Knobel Tennessee Whiskey

I was excited to find Knobel Tennessee Whiskey in NC, but the store hadn’t put it on the shelf yet so they brought me one from the back. That’s when I went into a smidge of sticker shock at the register to see the bottle ring up at 70 bucks. I figured Mike Rowe was involved it had to be stand up so why not give it a try even if it seems a bit pricey. The aroma was filled with cherries, caramel, and citrus coupled to light spice, oak, and leather. The flavor was initially sweet with more cherries, caramel, orange citrus, pepper spice from alcohol, oak, and leather. The finish was even and dried out over time with restrained warming from alcohol. It’s not surprising this was not overwhelming in alcohol considering it rings in a 90 proof. My first initial impression was I overpaid and this was a solid 40 buck bottle. Over time I’ve come to think differently, but still don’t believe this should command a 70 dollar price point. 10 bucks less would be much more appropriate for this level of complexity and easier on the wallet. What’s interesting is the same store had to reduce inventory, and dropped the price to 45 beans. Now that’s what I’m talking about. At that price this bottle is a buy all day everyday. Give it a whirl and see if you think the price point is appropriate for this whiskey or not.

Speyburn 10 Year Single Malt Scotch

Happened upon Speyburn 10 Year Single Malt Scotch in an ABC store and couldn’t overlook the 25 buck price tag. The boxed bottle presented like a Christmas gift and it’s amazing something with such a low cost can have such impressive packaging. Anyway, I didn’t expect much out of a bottle at this price point, but it was a Speyside Single Malt so why not take the journey? Let’s get to the good stuff, the impression of the whisky. The aroma is light caramel, almost butterscotch, and a light presence of lemony citrus coupled to hints of leather and black pepper. The flavor is slightly sweet with caramel, more citrus notes, toffee, butterscotch, slight leather and slight black pepper. The finish goes to even with lasting light citrus, caramel, black pepper, and leather at a very low level lasting long into the aftertaste. While this Whisky is not going to blow your socks off, it also it’s as boring as I expected. With a clean palate this has quite a bit to offer without becoming overwhelming because it only rings in at 80 proof. I’d suggest if you see a bottle at 25 bucks or less to snag it and give it a whirl. It’s not to shabby for an inexpensive, budget friendly Single Malt.

Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Bourbon

Happened to be in a store and as I was walking out they mentioned they were marking down Smoke Wagon bottles to eliminate some inventory. I grabbed a few bottles to check prices and landed on Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Bourbon as the one to bring home. Normally this bottle retails for 78 bucks, but it followed me home for 40 and change. My previous experience with Smoke Wagon was underwhelming to say the least. I found the bottle overpriced for what it offered, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a SW bottle which was a bargain. This bottle was no slouch at 57.82% ABV and let you know from the jump this was not a low proof Bourbon. The aroma was filled with an initial impression of alcohol and black pepper. Lurking just behind was a pleasant citrus note, caramel, brown sugar, and leather. The flavor was a delicious presentation of caramel, brown sugar, more leather, low citrus, and restrained alcohol. The finish had a nice sweetness with caramel, brown sugar, and toffee to it and eventually faded to dry with a light citrus and black pepper lasting pleasantly into the aftertaste. The post consumption alcohol warming was surprisingly restrained despite the proof. I really enjoyed this bottle, especially at this price point. I’m on the fence if this is worth nearly 80 bones or not. The complexity of this bottle is quite nice, but I keep thinking I’d pass it by at 80 bucks. So if you see this for less than 80 I’d say snag it and give it a whirl. It’s a nice drop, just not quite convinced it’s worth full boat.

Ezra Brooks 99 Rye Whiskey

I’m a fan of Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon so when I spotted Ezra Brooks 99 Rye Whiskey I had to give it a whirl. The 99 proof Rye was only 25 bucks so it really was a no brainer to snag a bottle. Let’s get down to business, the aroma was filled peaches, leather, rye spice, black pepper, vanilla, and oak. The flavor was more peach character, leather, black pepper, vanilla, oak, and of course rye spice. The sweetness was present from start to finish and alcohol only played a supporting role providing warming post consumption. Other characteristics of the finish were leather and oak which faded into the aftertaste. To me this rye is just a bit on the sweet side. It’s not cloying, but when you couple the sweetness to the peach aroma and flavor it’s almost a bit much. To me this might be a good candidate for an Old Fashioned or some other mixed Rye drink where the drink could benefit from the sweetness. I drank the bottle neat and would have preferred it to be just a skinch less sweet. At any rate, this is a tasty bottle and the price point is great. Pick up a bottle and see what you think.

2XO American Oak

I had not tried any of the 2XO releases due to the high cost of admission, but when 2XO American Oak showed up locally for under 50 bucks I figured it was time to give it a spin around the block. At 46% ABV I didn’t expect this Bourbon to exhibit a strong presence of alcohol, but I was prepared for a strong Oak presence as the label suggested. I had nearly finished the bottle when I took a look at the website and noticed it said it was perfect for cocktails. I’m not sure about you, but it’s rare I will spend 50 bones on a bottle to mix into something. The one exception would be an Old Fashioned where the Rye or Bourbon might be showcased. Anyway, let’s get to what’s important, how it tasted. The aroma was filled with caramel, vanilla, citrus, and oak. The alcohol was surprisingly notable in the aroma, but not off-putting. The flavor was brown sugar, caramel, more vanilla, citrus, with oak character, leather, and black pepper. The alcohol was a complement in the flavor and did not detract. The finish was even with lasting oak, leather, black pepper, and pleasant caramel into the aftertaste. The post consumption alcohol warming was notable, but not over the top. Now you may wonder if I think this was worth the price of admission, and it was, but unfortunately not more. Had this crested above 50 beans it wouldn’t have been worth the coin, it just did not have enough complexity to command a higher price point. So should you get a bottle, likely the answer is yes if you like a strong oak presence in a sub 100 proof Bourbon. If you like your Bourbon stronger or prefer less Oak then this is not the Bourbon for you. Most of the other 2XO releases have been a benny or more. Unless the reviews are stellar I’m going to be hesitant to bring one home. I do hear great things about the others, but somewhere in the back of my mind I wonder if that’s tater hype or because the Bourbon is truly stellar.

Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream

So against my better judgement I picked up a bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream thinking I might enjoy it. As a 15% ABV liquer I thought it might be quite enjoyable. Unfortunately it was a super sweet milky confection which didn’t trip my trigger. I figured it might be a bust before I purchased it, but with a low price of admission figured why not give it a whirl. So with vanilla ice cream it’s passable, with chocolate or coffee it’s much better. I still wouldn’t mess up great ice cream with this concoction. It’s not terrible and if you like other cream liqueur you should definitely give this a whirl, but for me this is a pass. As I finish off the bottle, I’m not even going to waste time taking about aroma or flavor. Skip it if you aren’t a fan of cream liqueurs.

Heaven Hill Bottled-In-Bond

Finally finishing off a bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled-In-Bond 7 Year. This was another bottle I was excited to pick up when it rolled out. What was once a budget Bourbon became a 50 bean expenditure. Despite the price of admission I knew I had to try it so I bit the bullet and grabbed one. I am a sucker for Bottled-In-Bond. The aroma was sweet malt, oak, leather, citrus, and a bit of peppery spice, but the emphasis was 100% on oak. The flavor was very nice with sweet brown sugar, moderate presence of oak, a light presence of leather, a bit of citrus, and a very nice peppery alcohol flavor. The finish was brown sugar, oak, leather, pepper, and a bit of alcohol oh so pleasantly into the aftertaste. The warming post consumption was low and restrained. The bottom line is you need this in your life. I’ve been hanging on to the last few pours of this bottle for a very long time, too long in fact. This should have a place in the bar all the time. The price point is higher than I would prefer, but this has enough complexity to command a 50 buck price point. Go get one if you haven’t. Maybe go get two!

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Yellowstone American Single Malt Whiskey

I was crazy excited when Yellowstone rolled out their American Single Malt Whiskey. Limestone Branch has become one of my favorite Bourbon distilleries so I thought this might be something new from them for me to love. At 60 bones this wasn’t exactly cheap, but it wasn’t expensive either. At 108 proof it should let you know it’s there and the proof may explain the price point. I kept thinking about their Bourbon and it took several tasting sessions before I could get my brain to switch to this being closer to a Scotch. I’m not exactly sure what process they use for aging this Whiskey, for Scotch it’s typically used Bourbon barrels, but they do an extended aging to extract everything they can. The bottle says it’s aged in new American Oak, but I don’t see an age statement. I have seen several places where they say it’s aged four years so I’m not sure why this isn’t a Bourbon, but I did read one source which said this is MGP juice. Anyway, let’s get on to the important stuff, the tasting notes. Sweet honey notes and malt are most prominent in the nose, there is a presence of leather, and wafts of peppery alcohol to let you know it’s 108 proof. There’s a candy note in the background and a touch of orange citrus. The flavor showcases honey once again with chocolate notes, a light touch of leather, hints of that orange citrus, peppery alcohol (black pepper), and sweet malt. The finish is leather, low chocolate, pepper, and light citrus long into the aftertaste. The post consumption alcohol warming is surprisingly restrained. There is an odd drying astringency on the palate which doesn’t fade. So the million dollar question, is this gonna be a staple in the bar moving forward. Sadly the answer is no. I’d rather grab a Scotch or Irish as opposed to this American Whiskey. It’s tasty for sure, but just not stellar enough to make me run back out and grab another bottle.

PS: It’s been quite some time since I posted an update. I typically create a post as I finish the bottle, apologies for the delay.

Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel

I took what seemed like forever to locate a bottle of Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel at retail. Eventually I happened upon it, but the 50 buck price of admission seemed like it might be a bridge too far when regular EC retails around 30 bucks. Anyway I decided to keep an open mind and eventually got around to the bottle in the queue. At 94 proof I knew it should not be filled with alcohol, and likely would be reminiscent of EC Small Batch with added oak flair. The aroma was deep and rich with brown sugar, cinnamon, leather, orange citrus, and glorious toasted oak. The flavor was very similar with an initial sweet impression of brown sugar, restrained cinnamon, light citrus, slight chocolate, then leather, and toasted oak. The finish was slight brown sugar with lasting leather and oak. Alcohol really only came to the surface in the post consumption warming. I kept trying to convince myself this was not worthy of the price of admission, but every time I poured a glass I came to a different conclusion. This is a tasty Bourbon which has enough complexity to earn the price point. Do I wish it was less expensive? Yes I do, but it’s still a tasty drop. If you haven’t tried it or run into a bottle, seek it out. While I wouldn’t stand in line for hours to have it, if I happen to see another bottle I’ll likely bring it home.

The Quiet Man 8 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Ever since I had The Quiet Man way back in 2019, I have been on the hunt for their 8 Year. Luckily it popped up earlier this year at an ABC store not far away and I was able to snag a bottle. The 40% abv Irish Whiskey had an NCABC price point of $39.99. The aroma was filled with pears, honey, light black pepper, apples, vanilla, and whispers of oak. The flavor was similar with apples, pears, more light black pepper, vanilla, oak, and a light alcohol flavor. The finish was lightly sweet lasting into the aftertaste with low black pepper spice and pear with hints of chocolate in the finality of the aftertaste. This is a tasty Irish and the chocolate notes at the end add to the complexity. The 8 Year is quite nice and presents with a decent level of complexity in a price point which is approachable. The standard at $30 is the bargain, but at only $10 more for the 8 Year you should pick it up if you get the opportunity. There is no shame in having both!