So many samples… so many….
Starward NOVA
Australian single malt with red wine barrels in the mix. Delicious malt, with red wine really shining through though overall package is not super deep or overly complex. Excellent for @work drinking though, or at a bar. One of the few malts that would pair well with food. The taste that is easy to understand due heavy-handed flavor notes that both the underlying malt and red wine provide.
Score: B-
Uncle Nearest 1856 & 1884
Mashbill is 6% Rye, 6% Malted Barley and the rest is corn. This is very corn forward and totally not interesting to me. Good story behind the brand but in its current incarnation it may as well be Mellow Corn. Drinkable, but just barely. Lots of much better bottles in the price bracket. 1856 is a little heavier and darker and 1884 is lighter and ‘cornier’ but I’m lumping them together into same score.
Score: D
Green Spot Irish Whiskey Leonville
This is the 46% ABV, regular (7-10 year blend) Green Spot matured in sherry and bourbon casks but finished for up to 18 months in oaken Bordeaux wine casks from the Irish-owned Château Léoville-Barton… Surprisingly light for a sherried whiskey with notes similar to cognac. While bordeaux wine does come though it’s nowhere near as prominent as red wine in Starward Nova bottles. It is noticeable in the nose and aftertaste but overall it is well integrated with the spirit. Unfortunately, the relative youth is the downside here and depth of flavor, while is helped somewhat by the wine casks, is still lacking complexity as with majority of malts around 10 year mark. A tasty but unmemorable drink.
Score: C+
Weller Full Proof (Bourbon Country & Fred’s Pick)
The highly sought Weller Full Proof (and a very generously given sample in a little trade). The short version on this is… It’s alcohot hot hot hot. The alcohol smothers almost everything nice that’s in the glass. And there are plenty of wonderful flavors and aromas with some classic Buffalo Trace cherry/woody profile overlaid with wheated sweetness, yet lacking the rye spice for obvious reasons. The downside of wheaters is that they’re not as sweet/spicy as their high rye cousins so they carry the proof very differently. I am borderline tempted to not recommend it to a casual drinker, but a seasoned palate would be able to pull some interesting and delicious notes out of this… once past the alcohol burn. Maybe on the rocks it would work, though I’m worried that would dilute already subtle flavor profile. This is decidedly not a casual drink as it requires concentration and time to truly open up and shine in the glass.
Score: B
Henry McKenna 10 Single Barrel (BiB) #7965, 2-2-2010
Mashbill: 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, and 10% Rye
Another product of Heaven Hill Distillery (they got a lot of brands and truly embracing the whole bottling different notes under different brand name schtick, aren’t they?). This is an age-stated 10 year old single barrel. Somewhat letdown by corn on the nose, the palate and the aftertaste are great and mostly hide high corn content. Surprisingly deep and subtle expression with many many layers of flavor that improves with careful contemplation after first not so favorable impressions. This straddles the line between high rye and high corn on the flavor profile and sets a good baseline for corn-forward whiskey. Popcorn, wood, brown sugar and a little bit of brown butter. Well worth the relatively inexpensive price tag for few remaining age-stated bottles in the range. Unfortunately, while pleasant and drinkable, doesn’t offer too much of an interesting package that somehow stands out from the crowd. Will please fans of low-rye bourbons that aren’t wheated. Also personally I’m not a fan of too much corn and this one is a little bit heavy on the corn side of things. Disclaimer: Being a Single Barrel product some of the notes will vary per barrel.
Score: C+
Heaven Hill 7 years Bottled-in-Bond
Mashbill: 78% Corn, 12% Malted Barley, 10% Rye
And yet another Heaven Hill. Surprise Surprise? This one is a lot more rye-forward, though the bottle specs on paper are much the same as McKenna. Still highish corn so the corn flavors remain together with good chunk of wood and spice character. This is Elijah Craig at 100 proof through and through. Wood and spice bomb. Not a whole lot of sugar the mix, and for a 7 year old, this has a bit of a tannic bitterness notes suggesting there may be older over-oaked barrels in the mix, since this happens to not be a single barrel product. Highly drinkable in a bar or mixed. This would please fans of Elijah Craig small batch line, but I’d let the bottles continue sitting on the store shelf myself. I’m glad I’ve tried it but just like with many other bourbons, there are more interesting options to be had for my palate. Must Try, but don’t chase it down.
Score: C+
Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown