Tiny Samples First, thanks friend Jason!:
Bluegrass Distillers, Elkwood Reserve 15, Kentucky, 58% — These come as single casks so your experience may vary… Woody, sweet, punchy, somewhat spicy. This is classic bourbon through and through. Well balanced, if slightly hot, sipper. — Score: Yay-
Four Gate, Seelbach’s? SP, Toasted Barrell, Heaven Hill, ~60% — Nutty, high proof. Quite woody, little corny, spicy, the usual. Seems to lack a truly enjoyable bourbon depth and texture. That being said it’s almost too easy to drink. Would enjoy a bottle — Score: Yay-
Quixotic Spirits Rebirth; Heaven Hill, 64.8% — Minty. Woody, perhaps too woody. Spicy, warming, velvet texture. Not overpowering for the proof, being surprisingly gentle. Fantastic front to back. — Score: Yay
Sweeten’s Cove “Specialty Release 2021” (Dickel), 56.48%
A true Dickel blend of different ages with high proof. Dickel is a polarizing distillate. Many associate it with Flintstone’s vitamins, especially those that had those. For me it just typically tastes nutty bad… or flowery good. This one happens to lean towards flowers; a small win I guess. Toasted wood and cologne on the nose. Slightly nutty but not offensive, well-balanced palate, dry oak, baking spices, black pepper. Aftertaste lingers for a bit with dried orange peel, little pepper and cinnamon, backed by toasted wood and some vanilla. Overall: Certainly one of the better (possibly best) Dickel bottlings I’ve had, it leaves little to complain about provided you fundamentally enjoy the peanuts-or-flowers profile. In this case it’s dry oranges, oak, and balanced baking spices. Value: Picked this up at $30 on clearance. Avoid at 160 MSRP.
Score: B+
Sweetens Cove “Kennessee”, 55.35%
A brief one: This is a blend of Dickel (Tennessee) and Undisclosed Kentucky bourbons in a secret proportion, “finished with toasted sugar maple wood”. That’s from the bottle. Little maple-sweet note on the nose, backed by strong alcohol. This is a younger blend here. The nose is surprisingly Kentucky once the maple dissipates. I’m going to skip describing and go straight to: Overall: It’s a decent Dickel and Kentucky blend. Nothing more, nothing less, it’s exactly as it sounds. The peanuts are somewhat balanced by the Kentucky spice in the blend but are still there. Mix 1792 and Dickel BiB together and this is what you get. Somewhat sweeter than typical faire due to sugar maple finish which makes it both more and less tolerable depending on mood and what you are tasting in the glass from Dickel DNA. Value: Picked up for $10 on clearance. Not worth it at MSRP of about 60.
Score: C+
Subtle Spirits Bourbon (MGP) #77, 57.8%
MGP distillate aged 10 years. Smells very nice, bourbon, distinct tobacco note on the nose too. Layered complexity in the palate, steeped black tea, balanced sugars and cinnamon, toasted vanilla. Surprisingly gentle for the proof. Long aftertaste with more or less whatever was on the palate unchanged, just lingering for a while. Overall: It’s really really good. Arguably one of the more enjoyable and balanced bourbons in a while for me. Value: Priced at $129… it’s a maybe? considering that 10 year MGP is hard to come by.
https://shop.subtles … le-spirits-selection
Score: A
Frey Ranch Bourbon, Starrs & Staves SP, 60.50%
Barrel #1260. Frey Ranch just outputs excellent stuff all around. Dark caramel, lots of toasted wood, depth of flavor that belies age. The nose is sweet with dry pencil shavings and alcohol. Palate is all toasted wood, orange oil, lots of very very dark caramel, cinnamon. The palate hangs around for medium-long time and gently fades from the palate, no surprises there. Overall: Youngish bourbon par-excellence. Easy counterpart to best of 5 year old SAOS few years back by being woodier and darker with saos being sweeter and cinnamon forward. An excellent drinker. Value: These are usually ~$99 which is a somewhat reasonable price for the quality
Score: A-
MGP Light Whiskey 18 year old, James Vo SP, 75%
A hazmat! A light whiskey from MGP pick by James, called “Annual Gift Man Presents X-MAS Special”. This is a private cask select. No information about it online. Barreled in 2005 and bottled in 2023. Nose is similar to a sweet cologne. The palate start gentle for the proof but then kicks into overdrive on the alcohol in the secondaries. Deceptively powerful but not overwhelming. Lots of sweet vanilla, brown sugars, hot cinnamon. Water brings out depth of oak and baking spices. Overall: Proofy but very enjoyable, especially with a touch of water. There’s little not to like here. Value: N/A, a gifted open bottle.
Score: B+ (w/ water)
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown