DESCRIPTION
The style of whiskey gives the spirit uniquely sweet and candy notes. The nose of the whiskey is a vanilla butterscotch bomb transitioning into slight notes of citrus and cream. Butterscotch dominates the palate along with vanilla, toffee and a hint of clove. The finish is a warm lingering sweet heat, a nice Kentucky hug. Various barrel finishes provide fruity and spicy notes building on this flavor profile.
Nose: Deep and inviting butterscotch blankets your nose as you pull the glass up to your face. I haven’t smelled this much butterscotch since my last EH Taylor Barrel Proof bourbon! There are other sweet characteristics like caramel cream candies, vanilla custard and buttercream frosting. There’s even a good dose of sliced red apples that bounce around a bit. Overall, the nose is rich and deep with no indication of the high ethanol content it should have or a ton of tannins.
Palate: The butterscotch from the nose translates into butterscotch pudding on the tongue. There’s also some Kellogg’s Corn Pops cereal and vanilla cake that keep adding more sweetness. I do detect my first bit of tannins in the form of a very light, wet tobacco. As for the heat, there is moderate amounts of heat surges here and there, but overall, it doesn’t get in the way of reveling in the other notes.
Finish: The finish is unfortunately a very brief affair compared to other whiskies and bourbons I’ve had. I partly think this is due to the second-use barrel it was aged in and also the mashbill that is devoid of a more complex rye or better-aging wheat. What is odd, is that even though this mashbill has no rye, there is a small rye spice note I’m picking up on that I’m realizing is probably a flavor note from the wood that rye naturally extracts more of when it is used in a bourbon. There’s pepper flakes and chili powder for heat and as it fades away, a beautiful toffee note is quickly enjoyed and then vanishes.
