it is to have a law about this bottled in bond whiskey tends to be pretty good so let’s dive in.

Review

Age: NAS but at least 4 for BiB

Abv: 100 proof (50% ABV)

Color: A deeper gold

Price: $34.99

Neat

Nose: Rich caramel and oak notes with just a hint of heat

Taste: Very delicious oak forward notes, supporting caramel and a bit of spice

Finish: Medium length finish that sweet and oaky

On a rock

Nose: Both the caramel and notes come back from the neat nose but the oak is more muted

Taste: The oak is back complimenting the caramel and the spice is more like pepper or something like that.

Finish: Shortened by the ice and mostly a more generic caramel finish though towards the end I was getting a little something else in there too

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

Conclusion

I am big fan of when whiskey has a nice balance of sweet, oak and spice so I really enjoyed this one. I definitely preferred the 1792 Full Proof on ice but this was better neat. I guess I need to keep both bottles on hand now, poor me :) Long time readers may have noticed I’m a bit of a 1792 fan so this wasn’t really a surprise. I’m still on the hunt for more 1792 expressions.

Another mystery review! This time from u/kelthfire. I always enjoy these so let’s jump right in:

Review

Age: NAS

Abv: 80 proof (40% ABV)

Color: A pale gold

Neat

Nose: Sweet and fruity with pear and vanilla

Taste: Rich and sweet. The notes are very similar to the nose with more pear and vanilla and the addition of some sherry. A little thin on the mouth feel.

Finish: Short and sweet with mostly sherry

On a rock

Nose: Still sweet and fruity though muted with the ice.

Taste: The ice opens this up a bit and helps with the mouth feel. Pears and green apples come to the forefront with the ice

Finish: The ice pretty thoroughly quenches the finish.

Conclusion

Pre-reveal

Overall this tasted like a middling Speyside scotch, alternatively a scotch style Japanese whiskey. Definitely on lower end of the proof spectrum I’d guess 80-86 proof. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a Glen-something or other aged 12ish years.

6 - a solid whiskey I’d happily order at bar

Post-reveal

Ayyy I was pretty close. Monkey’s Shoulder batch 27 is a blend of 3 Speyside Single malts, Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie, 80 proof and no age statement but what can you do? The rating lines up with how I use Monkey Shoulder at home, as a cocktail scotch for variations on a whiskey sour.

Scale

My reviews are mostly about taste but occasionally take price into consideration generally dropping a point from whiskies in the 8-9 range that seem significantly more expensive than similar quality bottles.

10 - a unicorn, I haven’t found it yet

9 - a favorite that I almost always have a bottle of on my shelf

8 - an excellent bottle I’d be happy to buy

7 - a solid whiskey I’d happily order at bar if they don’t have something 8+

6 - a decent whiskey that I don’t prefer but don’t avoid and would be fine having as a mixer or in a pinch somewhere with a poor selection

5 - I would drink it if offered and I didn’t have to pay for it

4 - Maybe a mixer though I wouldn’t want to pay for it

3 and below - no thanks

Eagle Rare isn’t particularly rare and has nothing to do with eagles. It is a bourbon from Buffalo Trace that carries a 10 year age statement. In my opinion it’s the first step up in the Buffalo Trace bourbon lineup so let’s get to it.

Review

Age: 10 years

Abv: 90 proof (45% ABV)

Color: A deep amber

Price: $32.99

Neat

Nose: A little hot despite the middling proof though with otherwise nicely balanced brown sugar, vanilla and leather notes

Taste: A little thin with more leather and a sweet note that isn’t quite as distinctly brown sugar than the nose

Finish: Finally a bit of spice! A more caramel sweetness here on the end with a nice, long linger

On a rock

Nose: The heat is gone and the brown sugar and leather held strong and something a little brighter crept in almost a floral or herbal note

Taste: A much improved mouth feel with a balance of sweet and a little nutty though the leather still lingers in the background

Finish: A bright lingering warmth with hints of sugar spice and leather. Probably my favorite part of this whiskey

Conclusion

Eagle Rare, what to say..? Is it is good? Of course. Is it overhyped? Yes, especially nowadays. All that aside it is a great whiskey at a great price and a solid intro into the next tier of Buffalo Trace offerings before you’re ready to shell out for the Colonel Taylor Line.

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

Great - A great deal, I’d buy it again

Scale

After a long string of bourbon reviews it felt like it was time to branch out into scotch as well. Speyside scotches are what kicked off my whiskey journey initially and my bottle of Lasanta was getting low so it seemed like a great place to start reviewing scotch.

Review

Age: 12

Abv: 86 proof (43% ABV)

Color: A light to medium gold

Price: $42.99

Neat

Nose: Sweet, almost cloying, notes that are very sherry forward with oak and a bit spice

Taste: Has an interesting overipe fruit note as well a strong sherry note, oak and more warm spice. The mouth feel is surprisingly nice given the proof

Finish: Medium length finish with some caramel notes coming in. Finishes a bit more like a bourbon.

On a rock

Nose: The ice helps tame the sweetness to a more accessible level while retaining the sherry and oak notes

Taste: Also improved by the ice as the warm spice note is strengthened and the caramel note from the neat finish is present as well. The pleasant mouth feel remains

Finish: The spice and fruit note are more present in this warm, medium long finish

Conclusion

Overall this one has some ups and downs for me. It’s a bit too aggressively sweet especially when neat but there are some more interesting notes in there as well. Overall a solid whiskey but there are definitely similarly priced whiskies I prefer, such as Glenfarclas 12, and going vertical the Quinta Ruban is a big step up and I’d pretty much always suggest spending the extra few bucks.

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

Scale

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