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Whiskey War Double Oaked COWS Pick “D.O. or Die” Review

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Sunday Evening Review

 

There is only one time you can be first and the COWS got that chance and took it. The COWS are the first public barrel pick with the High Bank Distillery. The group got to pick a Whiskey War Double Oak barrel and now it is time to let you know what we picked taste like. Stay tuned until the end with information of when and where you will be able to get yours.

 

Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Double Oak Single Barrel – “D.O. or Die”

 

PROOF – 100

 

AGE – 5+ years (oldest juice to come out of High Bank so far)

 

COLOR – Dark Amber (1.6 mahogany, henna notes on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – The signature Whiskey War ginger note along with vanilla crème, saddle leather, aged oak, butterscotch, raisins and toasted almonds.

 

TASTE – Right away you notice that this whiskey coats your tongue like a thick syrup. The ginger is still there but it climbs into the backseat to let sweet caramel, vanilla bean, raisin and leather drive. The aged oak is still there along with a hint of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, and cinnamon.

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. Sit back for awhile as this finish lingers for a good bit of time. The dark chocolate, caramel and rye spice linger and linger.

 

REVIEW – This is a very good double oaked whiskey that doesn’t get overly sweet like some do from other distilleries. There is enough spice and earthy notes that ride along with the sweet notes to make it very interesting and highly enjoyable. The finish is something to behold on a 100 proof whiskey that isn’t even 6 years old yet. It is long and very enjoyable. In my opinion the best double oaked Whiskey War to come out of High Bank Distillery.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – If this review isn’t enough for you, here is the tasting notes from Adam Hines the Master Distiller of High Bank Distillery:

 

Sweet vanilla caramel nose with notes of leathery oak. Accompanied by a sugary white pepper caramel that ends with a raisin and mint tea finish.

The COWS have been honored and lucky to get some pretty exciting experiences. This is one of the biggest honors when the distillery comes to you and ask you to be the first to do a barrel pick with one of, if not the, hottest distillery in America after winning best blended whiskey at the San Francisco World Spirits competition 2 years in a row. This will absolutely be a bottle that you will want to have in your collection for numerous reasons. The price for the bottle is $69.99 plus tax and the link to purchase this will hit the COWS Facebook group page at 11am on Friday, October 21st. There will be a limit of 1 bottle on the first day to give everyone a chance to get this special bottle. The nice part is you can go to High Bank Distillery right after purchasing online and pick up the bottle. All bottles will need to be picked up at High Bank Distillery and there will not be any special arrangements for pick up or delivery that can be made by High Bank Distillery or the Central Ohio Whiskey Society.

COWS Bulleit Barrel Pick “Fruity and the Yeast” Review

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Sunday Evening Review

 

On this special Mother’s Day Edition of Sunday Evening Review I go over the latest barrel pick that the COWS are about to receive. The Bulleit Barrel Pick named “Fruity and the Yeast – A COWS Tale As Old As Time.” I will go over this latest pick to find out if it is a fairy tale bourbon or maybe it will just be a horror story.

 

Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.

 

NAME – Bulleit Bourbon Single Barrel “Fruity and the Yeast”

 

PROOF – 104

 

AGE – 7 years

 

COLOR – light maple syrup (1.4 tawny on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Fruit cocktail with notes of pears, cherries, peach, ripe strawberry, and white grape. Also, amber honey, toasted oak, and Nilla wafers.

 

TASTE – The fruit bomb continues from the nose. A lot of red fruits of strawberry, cherries, and red raspberry. Also, a canned pear win syrup shows up with the red fruit. There is also a yeast roll with honey butter and a little cinnamon.

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium finish. The cinnamon, toasted oak and the yeasty notes hang around until the end.

 

REVIEW – This is a very fruity whiskey and is uplifting and very easy to drink without be a 1 or 2 note wonder that you usually characterize with “easy to drink” bourbon. This has a lot of different fruits that burst at different times on the palate. Then the yeasty notes helps balance out the sweet fruit. If you are lucky enough to get this bottle my Memorial Day, my guess is most won’t make it to the 4th of July. An absolutely perfect summer bourbon to enjoy.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – This bourbon is using the “E” mash bill which is considered the low rye mash bill at 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% barley. This is versus the “B” mash bill which is 68% corn, 28% rye and 4% barley. With Bulleit just like with Four Roses there are 2 mash bills and 5 yeast strains. This pick uses the “3” yeast strain which is called appropriately their strawberry flavored yeast.

 

I will say for those that are consistent acquirers of COWS barrels picks this one is different from most of the barrels we have gotten that concentrates more on darker notes. This one is brighter and sweeter than most of the barrels we have done. Even the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked we did was sweet but still had a lot of darker notes. The timing of this coming out is unquestionably perfect as I predict many pours of this bourbon being enjoyed out on the deck this summer.

 

This pick will be made available for reservations this coming Saturday, May 14th, at 10 am.  The link will be posted on the Facebook group COWS page. As always, I don’t expect this to last very long so be ready right at 10am.

You can look at all the past Sunday Evenings Reviews and I would still love to hear what your personal reviews are from each of the whiskies reviewed.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof COWS Pick Review

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SUNDAY EVENING REVIEW

 

The first COWS barrel pick of 2022 is finally close to coming in. This was picked back in November but (fingers crossed) it should be in within a month. We are starting off strong with an Elijah Craig Barrel Proof pick that was named “Needs More COWS Bell.” Let’s see if it will make you say, “Need another pour of that!”

 

Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.

 

NAME – Elijah Craig Barrel Proof “Needs More COWS Bell”

 

PROOF – 124.3

 

AGE – 8 years

 

COLOR – worn copper kettle (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Amber honey, caramel, buttered biscuits, vanilla frosting, canned plums, Bing cherry, cinnamon, roasted almonds, and cigar tobacco. Would never guess this is 124 proof on the nose. Almost no ethanol.

 

TASTE – Cinnamon and peanut brittle on the first taste. As you continue to explore you get warn leather, cigar tobacco, vanilla, charred oak, toasted pecan, Bing cherry and rye spice.

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. This sits on the side and back of your tongue and refuses to leave. Oak spice, leather, tobacco, and cinnamon stay until the end.

 

REVIEW – You could nose this whiskey for 3 days and never get tired of it. Just an absolute insane nose on this. The nose fools you that this really isn’t 124 proof but when it hits your palate it lets you know the label doesn’t lie. Very bold whiskey that for 8 years is something really special. Have had other Elijah Craig Barrel Proofs at 12 years that isn’t this complex or bold. This is complex and the finish on this is one of the longest I have ever experienced. Take your time with this one as you want to allow the whiskey to give the full experience.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – 2021 was the first year for Heaven Hill to finally do barrel proof Elijah Craig picks. All picks are 11 years or less as they save the 12 year barrels for the 3 releases that Heaven Hill does with the “shelfer” Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.

 

The 3 barrels we sampled were all from Heaven Hill’s main campus rickhouses. Our pick was from rickhouse T on the 5th floor. The others were 11 years old, 112.8 proof, rickhouse M and on the 1st floor. The last barrel was 10 years old, 122.6 proof, rickhouse Q, and on the 3rd floor. As you can see we picked the youngest. Its why we do the picks blind so that we pick the best one and not on proof or age or what rickhouse. Taste is all that matters.

 

The picture shown is the bottle hanger that will be on the bottle. The name came from  the members with “Need More COWS Bell” being the one chosen. This bottle is sure to be one of the absolute favorites of all the COWS picks for many reasons.

 

***NOTE – These bottles will go out to the general member of COWS for reservation on Saturday, April 2nd at 10am. There will be a link posted in the groups Facebook page. The number of bottles is very limited. Cost for the reservation is $92 with a limit of 1 reservation.

 

To find out more about Elijah Craig Barrel Proof – check it out HERE

You can look at all the past Sunday Evenings Reviews and I would still love to hear what your personal reviews are from each of the whiskies reviewed.