Bourbon

Stellum Black Equinox Blend #1
Cask Strength Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies

58.63% ABV
$100
Website

We would like to thank Stellum Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

This inaugural release of the Stellum Black Specialty Equinox was created using Stellum Bourbon. We slowly layered in rare sets of bourbon barrels, step by step, until the evening of the Vernal Equinox, when the blend was completed in honor of the changing seasons.

TASTING NOTES
Appearance: Golden amber.
Nose: Beautifully subdued nose gently opens up to ripe cantaloupe and the perfume of fresh cut grass. After it aerates, notes of sugar maple and toffee hit the senses with a distant kiss of wood spice and white pepper.
Palate: Dried apricot and honey immediately find their way into view. This unfolds into Saigon cinnamon and bruleed orange before slowly making its way to subtle notes of grapefruit and jasmine.
Finish: Finish is extremely long and slowly developed. The back-end jasmine blooms and bursts into rich notes of sorghum and wood tannin before finally dissipating into beautiful dark chocolate.

WITH 3 DROPS OF WATER: The water brings about the riper, more fruit forward qualities of the whiskey and really highlights the floral aspects that were merely an undertone before. And moves the heat from the alcohol from the back of the tongue to the cheekbones.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, dark chocolate, musty oak, toffee, subtle vanilla, hint of coffee and spices.
Palate:  Viscous mouthfeel with caramel, toasted orange zest, honey, cinnamon and grapefruit.
Finish:  Long, warm and slowly drying with oak, citrus spice and dark chocolate.
Comments:  A delightful, spicy bourbon with a great mouthfeel and finish that lingers long after.  Grapefruit is one of those notes I don’t get too often in whiskey (and less so in bourbon), which is a nice twist. A bit of water brings out some fruit on the nose with peaches and apricot, and thickens the mouthfeel even more with adding apricot and turning up the orange notes.

Rating: Stands Out

Barrell Bourbon Batch 033

58.3% ABV
$90
Website

We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Blender Says

Barrell Bourbon Batch 033 is a marriage of high-rye barrels and high-corn barrels ranging in age from 5 to 9 years old. The high-rye barrels were chosen for their distinct stone fruit, black pepper, and nutmeg notes. The high-corn barrels were chosen for their rich butterscotch, coffee, and citrus notes. Two sets of barrels mingled together for two months, then the balance was adjusted for the most optimal combination.

• A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
• Distilled and aged in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana
• Selection of 5, 6, 7, and 9-year-old barrels
• Aged in American white oak barrels
• Bottled in Kentucky
• 116.6 proof cask strength bottling

FLAVOR NOTES
Barrell Bourbon Batch 033 displays all the complexity of a blend of different distillates given time to blossom. Barrel character adds some diverse leafy notes at the margins without an overabundance of extractive woody or spice notes.

​Neat
Appearance: Citrine set in yellow gold.
Nose: Pear, lemon meringue, and shoofly pie set the stage for a bourbon deftly balanced between freshness and maturity. A bouquet of jasmine, nasturtium, and dandelion speak to a youthful exuberance, while peppermint and gentian root depict an oak barrel just creeping in. A gentle savory character expands into edamame, macadamia nut, and mesquite smoke.
Palate: Champagne, applesauce, and candied grapefruit peel show ample maturity without an excessive oak. The baking spice character is dialed up slightly, exhibiting cocoa powder, allspice, star anise, and juniper.
Finish: A burst of heat rides a wave of minerals across the palate that include limestone, beach sand, and salt-water taffy. Geranium, elderflower, and chamomile reinforce the nose’s bouquet. The finish fades to the slightly bitter prickle of returning gentian root and lime peel, wiping the palate clean.
With a few drops of spring water
The palate grows much more viscous; it’s rich and sweet with vanilla buttercream. The savory notes intensify, with pickled caper, fried mushroom and hush puppies leading the way. The fruity notes expand dramatically to include nectarine, honeydew melon, passionfruit, and coconut cream.

What Gary Says

Nose: Caramel sauce, dried fruit, toffee, oak, floral notes with baking spices of nutmeg and cinnamon.
Palate: Thick mouthfeel, spicy with orange, honey, pepper, oak, cinnamon, bit of lemon and a hint of anise.
Finish: Moderately long, drying with mineral notes, lemon and lime.
Comments: A sharper, spicier batch than some previous ones, which fans of a spicy bourbon will enjoy (it actually reminds me a bit of rye whiskey). A bit of water brings out more of the fruit notes and tamps the edges nicely. This works fabulously in a Manhattan or Vieux Carré.

Rating: Stands Out

Booker’s “Ronnie’s Batch” 2022-01
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

6 Years, 11 Months, 22 Days
62.15% ABV
$90
Website

We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says:

This batch is named in honor of Ronnie Land, a longtime employee at the Jim Beam Clermont and Boston, Ky., plants, when Booker Noe was master distiller.

Ronnie worked at Jim Beam for 40 years, eventually working his way up to Warehouse Manager. Ronnie was responsible for keeping inventory of aging barrels, a key part of the bourbon-making process, and he knew the quantities and locations by heart. He also knew exactly where Booker preferred to store his namesake barrels and was trusted to prepare the samples for batch evaluation. Once, Ronnie sent Booker a box of small samples to taste, and Booker immediately knew they weren’t big enough to get a proper sense of the whiskey. Ronnie then went back and prepared samples that were notably bigger, and Booker was more than pleased. This became the standard sample size which 7th Generation Master Distiller Fred Noe and his son, 8th Generation Beam Family Distiller Freddie Noe, still use to this day.

Booker always had final sign off when it came to batches, but he knew he was working with barrels that met his standards when they were under Ronnie’s watchful eye.

TASTING NOTES
Like all batches of Booker’s Bourbon, Booker’s “Ronnie’s Batch” was selected by 7th Generation Master Distiller Fred Noe to ensure it upholds the qualities and standards that his dad set for Booker’s Bourbon more than 30 years ago. Uncut and unfiltered1, this batch was chosen with the following characteristics:
PROOF: 124.3
AGE: 6 years, 11 months, and 22 days
BATCH NOTES: Booker’s “Ronnie’s Batch” has a nice color and a rich vanilla aroma with hints of brown spice that is enjoyable even before the first sip. It has a sweet taste that comes from the time spent aging in the unique Kentucky climate. It has a warm and pleasant finish, making it an ideal pour.
SIPPING SUGGESTIONS: Booker’s “Ronnie’s Batch” is best enjoyed neat, over ice or with a few drops of water.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Musty oak rickhouse, salted caramel, dark chocolate, vanilla, peanut brittle, cinnamon, cloves and a hint of cherries.
Palate:  Vanilla, chocolate fudge, caramel, peanuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and a bit of cola.
Finish:  Moderately long, damp with oak, caramel and pepper spice.
Comments:  Classic Booker’s – rich and intense, but well balanced and squarely in the Booker’s flavor profile. One note that I got here which I usually don’t get is a bit of cola. At 6 years, 11 months and 22 days, this is the oldest batch of Booker’s released since 2015 – which I think is interesting in highlighting that age isn’t everything (and the age on any given batch is just that of the youngest barrel to be included in the batch). I long for the days when Booker’s was $50 (or less on sale!), but appreciate the consistency and quality this has maintained over time.

Rating: Stands Out