When Bourbon Enthusiast announced he was releasing his own brand I was excited to try it and grabbed the first batch. It’s almost gone so it’s time for a review.

 

Union Trail 5 Year

Age: 5 years

Proof: 100

Neat

Notes: The nose is simple and sweet vanilla, grain and brown sugar notes. The palate brings more of the same with some cherry and spice as well. The finish is medium length with fading sweetness and lingering spice. The mouthfeel and proof integration were competent and what I would expect at 100 proof.

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

Conclusion

Overall this is a solid bourbon but the midrange high rye bourbon space is very crowded and this bottle doesn’t stand out from the crowd. I’ve enjoyed it neat, on the rocks and in cocktails and don’t regret snagging it but I am not going to be tracking down another one.

TL;DR: Solid but nothing to hunt down

 

Nickel City Eagle Rare 2020

Age: 10 years

Proof: 90

Neat

Notes: Sweet cherry and rich oak are the dominant notes throughout. The proof integration is excellent and this goes down very smooth. The mouthfeel is solid for the proof. The finish is long with lingering cherry and baking spice.

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

TL;DR: A solid Eagle Rare pick from a great bar

 

Knob Creek 12

Age: 12 years

Proof: 100

Neat

Notes: The nose is rich and sweet with nuts, caramel and vanilla cream. The palate leans in on those notes and balances with some rye spice. The finish is long and slightly dry with oak and vanilla. Overall this is a great execution of the classic Beam bourbon profile. It doesn’t bring any new or surprising notes but the depth of the notes and the balance are excellent. The mouthfeel and proof integration are on point for 100 proof.

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

TL;DR: Not as good as the 18 year but not far off and way easier to get

Late last year a group of us got together to pick another Old Forester Barrel Strength barrel with Debs. Personally I think this is the best one I’ve helped with yet!

 

Old Forester Almighty ATX 2

Age: NAS

Proof: 130.2

Neat

Notes: Milk chocolate and caramel dominate the nose. The palate reminds me of a room temperature Snicker’s ice cream bar but with a little woodiness to it. The finish is medium length and clean with a burst of caramel and oak.

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

TL;DR: A candy bar in a bottle. My favorite Old Forester pick yet

 

Hirsch Single Barrel KY-018

Age: 7 years 9 months

Proof: 137.6

Neat

Notes: Reminiscent of Willett with notes of mint and dark fruit on the nose plus a bit of proof sting. The palate is like an alcoholic Christmas fruit cake with dried fruit, warm spice and vanilla and caramel notes. The mouthfeel is in line with what I would expect for a high proof bourbon but doesn’t stand out. The finish is long, warm and slightly dry with dried fruit, baking spice, oak and vanilla notes. The proof integration is very impressive as the only place that stands out as 137.6 proof is the nose.

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

Conclusion

Between the taste, the mashbill and the age I am highly confident this is Willett distillate and a better batch than the Old Kirk.

TL;DR: Tastes like Willett. Very glad I have backups plural

I was chatting with a friend who referred to Benchmark Full Proof as Stagg Jr Jr claiming he had heard it was pretty close to Stagg Jr. Between that and my own experience with EHT Single Barrel vs Benchmark Bonded I was intrigued.

The blind tasting video is on Instagram and YouTube if you want to watch it; alternatively read below for the results and tasting notes. Also, I apparently forgot to write a review of 2020 GTS so this will have to count as that too.

Benchmark Full Proof

Age: NAS (probably barely 4 years)

Proof: 125

Place: Distant 3rd

Notes: The nose brings ethanol with a bit of spiced cherry pie. The palate is slightly harsh with ethanol burn, caramel, baking spice and a bit of cherry. The mouthfeel is solid but the proof is not well integrated. The finish is medium length and hot.

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

Stagg Jr Batch 15

Age: NAS

Proof: 131.1

Place: Close 2nd

Notes: The nose is all cherry and rye spice. The palate brings cherry cola, rich oak, baking spices, caramel and enough proof to let you know it’s there. Great texture and mouthfeel that is thick but not oily.The long finish has notes of lingering spice, oak and faint cherry.

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

George T Stagg 2020

Age: 15 years

Proof: 130.4

Place: 1st!

Notes: The nose is like an overly boozy holiday spiced cherry pie. The palate has notes of rich oak, cherry cola, caramel, vanilla cream, baking spice and a bit of brown sugar. The proof integration is excellent, it lets you know it’s a heavyweight without overwhelming. The finish is very long, slightly dry and a little spicy with fading cola and lingering oak and rye spice.

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

Conclusion

Overall no surprise in the rankings. I was once again surprised by how good Stagg Jr iseven right next to GTS. I will not be drinking anymore Benchmark Full Proof straight but I’m sure it will be fine for cooking and cocktails.

When Seelbach’s started releasing the Maryland Heritage Series I wasn’t really sure what to think and didn’t catch the first release of these ryes. After grabbing the 16 year old bourbon they released I wished I had grabbed the ryes too. Thankfully they did another release of the Sherbrook.

 

Sherbrook Rye

Age: 14 years

Proof: 109.7

Neat

Notes: The nose is rich and creamy with creme brulee and herbal notes. That palate is perfectly balanced with more of the creamy vanilla from the nose, more herbs and a good amount of rye spice and rich oak. The finish is long, sweet and spicy with brown sugar and cinnamon notes.

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

Conclusion

This is an amazing rye. I am looking forward to a blind with some of my favorite old ryes: High West Rocky Mountain Rye and Kentucky Owl Batch 4.

TL;DR: Excellent, well aged MGP rye. This one is going to be hard to beat.

Here are my top 10 bottles that were released in 2022 that I actually got:

10. Knob Creek 18 Year
11. Thomas Handy Sazerac
12. Sherbrook 14 Year Rye
13. Hardin’s Creek Jacob’s Well
14. Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition
15. Willett 8 Year Ryes specifically “Amarillo by Morning”
16. Willett 9 Year Bourbons specifically “Texas Sun”
17. Old Fitz 17
18. Heaven Hill 17
19. George T Stagg

While I was putting together my top 10 for the year I realized it was mostly stuff that is super hard to get so I decided to do a “Things you can actually get” list first. While not all of these sit on the shelves they are attainable with a bit of effort ie paying attention to the Smoke Wagon restock emails and do not require something like camping out at @specs1962 for 3 days. So here we go, my top 5 attainable whiskies of 2022:

5. Noah’s Mill (22- releases) - In 2021 Willett upped the age on Noah’s Mill and it made a huge difference. The 2022 release is just as good as the 2021 and maybe a shade better. It tastes like Willett with plenty of mint and cinnamon. It also makes a killer Old Fashioned. I specifically have batch 22-06.

6. Smoke Wagon Malted Rye - This unusual mashbill rye still brings the herbal goodness of MGP rye with a fair bit of additional sweetness and just a little something different. I’m enjoying it both neat and on a rock. I have batch 3C.

7. Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered - I know there is a lot of discussion on whether the old UCUF batches are better than the new ones and for a while, I was on team pre-batch # but the later releases this year have brought me around. I have batch 159f and I’d easily put it up against the OG batches I got from Vegas back in the day. UCUF is still my favorite attainable MGP bourbon.

8. A local store pick - find a local store, club or Instagram person who does picks you like and grab those. Everyone has a different palate but if you can find a place that consistently has picks you like that’s the best value in bourbon. Austin has a few places that dropped great picks consistently throughout the year and some of them are still sitting there.

9. Calumet 16 - I’m still surprised this is sitting on shelves. Sure it’s a little pricey but it’s 16 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey at 106 proof. I’ve already killed a bottle this year and grabbed a couple backups because this one hits for me. You can taste the age in a great way on this bottle.

Those are my top 5 attainable releases from this year. Let me know if there’s anything you disagree with or think I missed!

When I tasted a sample of KC18 a few weeks back I decided I’d grab one if I can across it. Thankfully that day came and now the bottle is almost gone so it’s time for a review.

 

Knob Creek 18 Year

Age: 18 years

Proof: 100 proof

Neat

Notes: The nose is rich and sweet with notes of caramel covered nuts, vanilla extract and leather. The palate brings oak, vanilla cream, faint spice and a bit of caramel and leather. The finish is long and surprisingly sweet with lots of caramel and some spice.

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

Conclusion

Overall I think Hardin’s Creek Jacob’s Well was a little better but the KC18 is still excellent. It’s exciting to see Beam release two high age statement hitters this year; hopefully it’s the start of a trend for them.

TL;DR: The best of the Knob Creeks imo