r/bourbon

Distillery: Old Forester

Proof: 100

Age Statement: NAS

Mashbill: 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley

Details: Warehouse I, Floor 7

Price Paid: $74.99

Availability: Store Pick

Nose: Banana and vanilla custard are the most prominent notes up front. There is also a faint char note and some cinnamon. Nice caramel notes are also present. A hint of cherry on the nose as well.

Palate: Banana, cherry, and vanilla comes through on the front palate followed by some cinnamon and spice to balance out the sweetness.

Finish: The finish is medium but the notes of vanilla, toffee, and oak that I’m getting are a bit muted.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is good and above average for the proof.

Score: 7.1

Final Thoughts: As an Old Forester fan I had to pick this up when I saw it on my resent trip. I enjoyed the nose, palate, and mouthfeel but the finish left a bit to be desired. It was just subdued compared to the bold flavors that the nose and palate had. I did overpay for this bottle a bit but it’s not something I see around in my state and have been looking to add this to my Old Forester lineup. For me the Single Barrel Barrel Proof blue labels from Old Forster that I’ve tired are a step up from this so I understand why these aren’t as common. Still a bottle I’m glad to have in my collection.

The t8ke Scoring Scale:

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 l'd rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

It felt fitting to finally try this one on America's 250th.

A few weeks ago, a buddy and I were lucky enough to both score bottles of OF President's Choice during a trip to the Bourbon Trail. I'm trying to hold off on opening mine for a little while longer, so after my buddy cracked his bottle he was kind enough to give me a sample. That let me finally experience it while my own bottle stays sealed for another day.

For the holiday I staged the bottle with the America 250 rocks glasses, which just felt appropriate for the occasion. Once the pictures were taken, though, the rocks glasses went back on the shelf. A pour like this deserves a Glencairn, and that's exactly how I enjoyed it.

The color immediately stood out, deep amber with a beautiful orange-brown hue.

The nose was fantastic. Fresh leather hit me first, followed by cinnamon, baking spices, toasted oak, and just enough caramel underneath to round everything out. It actually confused me a bit. The spice profile was so pronounced that halfway through the pour I texted my buddy to ask if this was the Rye or the Bourbon.

It was definitely the bourbon.

The palate carried that same profile. Leather, cinnamon, dry oak, and layers of baking spice dominated the experience. There was sweetness there, but it stayed in the background instead of leading the way. The finish was long, oak-driven, and pleasantly dry without becoming tannic.

The biggest surprise for me was just how spice-forward this bourbon was. My palate naturally leans toward the richer, sweeter profile (Stagg and EH Taylor are hard to beat for me) so this was quite different from what I expected. In fact, while I was drinking it I kept thinking how much it reminded me of a really exceptional rye.

That isn't a criticism, it's simply a different style. Rather than rich caramel and butterscotch, this bottle leans into leather, oak, and baking spices, and it does so beautifully. It's incredibly complex and rewards taking your time with it. I probably spent almost as much time nosing the glass as I did drinking it.

This may not become my new personal favorite, but it's absolutely a memorable pour and one I'm glad to have in the collection. Now the hard part is deciding how long to keep my own bottle sealed.

Rating: 8.6/10

Hello everyone and welcome to review #7. This review is on the Bardstown Distillery Cascadia release, which is a blend of bourbons finished in Garryana Oak.

Here are some stats for this release:

Age: Blend of bourbons aged 9-10 years then finished for an additional 10 months

Mashbill: Blend of 3 bourbons:

-80% | 10 Years | Kentucky | 70% Corn, 18% Rye, 12% Malted Barley

-12% | 10 Years | Indiana | 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley

-8% | 9 Years | Kentucky | 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley

Garryana oak is unique in the fact that the wood can only be harvested from trees that naturally fell, or from sanctioned cuts. Sanctioned cuts of Garryana oak refer to legally and environmentally controlled harvests of Pacific Northwest Oregon white oak. Because the tree cannot be commercially farmed or clear-cut at will, cooperages like Oregon Barrel Works only use wood gathered from naturally fallen trees or strictly regulated, authorized prunings. I believe this comes down to Oregon Barrel Works only creating roughly 1000 barrels a year from this wood. It is known to impart a flavor profile akin to French Oak. So let's dive in.

Served neat, rested about 15 minutes.

Nose: Rich oak leaps from the glass, I could smell this wafting through the room as I poured into my Glencairn. Leather and hints of powdered sugar follow closely behind. There is hints of Graham cracker sweetness, and light baking spices. A toffee caramel intermingles. Very rich, and complex. The first night I cracked this I felt like I was getting grapey smokey notes too.

20/25

Palate: The palate immediately hits with rich oak and brown sugar sweetness. Alot of vanilla sugar like notes hit. Vanilla buttercream, and toasted coffee. There is a bit of smokeyness here. It almost reminds me of toasted pecans, or pecan wood used for smoking. A light cinnamon oakyness hits mid palate. There are alot of layers of flavor, the tail end comes back with a dusty oak and light grape jam.

40/50

Finish/Mouthfeel: The finish on this lasts for what seems like forever. It's pretty impressive considering it is not a crazy high proof. There is lots of toasted oak and light cinnamon stick flavors that cling to the tongue. One of my favorite parts of the finish is this vanilla cinnamon sugar flavor that sticks around. There is a dryness to the back half of sips, and it has a mid oily mouthfeel.

25/25

Final score: 85/100

Final Thoughts: Everything I have tried from Bardstown has impressed me, especially their own fully distilled and aged bourbons. Cascadia particularly impressed me as I sampled it after going on their whiskey thieving tour, and it still cut through my semi blown out palate. I really look forward to Bardstown's future endeavors, both with their Distillery Reserve series, and with their own in house products.

My first experience with Augusta Buckner’s, a 10-year single barrel, wasn’t great. It wasn’t that the whole experience was bad – quite the contrary! – but there was an overpowering earthy flavor, which the official tasting notes called “wet soil,” that sort of torpedoed the whole experience for me.

However, I’ve heard very good things about their other offerings, and I’m still very interested in seeing how they are. This 13-year expression was an r/bourbon barrel pick; let’s try it out! (A big thanks to u/ambulocetus_ for the sample!)

From the Producer: Our bourbon is just as suited for sipping solo on the front porch as it is to celebrating together with friends and family. The folks at Augusta Distillery pour their heart and soul into our products every day. We are in business to celebrate our community and build upon the lasting legacy of Augusta. A true Kentucky bourbon, this limited release whiskey unmistakably captures your attention and rewards you from nose-to-finish. Aged 13 years in new, charred oak barrels, Buckner’s offers an understated potency with exceptional balance, commemorating the distillery’s inaugural bottling.

Barrel Number: 25-108

Proof: 141

Mash bill: Undisclosed

Age Statement: 13 Years

Price: $249.99

Appearance: A beautiful, very dark shade of amber – almost mahogany. Appears fairly viscous, although the legs on the glass aren’t quite as persistent as I expected.

Nose: First off is a big whiff of dark cherry, like super-concentrated Cherry Coke or Dr. Pepper. I’m definitely a fan so far! I also get some honey, vanilla, oak, and tobacco on the nose, although they’re farther in the background – this really is a cola-forward pour. As it continues to open up, caramel floats toward the top to join with the cherry note, making for a very nice pairing. The nose is very intense, but in a good way. Once the glass is empty, it’s still filled with dark cherries, toffee, and aged leather.

Palate: Holy HAZMAT, Batman! This is very hot, but it also has very intense flavor. The dark cherry note is a bit less dominant on the palate, with honey, vanilla, and lots of oak getting the chance to join it at center stage. As much as I like cherry cola, the result here is actually better balance on the palate than there was on the nose.

This is definitely an example of what folks are talking about when they refer to high-proof whiskies as “flavor bombs” – it has an absolute ton of concentrated flavor. The one complaint I have is that the earthiness that I experienced (and did not like) in the 10-year is insisting on showing up here as well, although thankfully it’s more muted amidst the rush of other flavors.

Finish: Hot and lengthy. As the heat subsides, though, the finish on the 13-year unfortunately becomes similar to the finish on the 10-year: bitter and dominated by the “wet soil” flavor that the official tasting notes call out, which is not at all pleasant (why, Augusta, did you have to make that such an integral part of this experience?! It had been going so well!).

Thoughts: I don’t normally go for HAZMAT whiskey, and this one was definitely hot, but I absolutely got the concentrated flavors from it that some enthusiasts like to call out as a benefit of higher proof points. Most of those flavors were really good, too – especially that strong, syrupy cherry cola note. However, I am still struggling with the “wet soil” element of these Buckner’s expressions. This one wasn’t as bad on the palate as the 10-year, but it was very strong on the finish, which unfortunately left me with a bad taste in my mouth (literally) about the whole experience. I’m not sure why no other reviews seem to call this out – I know I’m not the only one noticing it, because it’s in Augusta’s official tasting notes.

I also tried this whiskey at a slightly lower proof by adding a few drops of water to it, and the result was very interesting. The earthy note almost dosappeared, while the cherry cola and tobacco flavors popped even more than they did at full proof. Honestly, this is a slightly more enjoyable pour to me at the lower proof, not because the cacophony of flavors was reduced, but because it caused that earthiness to largely fade away. It was still there on the finish, but nowhere near as pronouncedly as it was at 141 proof.

The value question here is obviously a big one, as well. At well over $200, this almost needed to be a life-changing whiskey in order for me to be able to recommend it without any reservations. While it may be that for you, it unfortunately didn’t quite make it to that level for me (again, because of the earthy finish, not because of any other issue with the whiskey!).

However, I’ll note again here that value doesn’t have a place in my numeric rating; for that, we’re just judging what’s in the bottle on its own merits.

Rating: I’m honestly conflicted on this one. Augusta’s Buckner’s 13-Year Single Barrel was a largely enjoyable HAZMAT pour that was unfortunately undone by an overly earthy and bitter finish. Without that, it probably would have earned a very high rating (likely in the 7.5-to-8.5-point range; it really was that good). However, the finish is part of the experience, and it serves to pull this one down significantly (although not as significantly as it would have if I hadn’t tried it proofed-down a bit). I ultimately have to rate it as a 6.5 on the modified T8ke scale – squarely between “Very Good” and “Great” – but that’s such a frustrating rating to give, because so much of it truly was Excellent.

********************
Previous Ratings (updated to include decimals)

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
Maker’s Mark staved private selection (2.5)
Penelope Architect custom build (2.5)

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
Willett Pot Still (3)

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists
Found North SiB Oloroso finish (4.5)
Daniel Weller Emmer Wheat (4.5)
Augusta Buckner’s 10yr (4.6)
Shortbarrel Sapsquatch (4.8)

5 | Good | Good, just fine
Jack Daniel’s SBBP Rye (5)
Jack Daniel’s Heritage (5)
Four Roses SBBP OESO (5)
New Riff 4yr SBBP (5)
Stagg 25B (5.3)
Four Roses SBBP OBSV (5.3)
Evan Williams America250 SiB (5.3)
1792 BiB SiB (5.5)
Blanton’s (5.5)
Old Forester 1924 (5.7)
Penelope Marshmallow Toast (5.8)

6 | Very Good | A cut above
Copper & Cask Boston Rum Party (6)
Copper & Cask #16 (6)
Penelope Wheated (6)
Blanton’s Gold (6.3)
Copper & Cask #14 DO (6.4)
Augusta Buckner’s 13yr (6.5)
Peerless DO (6.5)
Barrell Cigar Blend (6.5)
Sazerac FP (6.5)
Green River Wheated (6.5)
Elmer T. Lee (6.5)
Eagle Rare 10yr (6.6)
John J. Bowman SiB (6.8)

7 | Great | Well above average
Shortbarrel Bees Knees V (7)
Green River Honey (7)
Sagamore Rye 9yr (7)
Peerless Toasted (7.1)
E.H. Taylor SmB (7.3)
Willett 4yr Rye (7.3)
Weller 107 (7.5)
Old Forester 1910 (7.5)
Buffalo Trace Single Oak (7.6)
Eagle Rare 12yr (7.7)
Woodford Reserve DO SBBP (7.7)
Old Fitzgerald 7yr (7.7)
Lasso Motel SBBP Rye (7.8)
Willett 8yr Rye (7.9)

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional
Found North 012 (8)
Blanton’s SFTB (8)
Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend 420 (8.5)
Thomas H. Handy 2025 (8.7)

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect

Price: $150

Color: dark as motor oil

Mash bill: 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley

Nose: big, funk, oak, deeply warm, brown sugar, vanilla, dark cherry, baking spices, has a wine note, kind of a dark chocolate note. This nose is incredible.

Palate: big, instant sweet oak, dark fruit I'm assuming from the wine cask, orange zest, cookie dough notes, amazingly balanced, the proof intensifies all the flavors. Coats my mouth and can almost chew on it.

Finish: long, robust, oak funk, some soft tobacco, char, baking sweetness all around

Overall: WOOOOOOOOOOW. Just fucking wow. I've never had this brand ever in my life and if this is how they do their thing? I'm all in. Big, bold, finesse, sophisticated, deep rich flavors, the wine cask finish is phenomenal. Not overly proofed. It literally hits all the notes I love. It has this deep sweet and oak dance that isn't overly sweet, nor overly oaked. It's just...perfect.

Value: do you have to ask? Well worth $150 and would pay unreasonable amounts for this. Grab yours before I buy the whole stock.

Rating: 9.4/10

Price: $90

Mash bill: 95% rye, 5% malted barley

Nose: rye, kind of bright, some fruit, oak, baking spices. Clean comes to mind. Really pleasant nose on this.

Palate: medium body, rye, brown sugar, vanilla, oily, herbal, soft oak. Very balanced and kind of sophisticated honestly. It's very easy on the palate while giving me depth and some good brightness with the rye.

Finish: medium-long. Finish starts strong and starts to fade and left with rye and oak. The finish is really an herbal, rye, oak, tobacco finale that's really smooth. Little bit of bitter oak on the palate after it truly ends, but it's enjoyable if you like that kind of note.

Overall: this is really good. Lasso Motel has been my latest sneaky link. It's just so damn smooth and packed with a brighter rye which is not the thing I usually gravitate towards. I love rye and deep beefy notes are my jam, but this is really kind of silky. Just a smooth ass rye.

Design: the bottle design is 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼. Top 3 right now.

Value: well worth the price and would pay more for it.

Rating: 8/10

Little & Foster Marriage of Mashbills 9 Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2026)

Batch No. 1 (6 barrel blend)

Distilled by MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana

Blended in Covington, KY by John Little & John Foster

John Little is the former Head Distiller & CEO at Smooth Ambler in Maxelton, WV… leaving in 2025 to start Experience Distilled, a consulting and barrel brokerage

John Foster formerly served as Director of Sales & Marketing at Smooth Ambler

Blend of 2 mashbills:
1/3: 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley
2/3: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley

Barrel manufacturers: Kelvin & ISC; char 4

Bottled in March 2026

21% rye: filled October 2015
36% rye: filled November 2015

Age: 10 years, 3+ months

Label states 9 years because future batches might utilize 9 year, but Batch 1 is all more than 10 years

Barrels aged in Indiana: 6-8 years, depending on the barrel

Outside of Indiana, barrels aged in West Virginia and shipped to KY for bottling

Natural harvest proof: 117

Proof: 107 (NCF)

MSRP: $80

Nose: Brownie batter. Burnt brown sugar. Tobacco. Sweet mint.

Mostly deep and dark aromas, with the slightest bit of mint. Smells like what you would expect for 10 year bourbon distilled in Indiana… no hint of too much oak.

Palate: Strong dried apricot. Milk chocolate. Orange zest. Strong dark honey.

Thick and oily mouthfeel. Plenty fruit and sweetness, but very distinct phases of sweetness.

Finish: Black pepper. Dark honey. Tobacco. Dark maple syrup.

Oily mouthfeel all the way! I don’t think it’s too sweet at all, but if you like sweet on well-aged bourbon… you’re really going to appreciate this. The profile was great, but the mouthfeel makes this that much more fun.

Sample provided for review by Little & Foster Whiskey Co.

Rating: 7 | Great | Well above average

Price: $80

Nose: vanilla, brown sugar, rye, oak, cookies. Love the nose on this

Palate: vanilla, cookies, brown sugar, rye spice, carmel. Coats my entire mouth. Feel like I can chew on it.

Finish: long, oaky, rye, subtle char, some brown sugar that dissipates and let's the other characteristics take over. The rye really lasts and it's quite good and is welcomed finish after the sweet notes on the palate.

Overall: this bottle is very very good. It's a sweeter rye, but doesn't loose it's core purpose of being a rye. Feels like a bottle that could convert someone who isn't big on rye. From nose to finish, it's really good. Big flavor, big nose, long finish. Doesn't get much better imo at $80.

Value: a must get

Rating: 8.5/10

Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1
Proof: 127.2
Age: NAS (rumored ~8–10 years)
Price Paid: $80 from a good friend.
Glass: Glencairn
Rest: 20 minutes

Nose - 9/10
This immediately reminds me why Stagg has the reputation it does. Big waves of dark cherry syrup, vanilla bean, burnt brown sugar, and fresh caramel come charging out of the glass. Behind that is a surprisingly bright orange peel note before settling into oak, cinnamon, and a touch of leather.
Despite the proof, almost no ethanol burn on the nose. It’s dense without feeling closed off.

Palate - 9/10
The first sip is classic Stagg.
Dark cherries, caramelized sugar, rich vanilla, and milk chocolate hit first before transitioning into cinnamon, clove, and black pepper. The oak is assertive but nowhere near over-oaked.

Adding a few drops of water actually brought out more caramel and honey while softening some of the darker spice.

Finish - 9.5/10
Long.
Really long.
The cherry note evolves into dark fruit and baking spices before finishing with toasted oak, leather, and lingering Kentucky tug.

Final Score
9.5/10

Nose: caramel, sweet tobacco, gravitas (if you know you know), very little ethanol. It just smells delicious.

Palate: Very balanced. Sweet tobacco, normal bourbon flavors, spicy and sweet forward.

Finish: Such a good finish. Spicy and sweet that lasts forever on the palate.

I don’t have a refined palate or nose but I know what’s good and what’s not at this point for my palate. I know the picture is not just Peerless. I started with Barrel and then Elijah Craig 15, then I finally opened the Peerless 10 today. The Peerless killed the other 2. I have been into bourbon for less than a year and my Top 3 are Russel’s 13, Peerless 10, and Heaven Hill 22 in that order. I’m sure this review is trash but “I wanted to get the word out that we back up”. This is my first review as well. Happy America 250 everybody!

Very Old St Nick is an old brand revived by our friends at Preservation Distillery. Folks like to complain about the lack of transparency on their products and the high price tags. Other folks like to pay the high price tags because they love the distillate or the brand or the hype. So what’s the deal with this one? I was gifted this bottle for my birthday and I’m just cracking it open now.

ABV: 59.05%

Age: NAS but it’s a blend of a 10 year old ~ high rye bourbon and an 8 year old~ old wheated pot stilled bourbon and a 19 year old ~ base.

Nose: First pass I think it burned a nose hair or two. After letting it rest a little longer and coming back - I got some fresh baked bread. Raspberry and oak are also clearly present.

Palate: Cherries up front and then dark chocolate. The two flavors end up melding together on my tongue and could eventually be described as chocolate covered cherries. It’s a nice oily texture. There’s some pepper on the back end.

Finish: Some more pepper. A nice warm lingering finish. Tobacco and more dark fruit - cherries plus some other fruits that I can’t quite identify.

7.9/10

This is a really good bourbon, despite the hype. However - I’m not sure I’d pay $260. I’ll have to come back to this bottle a few more times and re-rate it before I’d say is it truly on par with $250+ bourbons.

Happy birthday America!!!!

Today I stopped by my local shop and saw this bottle staring at me when I wasn’t looking for it. Grabbed it immediately thought there was a HH 22yr for $450 also there.

Price paid: 129 (basically bottle plus shipping from what I could find online).

Specs: 10yr, 100 proof/BiB

Nose: Citrus, spice and oak. Little bit of leather.

Taste: Coats the mouth, citrus to somewhat stone fruit, definite spice notes, and sugar.

Finish: Nice long finish, more citrus with some oak, lite cinnamon, and rye spice.

Definitely a treat! I have a bottle of standard Rittenhouse and will compare it.

Score: Solid 8 to 8.5! Glad I found it!

Hello, guys. Toni B here, and today is a special day for all of us Americans. It's the 250th anniversary of the USA. 🇺🇸 Hopefully, you guys are spending quality time with family, friends, and, more importantly, drinking a good American whiskey. 🥃 (These are the type of days when you open that special bottle.)

A lot of things have been going on lately. The ⚽ World Cup has honestly made this 250th anniversary of the USA even more special. Seeing tourists enjoying America, watching their highlights as they visit 🤠 Texas, 🗽 New York, 🔔 Philly, and other parts of the 🇺🇸 USA has been awesome. It shows the type of people we really are. More importantly, seeing them have a different opinion of us has been great, considering how conflicted and divided the media is.

I'm proud to be lucky enough to have been born in this country. I love our food, our diversity, our freedom of speech, our bourbon, and our guns. And to be drinking American whiskey today? 🥃🇺🇸 It doesn't get more patriotic than that.

Anyway, today's bottle review is the Rittenhouse United States 250th Anniversary Commemorative Edition.

It took me a little longer than expected to get this bottle. The MSRP is $99.99, it's bottled at 100 proof, and this is a special release for the 250th anniversary of the USA. 🇺🇸 Sadly, some stores are already charging $150+ for it.

A little bit about Rittenhouse. This brand has been around since the 1930s. Today, it's made by Heaven Hill Distillery. Their regular lineup is centered around a 4 year American rye whiskey, so this 10 year release really stands out.

Also, a quick note. This is not a bourbon. It's an American rye whiskey, which means the mash bill is made with at least 51% rye instead of corn like bourbon. 🌾 But I'm sure you guys already knew that. 😄

Going back to the bottle review, looking at the bottle, it has a tall, slim, sleek design. I like the top that shows the American flag color theme. The bottle definitely gives American vibes, that's for sure. 🇺🇸

On the aroma, while serving it in a Glencairn glass, I could already smell the rye. But I let it rest for about 8 minutes before giving it a good whiff.

Right away, you still get that rye, but now it's a lot more balanced. I get a nice herbal tea aroma with a little bit of lemon. Then I get hit with some nice sweetness. I also pick up some oak, but the rye spice and a little bit of ethanol tell me this is going to have a long, strong finish.

On the taste, uff... if you're not a fan of rye, you're going to hate this guy. Right away, you get that lemon zest mixed with the rye sensation. To me, this leans heavily toward lemon tea. It also has a strong kick to it with a really nice heat. Maybe it's not the ideal whiskey to drink during the summer, but the finish is long and strong. It has a good spice kick, and as it fades, I get a little chocolate sensation. Honestly, I think the best part of this whiskey is the finish. It just makes you want to keep sipping.

Now, keep in mind this is not a bourbon, so you're not going to find that sweetness you normally get from a bourbon. When I say sweetness, I mean a really mild one.

But with that being said, if I have to give it a score, I'm giving it an

89/100.

Really good whiskey. It's balanced really well, and honestly, I think the lemon tea combination goes fantastic with it. It's definitely a whiskey worth drinking and sharing with friends. I think if this bottle was in the $70 to $80 range, and it wasn't a limited release, I'd probably give it a higher score.

Alright, hopefully you guys enjoyed the review. I'm going to continue enjoying this bottle tonight and call it a day.

Oh, one more thing before I really go. 😂 I have to mention this real quick. We've had one of the craziest 🏀 NBA Drafts I've ever seen. (WTF was that Boston trade? 🤯) Next season, the NBA is going to be 🔥.

This is Toni B, guys, and I'm out.

Price: $279

Color: medium brown with some red hue

Nose: big, nutty like peanut butter, heavy wood funk, oak, carmel, light citrus, dark fruit like plum. Deeply complex.

Palate: medium stature, maple, brown sugar, oaky, cinnemon candy, baking spices all day, hints of citrus, plum, a little hint of mint, well balanced but the proof punches a tad high that it's noticeable at first sip.

Finish: medium finish, oaky, starts solid and slowly dissipates, spices, some char in there, proof ramps up a bit before it finishes off

Overall: this is pretty damn good. It's very well balanced and has that finesse I love in good bourbon. Not a big pour, but a very strong medium pour. While this lot didn't blow me away, I kind of get the hype behind it. It's a great pour. Preservation stays in heavy rotation over here. Shit slaps.

Value: a bit above what I would put it at, but overall, sure get it. You only live once.

Rating: 8.5/10