u/colonial_dan

I previously reviewed the Penelope Architect (build 12), which I found to be pretty good but ultimately unsatisfying given its strange finish. Today I’m looking at its barrel proof sibling that was unfortunate enough to only have been aged in a cookie cutter barrel. Even though Penelope is an MGP brand, I do appreciate the uniqueness of their typical releases. This, however, is only a straightforward four grain bourbon. Let’s see if this is an improvement.

Price Paid: $79.99 before tax for 3 375 mL bottles (also including Four Grain and Architect)

Score: 6.25/10

The Background
Distillery: Ross & Squibb Distillery + an undisclosed Kentucky distillery (possibly Bardstown Bourbon Company)

ABV: 57% (114 proof)

Age: 4 years

Mash Bill: 75% Corn, 15% Wheat, 7% Rye, 3% Malted Barley

Other: N/A

The Experience
Nose: black tea, orange peel, oak. This has a citrusy freshness to it that I enjoy.

Palate: milk chocolate, black tea, white grape juice, oak char. This is ultra sweet, thick, and oily in the mouth. It isn’t subtle or complex, but it makes a huge statement.

Finish: bitter almonds, oak. A lingering, natural bitterness.

The Summary
I am very pleasantly surprised by this. It reminds me of the Stagg 25B I have with its heaps of chocolatey fudge. This is missing that bottle’s fruity goodness, but I am very impressed that they could create this with such a young age statement. $60 (what a full bottle costs) seems like the absolute most I would pay for this, but I would have a hard time saying no to Wild Turkey Rare Breed, which is about $10 cheaper and significantly more interesting. Upon checking my score sheet, it’s also impossible not to notice the $30 OGD 114 that I gave the same score…

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

I love the little quirks that each brand has. This bottle is a great example: they use the term “whisky” on the bottle and for their branding, they offer a minimal age statement label for a single barrel product despite many of the bottles containing much older whiskey (something you would think they would be proud of and want to market), and they are sometimes offered at barrel strength and sometimes not, which isn’t designated anywhere on the bottle (it’s possible they are all barrel proof, but I say this because many bottles have proof values exactly at 100). They hand-write the bottle number on the label, which makes sense for a special product. Since the proof varies from barrel to barrel, you’d think that they would write that too, but no, they print that on the label (along with the minimum age statement for the entire release). Maybe they didn’t want to make any more submissions to the TTB 🤷‍♂️ I reviewed the VA ABC pick for the 9-year SB last year and it was one of my favorite bottles. This, however, I’m less sure of. I tend to be suspicious of anything this old and this cheap. The real wildcard, though, is their obscure single-floor aging process, which left behind only 42.2% alcohol. Let’s dive in.

Price Paid: $69.99 before tax

Score: 5.5/10

The Background
Distillery: The Cascade Hollow Distilling Co.

ABV:42.2% (84.4 Proof)

Age: minimum 15 years, though thanks to this being a selected barrel, I can see that it was barreled in 2006, likely making this either 18 or 19 years old based on when I bought it.

Mash Bill: 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley

Other: Specially selected by Virginia ABC, barrel # 06505-14715 (May 5, 2006), bottle 306

What I was doing when this was distilled: finishing up the 6th grade, playing lots of baseball, and trying to figure out how to find a girlfriend.

The Experience
Nose: peanut brittle, minerals, aquatic. This smells of intensely sweetened, nutty mineral water. I haven’t smelled anything else like it.

Palate: minerals, heavily charred oak. I searched long and hard for any kind of sweetness but there was basically none to be found. I have heard this described by others as “flinstone vitamins” and I would say that, for this barrel, that is not entirely accurate. It’s all of the vitamins and none of the fruity pebbles for this one. The oak follows shortly after and is humongous. This tastes like a double-oaked product.

Finish: old, sun-dried oak, pepper. Heavy oak with a hint of spice.

The Summary
I don’t think this quite made it to “over aged” territory but it’s close. I’m surprised that they chose to release these instead of blend them into a more premium offering (which they do have in the 17- and 18-years old bottles). The lasting effect this has is of chewing on dried wood. I think it’s desperately missing an ethanol burn to liven things up, but I don’t completely hate it. It’s not often that you get to taste something old and this tastes OLD.

I’ve been excited about this comparison for a while. What do this mass-market marque found in every liquor store, this infamous elusive hype label, and this unknown craft distillery product all have in common? None have age statements, all are 90 proof, and all have a mash bill of corn/wheat/barley. I was holding out doing this until I had a bottle of larceny, but I couldn’t find a small bottle and I didn’t want to buy a big bottle just for this little experiment. I have already reviewed the discretion and have not had any of it since then, so we’ll see if my (relatively positive) review holds up next to steep competition.

Maker’s Mark
Distillery: The Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc.

Mash Bill: 70% corn, 16% soft red winter wheat, 14% malted barley

Nose: butter, saltwater taffy, caramel, vinegar. Savory and sweet with only a little oak. There is a faint hint of distilled vinegar.

Palate: brown sugar, saltine cracker, rubber, oak. Slightly sweet but quite savory and dry. The oak char is muted but present. There is a rubbery synthetic plastic note that I taste up front, however. Usually I get this in the finish when it is present but it’s front and center here.

Finish: sugar, oak. This is a short and muted finish that reminds of the finish from drinking soda.

Score: 4.75/10. There is something resembling bourbon here but it’s got some flaws.

Weller Special Reserve
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery

Mash Bill: Unknown (Van Winkle/Stitzel-Weller traditional wheated mash bill)

Nose: caramel, vanilla, oak char. The nose is faint but pleasantly sweet. The oak shines through.

Palate: cola, cherry, vanilla. This is really pleasant and well-balanced. I bet this is amazing with a few rocks.

Finish: brown sugar, mild oak. A short but pleasant finish. The longer it lingers, the less pleasant it gets with the oak tannins.

Score: 6.75/10. I was a Weller SR hater for years, but perhaps this new bottle brings with it a better blend.

Discretion
Distillery: Tarnished Truth Distilling Co.

Mash Bill: 70% corn, 18% wheat, 12% malted barley

Nose: sweet corn cereal, fruity notes, blackberry pastry filling. This smells significantly younger than the other two, but I don’t necessarily consider that to be a bad thing. It’s quite pleasant. It smells like a blackberry poptart.

Palate: berries, hay, charred oak, pepper. The youth of this pour gives it a nice fruitiness that doesn’t resemble a traditional bourbon, but it’s quite pleasant. This drinks hotter than the other two by a lot.

Finish: charred oak. This lingers quite a bit.

Score: 5.5/10. My score remains unchanged, this is funky and definitely not for the traditionalist, but I enjoy the oddities that are strongly executed

Summary:
What did I learn from this? I learned that Weller SR has upped its game, at least based on my memory. I look forward to doing a comparison between recent plastic cap releases and this new corked bottle. I also enjoyed smelling and tasting Maker’s Mark and Weller back-to-back to learn what it is that I don’t like about Maker’s Mark. It aims to have a traditional taste profile, but in the process of achieving that they let some bad things in. The nose is dramatically more vinegary than Weller. I also learned that Discretion, which I was worried that I rated too highly previously, holds its own. It doesn’t accomplish the same thing as the other two but it offers a new perspective. I suspect that Tarnished Truth will look to change its flavor as their stock grows older to appeal to traditionalists, but I would love to be proven wrong. Young whiskey is often frowned upon, but there’s a way to do it correctly such that it can stand on its own merits. What I’m really missing in all of this, though, is Larceny. I love the flavor profile of Old Fitzgerald 7 and Larceny Barrel Proof, and I suspect that it gives Weller a run for its money.

Behind bourbon, Cognac is likely my second favorite spirit. It makes for a great change of pace with its light, fruity character. Do they work well together? I’m honestly not sure; their finishes are very different. My review of A Midwinter Night’s Dram showed me that High West is at least competent when it comes to crafting finished whiskey. Let’s see if this product can make me a full believer.

Price Paid: $69.99 before tax

Score: 7/10

The Background
Distillery: Unknown (likely MGP “bottled by” High West Distillery)

ABV:50.4% (100.8 Proof)

Age: NAS, finished for 10 months in a single cognac barrel

Mash Bill: not stated, but High West has used 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley from MGP for other products.

Other: Specially selected by Virginia ABC, batch no. 39036

The Experience
Nose: butter, cake, frosting. Is this bourbon or is this dessert? This smells like a birthday cake with plain frosting.

Palate: loads of oak tannins, plum, black pepper. It’s a mouthful of oaky goodness with a dry, fruity sweetness and a bit of a peppery kick. This is thick and oily.

Finish: honey, floral, butter crackers. The finish is savory and pleasant, with a bit of salinity. Reminds me of breakfast cereal.

The Summary
This is massively oaky but not overly so. The cognac is present in the form of a pleasant dry, fruity flavor, but it doesn’t dominate like the Port did in A Midwinter Night’s Dram. If I went into this blind, I don’t know that I would have identified this as a finished whiskey. But it’s great, and the legs on the glass are thicc. $70 feels spot on.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

Being a low-proof blended bourbon from an undisclosed distillery, this offering has all the makings of a poor value proposition. The only claims this can seemingly make towards being worthy of purchase are its pretty label and its age statement. In a world where 8-year, 101 proof Wild Turkey is $40, though, this better deliver. Let’s see what we have.

Price Paid: $59.99 before tax

Score: 5/10

The Background
Distillery: Unknown (perhaps 1792 Barton)

ABV: 43% (86 Proof)

Age: Blend of 8-year and 15-year Bourbon

Mash Bill: 74% corn, 18% rye, 8% malted barley

Other: N/A

The Experience
Nose: caramel, vanilla, mature oak. Classic bourbon.

Palate: vanilla, brown sugar, oak. This is quite plain and very thin in the mouth.

Finish: oak tannins. Leaves behind the lingering sensation of barrel char that fortunately lasts for a while.

The Summary
Well, this is definitely bourbon. For better or worse, there’s not much else to say about it. It tastes like Wild Turkey on the rocks after the ice has been allowed to melt in the glass for a little bit. I probably wouldn’t pay much more than $35-40 for this. Given how pleasant it is, though, I’m curious about what their older and stronger releases have to offer.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

I admit to generally being a Willett fanboy. I can’t say that my enthusiasm for the brand applies to this product, however. This is the ultimate shelf candy, but its reputation among enthusiastic bourbon drinkers is pretty damn bad. Let’s see if this batch from 2024 lives up to the bottle’s artistic merits.

Price Paid: $59.99 before tax

Score: 2.75/10

The Background
Distillery: Willett Distillery

ABV: 47% (94 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: 65% corn, 20% wheat, 15% barley

Other: batch no. 24C18

The Experience
Nose: lemon, caramel corn, wood stain, oak. It smelled mostly fine until I picked up a faint aroma of varnish that I can’t stop thinking about now.

Palate: caramel, almond, bitter oak. This has a very dry, woody taste to it with a small amount of sweetness up front.

Finish: cinnamon, wet cardboard. Only in the very end do I get a hint of this being a Willett product. It’s dry and does not last long.

The Summary
There is nothing satisfactory about the way this drinks. This is the kind of whiskey that should be bought but never opened. My guess is that it opens up nicely (or least nicer) with some ice, but this is not something to sip neat. The only nice thing I can say about it is that the lingering finish is classic Willett cinnamon candy. Johnny Drum — which at the very least has the same finish — can be found for half the price and is significantly better.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

When I think of blue corn being used to make whiskey, I think of Still Austin, the Texas-based distillery that has a special annual release of blue corn whiskey that fetches a pretty penny on the secondary market. I tend to assume that such things will not be available for me to purchase (though I do always look). Then, one day a few months ago, I was searching the aisles of the Frugal MacDoogal in Fort Mill, SC, and spotted this, a $40 expression of the grain in its purest form: 100% blues corn whiskey aged for 2 years in oak, never chill filtered or colored. This is unashamedly a selfish science experiment. I hope you enjoy.

Price Paid: $39.99 before tax

Score: 5.75/10

The Background
Distillery: Balcones Distilling

ABV: 46% (92 Proof)

Age: 2 years

Mash Bill: 100% roasted blue corn

Other: batch BB 24-1, date 1.22.25, non chill filtered, no color added, pot distilled

The Experience
Nose: apricot, papaya, peach, ethanol. Pure tart, tropical fruit. Young whiskeys always have such interesting aromas. The apricot is photorealistic and dominates.

Palate: corn syrup, oak tannins. This tastes like if you were to isolate the sweet profile of soft drinks into a spirit. There’s not much here in terms of complex, identifiable notes, but it is much more pleasant than I was expecting. It also has decent legs and a nice mouthfeel.

Finish: roasted corn, floral. This is beautiful.

The Summary
There’s definitely something to work with here. I think this particular expression is lacking, but the nose and the finish are stunning. I bet this goes great in a cocktail. I’ll be on the lookout for other expressions from this distillery, as I’m curious to see what this can do with less water and more time in the lungs of the barrel. I was ready to give this a worse rating but I just keep chewing on the finish.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

For today’s rainy day pour we have something that I opened this past week. I’ve been excited to try this for a while. Michter’s is a brand with a rich history that was revived around the turn of the century. I am not enough of a bourbon scholar to dive in much deeper than that, but if you’re interested, there are some excellent in-depth reviews in this sub that are worth a read just for the background section. For me, what’s relevant is that they are a brand with an excellent reputation that offers a unique line of products: an “unblended” american whiskey, a sour mash whiskey, a small batch bourbon, but no small batch rye (only this single barrel offering). This is probably the most readily available single barrel rye on the market. I love the idea of such a thing because there is no guessing as to how they blend products to achieve their desired flavor and there is no way for me to accuse them of offloading poor spirits if I end up not liking this. They just lay it all out for us to enjoy. Hell yeah.

Price Paid: $46.99 before tax

Score: 7.25/10

The Background
Distillery: “bottled by” Michter’s Distillery LLC (this is how it is worded on the bottle but from the description on their website I’m pretty sure they also distill it, I’m sure someone can clarify this for me)

ABV: 42.4% (84.8 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: Undisclosed

Other: Barrel No. 26A0288, bottled January 2026, mellowed via “their own signature” filtration

The Experience
Nose: black pepper, butter, lemon cake. This is spicy and citrusy. Very unique.

Palate: black pepper, sour lemonhead candy, baking spices, oak. This has a spicy cake batter flavor profile with quite a bit of oak immediately present. I’ve never had anything else like it.

Finish: jalapeño pepper, dusty books, graham cracker, honey, oak. The spice lingers. If you had told me this was finished in some kind of hot sauce barrel I would believe you. The dusty, oaky notes linger even longer and are quite enjoyable.

The Summary
This was such a unique experience. The ethanol burn is so low in this that it comes across like the heat from a pepper. I feel like I just had some sort of award-winning confection from a boutique bakery, the finish just keeps going and going. This delivers at ~$50 as a complex but easily approachable supper. I can’t wait to (hopefully) try some of their more exclusive rye offerings.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

On paper, this is an extremely appealing product for a rye enthusiast such as myself: inexpensive, decent proof, the same age as basically every other rye. This comes in at higher proof than the Michter’s Single Barrel Rye (the closest competitor I can think of) and is $15 less expensive. I sure do love me a good value proposition.

Now that I have a few reviews for competing products under my belt, let’s see how this stacks up.

Price Paid: $34.99 before tax

Score: 5.75/10

The Background
Distillery: Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.

ABV: 50% (100 Proof)

Age: ~5 years

Mash Bill: 51% rye, 37% corn, 12% malted barley

Other: Barrel No. 0729718, barreled on 4/21/20, rickhouse HH, floor 5, selected for Virginia ABC

The Experience
Nose: spice, dill, brown sugar, oak. This has a bit of an odd aroma. It is sweet and spicy with a bit of a dill note. Imagine barrel-aged sweet pickles, but in a good way.

Palate: brown sugar, oak. I was hoping for more rye character up front, but this is essentially indistinguishable from a high rye bourbon. This has a nice, thick mouth feel to it, though, with some richness from the proof.

Finish: dill, oak char. There’s the rye! It finally appears as the initial flavors begin to fade away. Dill is one of my favorite rye flavors and I’m happy that it’s present here, even if it’s slight. The finish is the best part.

The Summary
To me, this lags behind the Sazerac Barrel Select and the Wild Turkey private barrel I reviewed (though it firmly beats the WT as a value proposition). I would personally save the extra $5 (in VA at least) and go for the normal small batch Rittenhouse. This makes a killer Manhattan or old fashioned but, to me, provides little value as a neat sipper. As I type this, though, I really am enjoying the finish.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

This is a follow-up to the review I did of the Tarnished Truth High Rye Single Barrel. That bottle was a young 3-year barrel proof single barrel offering that ended up being a pleasant surprise. It tasted of young corn whiskey but in a rich and complex way I didn’t know was possible. This product, however, will likely be nothing like that. For one, it uses a wheated mash bill. Like the high-rye sb, I’m expecting this to be young and I’m expecting the flavors from the mash to be a lot stronger than the flavors from the barrel. This is their baseline small batch offering that aims to adequately fulfill the role of reliable mixer and daily sipper. I find the high rye bourbon tends to serve this purpose better, but I’m open minded. Let’s see what we’re working with.

Price Paid: $44.99 before tax

Score: 5.5/10

The Background
Distillery: Tarnished Truth Distilling Co.

ABV: 45% (90 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: 70% corn, 18% wheat, 12% malted barley

Other: N/A

The Experience
Nose: sweet corn cereal (Cap’n Crunch, specifically), white Concord grape juice, berries, pencil shavings. A bright, sweet nose. Both the corn and the wheat are evident, but I’m surprised by all the different aromas that are present.

Palate: caramel, ethanol, hay, charred oak. This is pretty simple up front. It reminds me of wheat whiskey more than it does bourbon, as the hay presence is quite strong. The sweetness is faint and the oak presence is heavier than I expected it to be given the last product I tried, but it is still mash-forward. This isn’t complex but it is very pleasant.

Finish: oak. This is a one-note finish that lingers. Not in a bad way, though.

The Summary
This is a solid wheater that is every bit as good as Weller Special Reserve. It is noticeably younger but, again, I don’t particularly hate that. At $45, however, this won’t have a place on my shelf moving forward. At that price, you’ve gotta beat out Larceny (which I haven’t reviewed) and I doubt that this does. Expect to see a blind in the future.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

I tend to view Beam as one of the best bang-for-your-buck distilleries (particularly their Knob Creek products). I have very little experience, however, with Old Grand-Dad, which is made from a high-rye mash bill. This offering is often recommended online for its per-dollar performance, which I am all about. Let’s see what we think.

Price Paid: $29.99 before tax

Score: 6.25/10

The Background
Distillery: James B. Beam Distilling Co.

ABV: 57% (114 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: 63% corn, 27% rye, 10% malted barley

Other: “inspired by the traditional barrel strength of the prohibition era”

The Experience
Nose: lemon, cinnamon, butter, toffee, oak. This has a bit of a “cookie” quality to it on the nose. It’s very bright.

Palate: snickerdoodle cookie, toffee, baking spices. The rye content definitely shines through. This has quite a bit of an ethanol burn, but the flavors are all there. It has a light mouthfeel.

Finish: oak, black tea. This has a lingering oaky finish to it. The char presence still remains, even though I assume this is a younger product.

The Summary
What a bargain. This is surprisingly complex and leans more towards a “Kentucky rye” than it does traditional bourbon in terms of its flavor profile. It’s great, though, and doesn’t overwhelm. It is, however, a bit thin in the mouth.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

I generally appreciate Buffalo Trace’s core offerings, but unlike others in the sub, I have very little experience with their more limited offerings (the closest for me would be Weller CYPB, Elmer T. Lee, and Rock Hill Farms). I searched for one of these for a while at MSRP but eventually caved when I found it at a liquor store in TN for the lowest price I’ve ever personally seen. Let’s see if this is an improvement over the Eagle Rare 10 I reviewed.

Price Paid: $119.99 before tax ($65 MSRP)

Score: 7.75/10

The Background
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery

ABV: 63.45% (126.9 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill 1

Other: unfiltered, second 2025 release

The Experience
Nose: cherry, brownie batter, fudge, oak. The nose is sweet and rich, smelling like a savory dessert. Brownies topped with melted fudge and cherries. A+.

Palate: fudge, sugar, coffee. This tastes like a cafe mocha with too much hot chocolate powder mixed in. There is quite a bit of burn from the high proof, but there are no peppery flavors associated with it. This is the most chocolatey bourbon I’ve ever tasted.

Finish: brownie batter, bubble gum. Weirdly, the oak doesn’t show up like I thought it would. The sweetness lingers until a Dubble Bubble note appears in the back of my throat. It’s quite nice.

The Summary
This is a bit simple, but for the first time since I started doing these reviews on Reddit, I said to myself “I didn’t know bourbon could do this.” If you found this for $65, congratulations, that’s an incredible deal. The $120 I paid is still worth it to me. I’ll probably have to spend about the same amount for the next batch but I won’t hesitate. This reminds me a lot of the Rare Character I reviewed, though this is sweeter and less complex. After finishing the pour, I find myself missing some oakier flavors, but the bubblegum I’m left with is a fun experience. This doesn’t even really taste like bourbon to me and I’m having trouble quantifying just how I feel about that. I think I slightly prefer the Larceny I reviewed yesterday since it brings with it the full bourbon experience at an elevated level. I look forward to eventually trying some George T. Stagg.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:
0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

I’m not that old, but I am old enough to remember when Larceny first hit the shelves in 2012 with a very cool story. I didn’t know a damn thing about bourbon — not its processes nor its history — but I did know whether or not a $30 product was a good one. Larceny Small Batch definitely stood out to me and many bottles were consumed at my college apartment over the next few years. As someone who now knows a lot more about what I like and what exists in the market, let’s see if this offering also stands out as a major value proposition.

Price Paid: $59.99 before tax

Score: 8.25/10

The Background
Distillery: Heaven Hill Distillery, bottled by Old Fitzgerald Distillery (maybe someone can enlighten me as to why they make a point to distinguish that on the bottle)

ABV: 62.55% (125.1 Proof)

Age: 6-8 years blended

Mash Bill: 68% corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley

Other: non-chilled filtration, Sep 2024 release

The Experience
Nose: caramel, cinnamon, hay. This is sweet and spicy with minimal hints of oak or ethanol. Instead, there is a dry grass quality that grounds this (likely the wheat). Bravo.

Palate: hay, cinnamon, chocolate. This has a luxurious, thick mouthfeel to it. It’s spicy in a flavorful way and only slightly sweet. This has a bit of a “spiked hot chocolate” quality to it that still sits fully in the bourbon realm. The oak is muted. My (very blind, possibly uneducated) guess is that these barrels were heavily charred.

Finish: oak, graham cracker. I immediately recognize this finish as Old Fitzgerald. My bottle of Old Fitz 7 has this same finish and I simply adore it.

The Summary
This is excellent. This is the same price as Old Fitz 7 but even better, cranking everything I love about that bottle up a notch. The only exception may be that Old Fitz has a little more complexity to it, but this brings all the flavor and keeps me coming back for more. $60 for this is a steal. My girlfriend has a bottle that she filled herself at the distillery and I can’t wait to try that.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.
5 | Good | Good; just fine.
6 | Very Good | One cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfection.

If you’ve read all my reviews, the most consistent theme is probably that I’m a sucker for a pretty bottle. Years ago, as a college undergrad showing up to bars to drink for the first time, a bottle of High West Campfire caught the eye of this magpie. It looked just like the cowboy liquor bottles in the old saloons down to the imperfections in the glass. I eventually got to try it and was not very impressed (thot was years ago, I would love to revisit) but I still wanted a bottle to mount on my shelf.

Fast forward about 10 years to last year when I was on a trip to Chicago and this bottle catches my eye in a downtown liquor store. It was at MSRP and I had never seen one at a store. I love Shakespeare (my dog’s name is Oberon, the titular character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) so I thought it was a match made in heaven. I also love a good bottle of port wine every now and then. I’ve had port-finished scotch before (Quinta Ruban is delightful if you’ve never had it) but never rye or bourbon. Let’s see if this is worth the steep markup over Rendezvous.

Price Paid: $149.99 before tax

Score: 7.5/10

The Background
Distillery: It appears to be a blend of High West and MGP, which is what they list on their website for Rendezvous.

ABV: 49.3% (98.6 Proof)

Age: 4-10 years blended, unsure how long finishing takes

Mash Bill: MGP is 95% rye, 5% malted barley; High West is 80% rye, 20% malted rye

Other: finished in a mix of ruby and tawny port barrels

The Experience
Nose: floral, raspberry preserves, butter. This is the most impressive nose I’ve tested so far. Wow. The port clearly left its mark, as I don’t smell any part of the rye or the oak.

Palate: fruit punch, baking spices, minimal oak. This is a fruit forward experience, which I really enjoy, but the rye portion is pretty basic. It has a nice balance to it, though. I was hoping for some of those florals to be present but I can only smell them.

Finish: red wine, oak, rubber. This is easily the least satisfying portion of the experience. The red wine notes that show up are kind of nice but they give way to a slight rubber taste that lingers. It isn’t bad, just basic and not special.

The Summary
To me, this is something worth trying but not something worth buying a bottle of. $150 for a novelty bottle is sometimes okay, but this does not feel like an experience worth of that kind of price. I enjoyed my $60 Willett Family Estate Rye significantly more than this (I probably would have given that bottle an 8.5/10, I was so madly in love that I forgot to review it). Looking past the price, though, it’s still great. I just wish they would do something a little extra to revamp the series and differentiate it from the sea of competitors at lower prices. If you’re curious about the bottle and have the cash to spend, you won’t be disappointed.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good; just fine.

6 | Very Good | One cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfection.

I’ve long admired 1792 for their presence on a shelf. These bottles simply look fantastic (especially in larger sizes). One of the first allocated bottles I purchased from the VA ABC (back in the crazy days) was 1792 Full Proof because I finally wanted to try something contained inside one of those bottles and it seemed like an excellent place to begin (why not begin at the top, right?). Well… I fell in love with it. It drank easily for its proof and had this fruity character that was equal parts complex and satisfying. And even after exploring many different expressions from many distilleries at all price points it’s still a favorite.

Since then, I have always has a 1792 product in rotation. This particular bottle had to wait a bit for its turn, but I am excited to dive into it and see why it also had a purchase limit attached to it. This could be an all-time value proposition.

Price Paid: $41.99 before tax

Score: 6.75/10

The Background
Distillery: Barton 1792 Distillery

ABV: 50% (100 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: Uncertain, likely 75% corn, 15% rye, 10% malted barley

Other: N/A

The Experience
Nose: cherry cordial, coffee, oak. Smell is characteristic of a bitter cherry coffee cake. Absolutely fabulous.

Palate: vanilla, coffee, oak. If you ordered an oat milk latte in a noisy coffee bar and they mistakenly heard you say “oak milk latte,” they would probably just give you a pour if this. It’s different but very tasty. For 100 proof, though, it’s bit thin in the mouth.

Finish: vanilla, bitter oak. The finish unfortunately leaves me wanting more of what I got on the nose and palate. All of that goodness disappeared pretty quickly and left behind something mediocre.

The Summary
For $42, this is very comparable to Wild Turkey 101 in both flavor and price. The Wild Turkey, however, is significantly easier to find in a store. Comparing this to WT 101 and HH BiB would make for a great blind; to me, you can’t go wrong with any of them. I give this the slight edge flavor-wise due to its lovely coffee note, but it’s just a matter of personal preference at that point. WT definitely drinks hotter.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good; just fine.

6 | Very Good | One cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfection.

As a kid, my dad would attend an annual conference in the Cavalier hotel in Virginia Beach, VA, on the other side of the state from where I grew up in Tazewell County. My mom, sister, and I would take the opportunity to have a nice week-long vacation. It was a beautiful campus with a rich history and, really, the only interesting thing I remember from the city (besides the constant sound of fighter jets flying over). Years later, someone had the brilliant idea to purchase the property and create a hybrid hotel-distillery, which took on the name Tarnished Truth, an homage to both the city’s past of bootlegging and the hotel’s historical guest roster of shady characters (Capone and Nixon are mentioned by name on the bottle).

Given my personal history with the property, I was very hopeful that their products would be worthy enough to sustain the business and keep the hotel alive. This bottle, specifically, intrigues me. The proof is high, the liquid is impure, but the bourbon character of the spirit was still in its infancy at the time of bottling. I have never had a single barrel product this young before. Let’s see what we think.

Price Paid: $49.99 before tax (375 mL)

Score: 6.75/10

The Background

Distillery: Tarnished Truth Distilling Co

ABV: 61.7% (123.4 Proof)

Age: 3 Years

Mash Bill: 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley

Other: Bottle No. 11, Barrel No. 212, copper distilled, non-chill-filtered, selected for Virginia ABC

The Experience

Nose: candy corn, flour, ethanol. This smalls just like young corn spirit, and the higher rye content is also detectable by way of a dry flour smell. This is syrupy sweet and rich but no oak is present.

Palate: baking spice, lemon, caramel, ethanol. Again, no oak, but what is present is better than I expected. This is young, funky, and, thanks to being unfiltered and high proof, thick in the mouth. The ethanol/moonshine taste is certainly there, but it isn’t overwhelming. Rye spice and sweetness dominate, with a brightness akin to citrus fruit.

Finish: baking spice, flour, oak. The oak finally makes an appearance as this leaves the mouth. This has a finish similar to other young ryes I’ve had, and the proof brings the heat.

The Summary

This surprised me. This has the profile of a young bourbon, and yet… I don’t hate it. It’s actually quite good. This shows that it’s possible to make something young and un-blended that still has lots of character, does something new, and is unquestionably a quality product. The price is a bit steep, but for something that’s kind of a novelty anyway I don’t see it as prohibitive. You also probably won’t find this in any bars unless you’re stopping in Virginia Beach. This leaves me very excited for future offerings at higher age statements. The sell an older product called Old Cavalier (7 years) but comes in at only 86 proof. I’m excited to try it at some point.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good; just fine.

6 | Very Good | One cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfection.

Willett is a strange house that I have more of a fondness for than most. Normally, part of my evaluation process is to mention competitors, but Willett’s brands really only compete with themselves. Their only age-stated small batch products are the 4-year purple label (~$70) and the 8-year wheated purple label (~$250), which are a great deal more expensive than just about any products with comparable age statements. Their products without age statements are less about quantitative attributes and more about marketing vibes, which I think makes them a bit more interesting and mysterious. Call me a romantic.

Price Paid: $59.99 before tax.

Score: 7/10

The Background

Distillery: Willett Distillery

ABV: 57.15% (114.3 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: 72% corn, 13% rye, 15% malted barley

Other: Batch 23-08

The Experience

Nose: Biscoff cookie, cinnamon, butter, oak. This is wild. I knew going into this that I should expect cinnamon-forward nose from a Willett product, and this is no different. Noah’s Mill takes it to an extreme, though. I can’t get enough.

Palate: lemon, cinnamon, mint, charred oak. This palate comes on strong with a blast of flavor. The mouth feel is thick and oily. The oak tastes extra burnt. This has a similar profile to the Pure Kentucky I reviewed but is more cinnamon forward. What a flavor blast. This is quite funky, though, and certainly won’t be for everyone.

Finish: baking chocolate, oak. This has a dry and pleasant finish that lingers.

The Summary

This certainly won’t be for everyone, but, having tried all of the small batch releases, this is my favorite brand of Willett product. It highlights the unique flavors of the distillery without crossing into any unpleasant territory. I would wager that this is a bit older than Rowan’s Creek, Johnny Drum, Pure Kentucky, Old Bardstown Estate, and Pot Still Reserve, as it has a much thicker mouthfeel with bolder oak presence. Value-wise, $60 feels pretty spot on for this. This isn’t something I would reach for every day, but every now and then a craving kicks in that only this can satisfy.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good; just fine.

6 | Very Good | One cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfection.

When I think of Jim Beam branded whiskey, I picture Ronnie Van Zant on stage, holding a mic stand and wearing his cowboy hat and logo tee shirt. It has this accessible, down-to-earth image that everyone but the biggest snobs can appreciate. The thought of a more sophisticated offering from the label is intriguing, like the thought of the aforementioned dearly departed wearing a suit jacket (a “tuxedo t-shirt” of sorts). I honestly had no expectations for this product, but I did have loads of curiosity. Let’s see what we got.

Price Paid: $41.99 before tax.

Score: 6/10

The Background

Distillery: James B Beam Distilling Co.

ABV: 54% (108 Proof)

Age: NAS

Mash Bill: 77% corn, 13% rye, 10% malted barley

Other: Barrel No. JB001194435, less than 1% of their barrels are selected for this release

The Experience

Nose: caramel, apple, saline, oak. Both sweet and savory, this is an excellent nose. It’s bright and luminous but maintains a distinct bourbon character. I’m excited.

Palate: cane sugar, baking spice, vanilla, oak. This has a textbook, classic bourbon flavor. It executes its mission cleanly but doesn’t break any new ground. I’m a fan of this, as it sits firmly in my wheelhouse.

Finish: mastic. This leaves behind the same sensation as natural chewing gum. It is faint, but I enjoy it. The oak disappears quickly.

The Summary

This is a killer value for the money, but it gets lost in a sea of quality products. I would love to do a comparison with Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel. In my head, this is a bit more muted, but sometimes I’m in the mood for that. At $42, this would make a great daily driver.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good; just fine.

6 | Very Good | One cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfection.

I consider Knob Creek tied with Wild Turkey for the prize of best bourbon brand for the money. I have had bottles of the 9 year small batch and 120 proof single barrel reserve (which has been one of my favorite bottles) and have nothing but great things to say. Naturally, when this was released to the Virginia ABC last year, it moved to the top of my hunting list. Now that it’s finally open, let see what we think.

Price Paid: $69.99 before tax.

Score: 7.25/10

The Background

Distillery: James B Beam Distilling Co.

ABV: 50% (100 Proof)

Age: 12 years

Mash Bill: 77% corn, 13% rye, 10% malted barley

Other: N/A

The Experience

Nose: rich oak, vinegar, brown sugar. This has a complicated and pleasant aroma. After spending probably the longest I’ve spent on the nose portion, the best word I could use to describe this is “inviting.” The notes that I came up with may not sound like the most appetizing combination, but imagine an oaky, semi-sweet barbecue sauce.

Palate: black tea, oak, black pepper. This is not a sweet bourbon, but that isn’t a bad thing. Its bitterness level is akin to unsweetened black tea. It is an oak bomb whose sensation stops just before going over the edge and becoming overpowering. This not complex but it delivers a tannic pleasantness that only an old bourbon can, while leaving behind a tingling sensation akin to spicy food.

Finish: oak, chalk. The finish is very dry and lingering. It isn’t the worst I’ve ever experienced, but I would recommend sipping this over ice to potentially mitigate it.

The Summary

This is a bit of a one-trick pony, but a pony worthy of a gold medal in its event. Coming from someone who hates bourbon that is too oak-heavy, I actually find the oakiness of this to be fabulous. I’m not sure how they accomplished it, but bravo. Its flavor profile is just a bit too thin, however, for me to call this “excellent.” $70 for this feels spot on. I would be very curious to compare this to Eagle Rare 12-year, though, which is allegedly less expensive.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good; just fine.

6 | Very Good | One cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfection.

A few years ago, I spent a long time hunting one of these bottles down at MSRP but never had any luck. Last year, though, I bought two 750 mL bottles and a 375 mL bottle as they popped back up on shelves “just in case” the market got crazy again. I didn’t know enough about this product to form my own opinion, but years ago (when I was in college) I had been a major fan of buffalo trace. This has to be the better version, right?

Price Paid: $44.99 before tax.

Score: 6.5/10

The Background

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery

ABV: 45% (90 Proof)

Age: 10 years

Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 (Low-rye)

Other: N/A

The Experience

Nose: butter, toffee, oak. This is quite savory and has a classic bourbon presence without any unsanded edges. No complaints here. It smells like a more refined version of the honey butter they serve you with bread at certain restaurants. The oak presence makes it a bit darker.

Palate: dark chocolate. I want to add more here but that’s really all I’m getting. This tastes just like a better version of melted dark chocolate, the 90% cacao kind that barely has any sweetness. There isn’t much bitterness present, though, which is impressive. The oak is subdued on the palate and the alcohol burn is weak. This is not a complex whiskey but it is definitely a pleasant one.

Finish: oak, toffee. The toffee notes that I smelled come back in the finish. I really dig this finish, but thanks to its proof, it’s a short one.

The Summary

If you’re someone that is turned off by bourbon that is too “oaky” (as I sometimes am if it isn’t executed correctly) then this is the one for you. It’s smooth and it’s delicious. It is not, however, for the curious. If you’re looking for a new experience, this probably isn’t the droid you’re looking for. If you’re in search of a new everyday, ole reliable sipper, though, nobody could rightfully call this a bad choice. I still think it’s pretty cool that you can get a 10-year age statement for less than $50.

T8KE Scoring System Used for Relevancy and Consistency:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good; just fine.

6 | Very Good | One cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfection.