Posts

Evan Williams 12 Year Review

/in /by

Sunday Evening Review

 

Not many times do you get a bourbon that’s roots are from outside of the United States. Most bourbon producers will gladly tell you how their start comes from wherever their distillery is located. This bourbon product though was intended from the beginning to be in foreign lands. More on that later but let’s see if this Evan Williams 12 Year bourbon was a gesture of kindness or was it considered an insult to our foreign friends.

 

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

 

NAME – Evan Williams 12 Year

 

PROOF – 101

 

AGE – 12 years old

 

COLOR – smoked paprika (1.6 mahogany, henna notes on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla frosting, apple pie filling, charred oak, tanned leather and cocoa powder.

 

TASTE – The nose doesn’t lie on this one. You get all that caramel, brown sugar, vanilla frosting, cinnamon and charred oak along with the apple pie filling. The chocolate note may slightly go more to a dark chocolate and the leather is more aged than on the nose.

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. The brown sugar, charred oak and the aged leather stays along with some roasted peanut.

 

REVIEW – This bourbon gives you everything that made you fall in love with bourbon. There is nothing highly unique about this pour, but it does everything very well and gives you the experience you wish every bourbon you drink would measure up to. Now just because it isn’t unique doesn’t mean it doesn’t stand out. I compare this to a Rolex. There is lots of ways to tell time and many watches made but there is a reason that Rolex is the standard by which timepieces are measures. I would consider this bottle the same.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – Time to payoff the tease from above. The Evan Williams 12 Year was produced for the purpose of the Japanese market and up to 2013 that was the only place you could find it. The rumor is that it was a product they made exclusive to Japan almost as a thank you for continuing to drink bourbon in the 80’s when the U.S. market almost completely abandoned it. Today the only place in the U.S. to find it is at the Evan Williams Experience in Louisville for $130 at last check. I have heard that in Japan it is a sub-$40 bottle and everywhere. I know there are several here that have connections that make trips to Japan. You do the rest of the math.

 

One thing with this that throws you right from the beginning on a bottle you paid $130 for is all this gold wax is covering a screw top. Nothing wrong with it and probably preferred for a “special occasion” whiskey. It’s also plastic versus a metal top like Weller, which again I prefer.

 

Another thing that can clear up a myth that I hear repeated is that it can’t be bourbon if it is charcoaled filtered. Only Tennessee whiskey does that. That is not true as several bourbons charcoal filter (this one included) and is every bit a bourbon. The rule is you can’t ADD anything but water. Charcoal filter just would take away and actually recreates what happens inside the barrel with the charred oak.

To find out more check it out here – Evan Williams

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.

Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Barrel 166 Review

/in /by

Sunday Evening Review

 

My day job is in innovation and there is a concept in innovation called fail fast. The idea is not to wait to build the perfect mouse trap but build one, fail quickly, learn, make better and then repeat. Chattanooga Whiskey has an Experimental Single Barrel program that lets their distillery do the same. The nice part is they let the public see if they failed, they are on to something or hit a home run. This week I review one of these experiments. Let’s see where they are at in the process.

 

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

 

NAME – Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Single Barrel #166

 

PROOF – 121.2

 

AGE – 4 years, 3 months and 14 days

 

COLOR – chestnut hair (1.4 tawny on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – CHOCOLATE BOMB right when you put your nose to it. Then you start to get butterscotch, vanilla, malted cereal, almond butter, little campfire smoke, cherry cobbler, tobacco leaf.

 

TASTE – The campfire note comes more to the front but not overwhelming. Chocolate malt, warn leather, cigar tobacco, black tea, and dark roasted coffee grounds.

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. The malted chocolate, charred oak and tobacco hang around for a long time.

 

REVIEW – I really like this but I could see where a lot of people might not like it due to the absence of a lot of the traditional sweet notes of caramel, brown sugar and vanilla. Even the chocolate is chocolate malt, so it isn’t sweet. This is very dark and earthy whiskey. If you are a cigar smoker, this is similar to drinking a whiskey that is like a good cigar with very similar characteristics. So if you were wanted to smoke a cigar somewhere that wouldn’t let you, this whiskey just might scratch the itch for you. Would also never guess it is 121 proof. Seems closer to 100. Dangerous the lack of ethanol burn.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – If you have read previous reviews of Chattanooga Whiskey that I’ve done you know I like their rebellious nature and the willingness to push the boundaries. This Experimental Series does just that and allows them to explore and go places you wouldn’t if you want to make any money as a distillery. What it can produce is things very different and interesting. It also allows them to learn. I have no doubt that there will be a day when all things will align with one of these experiments that they will add it to the line of 111, 91 and the Rye but until then you get to explore along with them without all the hard work.

To find out more check it out here – Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Single Barrels

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

/1 Comment/in /by

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Echo Spirits Bavarian Rhapsody Review

/in /by

Sunday Evening Review

 

One of the reasons that craft distilleries have become so popular is their willingness to experiment. Echo Spirits is no different as they have jumped outside of the box for the upcoming limited release Bavarian Rhapsody Whiskey. Now like with any experiment it can change the world or set your house on fire. Let’s see where this one lands.

 

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

 

NAME – Echo Spirits Bavarian Rhapsody Whiskey – Copper Label Series

 

PROOF – 110

 

AGE – no age statement (found out that it was 18 months in a 30 gallon barrel)

 

COLOR – Chardonnay gold (1.1, Burnished on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Whoppers malted milk balls, banana chips, pale ale, cream of wheat, whisper of lemon peel

 

TASTE – Cooked mash, white raisins, Whoppers malted milk balls, herbal, hefeweizen and a little banana pudding

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. A white wine note just keeps hanging around for a really long time.

 

REVIEW – I will tell you this is a whiskey that is not anywhere close to anything traditional. You can’t make a judgement of this off the first sip (you shouldn’t do that ever by the way). I think it has some scotch type characteristics that makes it a good grab for scotch lovers. This takes some time to appreciate due to the uniqueness of this bottle. I will also say that it doesn’t drink anywhere close to 110 proof. I would have guessed closer to 90 other than the extremely long finish is from a higher proof.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – Want to thank Echo Spirits for giving me this to review. This is a very limited and once only bottle as this can’t ever be recreated in any fashion. First, there is only 70 bottles. The other part is they don’t have the recipe to recreate it. Echo Spirits  know that it contained Bavarian wheat malt, chocolate malt, and pale malt from North High Brewing, but they don’t know what else it had or in what proportions. When North High Brewing closed down their brew-on-premise setup, they offered Echo Spirits the leftovers to turn into hand sanitizer, but it wound up tasting great coming off the still, so they put it in a barrel instead. The barrel had already aged rye whiskey for 2 years before they reused it for this expression. That is why they call it a whiskey distilled from malt mash instead of malt whiskey because the name malt whiskey requires a new barrel but everything else is the same.

 

Joe Bidinger, founder and distiller at Echo Spirits stated, “We desperately wish we had more. Personally, this might be my favorite thing we’ve made, both because it’s unique and because I like it quite a bit.”

 

This comes out this Friday, March 25th at 4pm. This shouldn’t last long as you won’t ever find a more unique and limited bottle for $35. Yes, I said $35 for a one-of-a-kind craft distilled bottle. You will need to go to Echo Spirits to get your bottle so go ahead and put this in your calendar for a Friday appointment.

 

To find out more check it out here – Echo Spirits

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.

Old Charter 10 Year Review

/2 Comments/in /by

It is always a nice surprise when you get your hands on something that not many people ever talk about, never seen and then is gifted to you by a member of COWS. By a show of hands how many of you have even heard of Old Charter 10 Year? Now how many has even seen it? I wouldn’t have raised my hand until this wonderful gift. Now let’s see if this was a gift or maybe they were trying to poison me. Only one way to find out.

 

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

 

NAME – Old Charter 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

 

PROOF – 86

 

AGE – 10 years

 

COLOR – dirty blonde (1.3 russet mascat on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Undeniable mash bill #1 from Buffalo Trace. Honey, honeysuckle, vanilla, sweet oak, new tanned leather, cherry taffy.

 

TASTE – Cherry, honey, vanilla combo right up front. There is that sweet oak and tanned leather in the mid-palate with a very slight almond note coming late.

 

FINISH – I would call this a short finish. This is where the 86 proof shows up. Not a long finish at all with some honey, leather and some tobacco but pay attention or you will miss it.

 

REVIEW – This rivals Evan Williams Single Barrel as my absolute favorite bourbon under 90 proof. This is a fantastic pour that gives you all the traditional flavor profiles you look for in bourbon. No it doesn’t give you anything outside the traditional flavors but what it gives you is really well done. The only draw back is the short finish but can be forgiven for all of the rest it gives you.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – The Old Charter uses the famous mash bill 1 from Buffalo Trace which is their low rye mash bill. Rumored to be at 10% rye. Other brands that use the same mash bill is their namesake Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor, George T Stagg, Stagg Jr. and Benchmark. This absolutely can hold its own with Buffalo Trace and Eagle Rare. The low proof hurts it against the others.

 

How I wish this was something easily found. This is a great couch pour watching a game or having with dinner. Maybe Buffalo Trace will do something similar as they have with Benchmark and create several different varieties. They could have The 10 year Old Charter be the “premium” offering in the lineup.

 

Thanks again to Greg Skinner for the gift and not for trying to poison me.

Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon Review

/in /by

There is a Nevada distillery that is starting to make some real noise in the whiskey community. No, this time I’m not talking about Smoke Wagon. I’m talking about Frey Ranch that has come onto the seen with a interesting mash bill and a true attention to the craft of whiskey making. Let’s find out if the juice is worth the squeeze.

 

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

 

NAME – Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 4

 

PROOF – 90

 

AGE – non-age stated (thought to be 4 years)

 

COLOR – Caramelized peaches (1.4, tawny on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Malted cereal with clover honey, fruit cocktail, vanilla bean, hay, butterscotch, and toasted oak

 

TASTE – Caramel comes at you at the beginning along with vanilla, cinnamon, and again the fruit cocktail but more cooked down to increase the flavor and sweetness. There is also some hay and leather woven in.

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. For a 90 proofer this has some really decent length to the finish. The cinnamon stays along with some peppery notes, leather and cooked caramel.

 

REVIEW – What stuck out for me right away was the creamy mouth feel that you get from this especially for a 90 proof bourbon. This is a pretty well rounded bourbon but the surprising part is that there isn’t more cherry coming out for me. This has wheat in the mash bill and thought it would pop out more cherry. Not good or bad just a slight surprise. This does have that fruit cocktail note though along with spice and caramel sweetness. It’s a very nice pour that gives a very interesting and balanced experience. I do think at 6 to 8 years this bourbon could be out of this world.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – As many of you know there are whiskey brands, especially bourbon brands, popping up everywhere that are just trying to take advantage of the hype. Frey Ranch is one of the ones that seems to be doing it right. For one is that the farm raised grain for other distilleries for years and have taken the time to increase quality of the grains at the sacrifice of yield. They also malt their own barley on site for quality control. Also, they don’t follow the “traditional” recipe and throw it out there. 66.6% corn, 10% winter wheat, 11.4% winter rye and 12% two-row barley is the mash bill that is printed right on the bottle. That is anything but traditional.

 

I would also be remised if I didn’t mention the packaging. The bottle and the stopper are really nice. Heavy bottle, heavy topper and also this aged metal medallion that had to have been CNC machined out that is attached to the front of the bottle. Also, for the $50 price tag, I think this a really good price for the quality of the juice and the bottle.

 

By the way, they ship to Ohio and the shipping cost is more than reasonable.

To find out more check it out here – Frey Ranch

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castle & Key Restoration Batch 3

Castle & Key’s Restoration Batch 3 Review

/1 Comment/in /by

Castle & Key Distillery is a place that seems out of a fairy tale for those not into whiskey. For those that are it is almost hallowed ground where Colonial Edmund Haynes (E.H.) Taylor Jr. literally started whiskey tourism. Obviously, his name sake whiskey’s produced by Buffalo Trace are much revered but now we will see if this place has some magic left as I review the 2021 Restoration Rye Batch 3 whiskey.

 

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

 

NAME – Restoration Kentucky Rye Whiskey 2021 Batch 3

 

PROOF – 105

 

AGE – 3.5 years

 

COLOR – Harvest gold (1.3 russet muscat on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Sugary cereal like Captain Crunch, lemon zest, slightly floral and maltiness

 

TASTE – A lemon herbal tea with honey is immediately what I think of. There is a fair amount of rye spice bite in the back of the throat and the maltiness is weaved throughout.

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium finish. I might even be stretching a bit to call this a medium finish. The rye spice and maltiness stays and whiffs of lemon zest at the very end.

 

REVIEW – This rye whiskey is summer in a glass. The lemon zest makes it bright and vibrant without be obnoxious. There is just enough sweetness, rye spice and malt to balance out the citrus. I absolutely could see me sitting out on a late July evening and having a pour of this. Maybe even putting it in some 7-Up or ginger ale. Really a pleasant pour that doesn’t even drink at the 105 proof. If I didn’t know I would guess it more in the 90 proof range.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – I am an unapologetic E.H. Taylor fan boy. If he would be alive today, he would absolutely be THE rockstar in this whiskey craze. He was 100 years ahead of his time as he was thinking distilleries should be more than a barn with a still in it. Back when the distillery where Castle & Key is now attracted tourist and people would come to picnic where they were given complimentary “tenth pint” bottles of Old Taylor. This was in the late 1800’s and he was already doing what almost every distillery on the bourbon trail and off of it (for that matter) is doing. Distilleries today are shrines to their brand and they realize that the distillery can add to the attraction of the whiskey. Today, people have their weddings there as I personally saw one time when I was there.

 

If you are ever in Frankfort area, it is an absolute must stop even if the people you are with aren’t into whiskey, they will respect and be awed by the whiskey castle.

To find out more check it out here – Castle & Key

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.

Whiskey War Double Oaked Batch 3 Review

/in /by

SUNDAY EVENING REVIEW

 

I love it when I start seeing double…double oaked that is. Ever sense Woodford popularized the concept of double oaking whiskey, it has been done by many. High Bank’s master distiller Adam Hines also is a big fan of the process and the results that come from it. Hines has now come out with his 3rd batch of Whiskey War Double Oaked and I am fortunate enough to get to review it before it goes on sale this coming Friday. Let’s see if Batch 3 is like one of the first 2 (which were very different) or will it have its own profile.

 

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

 

NAME – Whiskey War Double Oaked Batch 3

 

PROOF – 100

 

AGE – non-age stated but I do know that it spent 18 months in the 2nd barrel, and this is still from the early batches of Whiskey War that were aged at 2 ½ year or so. So, this is about 4 years old.

 

COLOR – new tanned leather (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Honey, vanilla, anise, canned pears, sweet oak, and ginger

 

TASTE – Caramel, browned butter, rye spice, charred oak, white pepper, and some slight ginger

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium finish. The charred oak, white pepper and ginger stick around along with some tobacco comes out in the end.

 

REVIEW – I am fortunate enough to still have Batch 1 and Batch 2 of Whiskey War Double Oaked and to best describe this in a nutshell is this Batch 3 is like the first 2 batches had a baby. There is the caramel and butter notes from Batch 1 and the spicey rye and peppery notes from Batch 2. This is interesting and not overly sweet as some double oaks can get. The only thing missing in the palate that was in the nose was fruit notes. The canned pears on the nose didn’t come out in the palate.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – First, I want to thank High Bank for allowing me to sample this before the release. This is another very good double oak by High Bank. It is sure to be a very quick seller when it is released this Friday. You can tell when someone has a passion for something and double oaked whiskey is that for Hines. It is why it is some of his very best releases and highly sought after. I would set an alarm for Friday or you will most likely be out of luck.

You can purchase Whiskey War Double Oaked Batch 3 on Friday, February 25th at 11AM ET at https://www.highbankco.com/double-oaked. There will be a limit of 1 bottle per customer in an attempt to allow as many people as possible to get a bottle.

To find out more check it out here – High Bank Distillery

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.

 

Chattanooga Whiskey 91 Review

/in /by

Sunday Evening Review

 

The Bengals today head into the Super Bowl “ahead of schedule.” No one before the season thought they had enough on the team to even get to the playoffs. Same can be said for Chattanooga Whiskey. Next month they will celebrate their 7th year producing their own whiskey but in that short time they have shaken up the whiskey industry leaning heavily into a high malt mash bill they call Tennessee High Malt. Today I will review their 91 proof variety. Let’s see if it is ready for the big time.

 

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

 

NAME – Chattanooga Whiskey 91

 

PROOF – 91

 

AGE – non-age stated but website says aged at least 2 years

 

COLOR – new copper penny (1.4 tawny on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Malty pilsner beer, cream of wheat, amber honey, cherry pie, sweet oak

 

TASTE – Dark honey and malted grains grab you at the front. There is some sweet black tea, tobacco, leather, toast oak and decent amount of vanilla

 

FINISH – I would call this a short to medium to long finish. The toast oak, leather and vanilla find their way until the end but the ending comes a little quick.

 

REVIEW – This whiskey I think lends itself to someone that wants to get into American whiskey and is coming from being a beer drinker. The maltiness is very evident and the lower proof point makes it very approachable. There is almost no hint of ethanol anywhere. That being said if you are proof hound that requires a oily mouth feel and a finish that last a day and half, this won’t be your pour. I would high suggest grabbing their 111 and you will be much happier. Its why they make both.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – What I feel is so interesting about Chattanooga Whiskey is the rebellious nature that they have come at it. They have fought the government, traditional whiskey making and just about anywhere they can go against the grain. They always feel like they are just this side of bootlegging.

 

Some interesting facts of the whiskey, a month-by-month release of 10 single barrels, selected from the first 100 produced at the Experimental Distillery – culminating with Barrel #91, the future flagship recipe. That recipe consists of Yellow Corn, Malted Rye, Caramel Malted Barley & Honey Malted Barley (now you know where all that maltiness comes from). After aging more than 2 years in both toasted and charred barrels, Chattanooga Whiskey 91 utilizes their version of the Solera finishing process.  They bring together nearly 100 barrels into a 4000-gallon, charred, white oak Solera finishing barrel, which never goes empty.

 

See what I mean. They just do it different.

 

To find out more check it out here – Chattanooga Whiskey 91

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.

Pinhook Bourbon Vertical Series 6 Year Review

/in /by

SUNDAY EVENING REVIEW

What does time taste like? It is part of why many like whiskey and swear by different ages of different types of whiskey that makes it the perfect aging to make the perfect whiskey. There is one whiskey brand that is going to let you taste time. Pinhook has a vertical series where they will release the same distillate where it started at 4 years and will go to 12 years. Today I will review and taste the third release and aged at 6 years. Let’s see if time has been kind so far.

 

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

 

NAME – Pinhook Straight Bourbon Whiskey Vertical Series

 

PROOF – 107

 

AGE – 6 years

 

COLOR – browned butter (1.3 russet muscat on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Butterscotch, vanilla bean, strawberry taffy, cinnamon graham crackers

 

TASTE – Vanilla ice cream and heavy rye spice is up front when you first sip. Caramel ice cream topping, cinnamon and some sweet oak

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium finish. The rye spice lingers until the end, but you also get the oak and a bit of sweet leather

 

REVIEW – One of the things that pops out at you for a 6 year bourbon at 107 proof is how oily of a mouth feel that this has. It really coats the palate nice. This is interesting in the fact that some aspects of this pour would make you to believe that it is more mature than 6 years and other things that it is younger. The vanilla ice cream and the syrupy caramel makes you think older but the sharp rye notes make you think that it isn’t as old. I am really excited though as this vertical series continues and to one day sit down with all of them, taste time and the journey it takes.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – I can’t tell you enough how cool I think this idea of a vertical series is. What Pinhook has done is grabbed 1,350 MGP bourbon barrels and will release 150 barrels every year until it reaches 12 years. What they are also doing is upping the proof each year. The 4 year was 98 proof, 5 year 104 proof and then this 6 year at 107.

 

I think this is something that I am a bit surprised one of the big distilleries hasn’t already done. I could easily see Heaven Hill doing this with Elijah Craig or the Evan Williams brand. People, including Fred Minnick, have been clambering for Maker’s Mark to release higher aged whiskey. Getting more local, I would absolutely love to see Middle West do a vertical series.

 

Who would you like to see do a vertical series like this? Comment below and let me know.

 

To find out more check it out here – Pinhook Vertical Series

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.