Bourbon

Four Roses Small Batch Select

Four Roses Small Batch Select

52% ABV
$55-$60
Website
Four Roses Small Batch Select

What the Distillery Says

A NEW MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
SMALL BATCH SELECT
NON-CHILL FILTERED
104 PROOF
Small Batch Select launching in Kentucky, New York, California, Texas and Georgia.  It will launch to additional locations in the future.

Crafted from six Unique Bourbon Recipes:
OBSV, OESV, OBSK, OESK, OBSF & OESF

This entirely new Bourbon marks the biggest addition to Four Roses’ storied history since Brent Elliott became Master Distiller, so we sat down with him to get a bit more information about this new product. Here’s what Brent had to say:

“We wanted to add something to our lineup that brings that pure experience you get with a non-chill filtered Bourbon, while also showcasing some of our recipes and flavors that aren’t as forward facing in our other existing bottles. While Small Batch Select can certainly be one of your special occasion Bourbons, we want it to be more accessible so you don’t hesitate to open up that bottle and enjoy it any time.”
-Brent Elliott, Four Roses Master Distiller

On the nose, Four Roses Small Batch Select offers raspberries, clove and nutmeg. As it hits the palate, it opens into flavors of apricot, ripe berries, vanilla and light oak. The finish lingers with notes of spearmint and a touch of cinnamon.

Each of the Bourbons selected for Small Batch Select have been aged for six and seven years.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, caramel apples, baking spices, vanilla bean, blood orange, floral notes with subtle oak and a hint of mint.
Palate:  Thick mouthfeel that starts sweet before the spice kicks in; fruit salad with toasted caramel, mandarin oranges, nutmeg, allspice, hint of cinnamon.
Finish: Moderately long, damp with oak and trailing spices.
Comments:  Props to Four Roses for offering what whiskey geeks want: non-chill filtered, high proof whiskey. It takes water well, and is nicely balanced. If this was $40 or $45, it would be a no-brainer “Must Try”. Don’t get me wrong – it is very good whiskey, and I doubt fans of Four Roses would be disappointed. Although if you’re on a tight budget, might want to try this at a bar first.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Lazy River Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Lazy River Kentucky Straight Bourbon

45% ABV
$30
Website

What the ??? Says

So this is a product of Frank-Lin Distillers Products (although it isn’t acknowledged on their web-site, but they are on the TTB label application). That’s it. That’s all I could find.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla, caramel, subtle cinnamon and a hint of oak.
Palate:  Sweet, caramel with vanilla, a hint of milk chocolate.
Finish:  Short to moderately long with a bit of pepper spice at the end.
Comments:  This was the 3rd 50 mL bottle I bought at Total Wine (the Winchester Extra Smooth Bourbon and Winchester Straight Bourbon being the other two), and I tasted all three of those at the same time over a period of days. This was by far the best of those three, which doesn’t say much. With no age statement, as a straight bourbon it has to be at least four years old, and that’d be about my guess. Nothing objectionable about this pour – other than the price. This one might give Evan Williams Black Label a run for its money. I sorta wish I had done a blind side by side of those two, but not enough to invest the couple bucks in another 50 mL. And certainly not enough to buy a whole bottle. Even if it were close, to be priced at $30 – unless you really dig the bottle/label, I would highly recommend buying the 50 mL first. Maybe it will blow some folks away and be well worth it, although I can’t imagine why.

Rating: Average

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Winchester Straight Bourbon

Winchester Straight Bourbon

45% ABV
$25
Website

What the ??? Says

[Other than this is made by Terressentia and is available at Total Wine (presumably exclusively there), nothing. Really. We tried to find more info on their web-site with no success.]

What Gary Says

Nose:  Floral perfume notes, sweet with a hint of baking spices.
Palate:  Vanilla, a hint of caramel and oak with a bit of nutmeg.
Finish:  Short and damp, with a hint of spice.
Comments:  Like the Winchester Extra Smooth Bourbon, this was another 50 mL gamble where I had very low expectations. Per the label this is ‘at least 2 years old’, and tastes like you’d expect a 2 year old bourbon to taste like. The floral notes on the nose were different, but otherwise this rose to my low expectations (although for the price, there are so many bottles I’d buy before this, I couldn’t list them all). Usually with craft spirits, I compare them to Evan Williams Black Label – a very simple, straight bourbon. And I’d prefer that over this (even at the lower proof).

Rating: Average

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Winchester Extra Smooth Bourbon

Winchester Extra Smooth Bourbon

45% ABV
$20
Website

What the ??? Says

[Other than this is made by Terressentia and is available at Total Wine (presumably exclusively there), nothing. Really. We tried to find more info on their web-site with no success.]

What Gary Says

Nose:  Candy corn, young, corn syrup.
Palate:  Corn, a touch of honey and vanilla with a hint of oak.
Finish:  Short and forgettable.
Comments:  Full disclosure – I bought a 50 mL bottle of this with very low expectations; mainly because someone whose opinion I respect was rather impressed (although I think that was with the Winchester Straight Bourbon) with it. I don’t know that our tastes line up that closely, which just goes to show you different strokes for different folks. This is aged for 6 months per the label, and it tastes like it was aged for about that long; barely any color and closer to a white dog than a bourbon. Don’t get me wrong – corn whisky is a fine product, but I’d go out and buy a bottle of Mellow Corn if I was in the mood for that (plus, it would be cheaper, is aged 4 yrs, is 50% ABV . . . need I go on?)

Rating: Probably Pass

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Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve

Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve

50% ABV
$30 – $33
Website

We would like to thank Punch Media and Brown Forman for sending us samples to review.

What the Distiller Says

THE PROCESS: Barrel Reserve 100 Proof is aged in an American White Oak barrel that is specially chiseled and charred on the inside to deepen the whiskey’s wood exposure,creating a bold and complex Kentucky bourbon.

THE NOSE: Fresh hewn oak with hints of smoke and char are spiced with hints of cinnamon and leather atop a layer of orchard and citrus fruit. Sweetened with a sprinkling of vanilla wafer crumbs.
THE TASTE: Caramel and cotton candy coat fresh apple, pear and citrus fruit atop vanilla wafers dusted with sharp cinnamon.
THE FINISH: Assertive cinnamon spice softens to a lingering apple and clean oak note.

MASHBILL: 75% Corn, 15% Rye, 10% Malt

What Gary Says

Nose: Fresh oak with vanilla, leather, some orange zest zip and a hint of cinnamon.
Palate: Vanilla with green apples and orange notes as pepper spice unfolds and slowly explodes over cinnamon.
Finish: Short to moderate in length, drying with cinnamon and oaky pepper spice.
Comments:  To start with, I want to remind readers that I wasn’t a fan of Coopers’ Craft when it first came out – which is ok.  The various press releases and marketing materials in 2016 expressed that it was ‘an exceptionally smooth bourbon that is aimed at the entry-level drinker’ – so clearly I wasn’t their target market.  When offered a sample of this new release, I accepted.  The unique barrel treatment and higher proof gave me hope that I’d find something I liked, as I am a fan of other Brown Forman products (like Old Forester, a classic spicy bourbon that I think is often underrated).  It definitely helped, and this has considerably more going on in contrast, as well as a sharp edge.  While a significant step up (at least for me), I just didn’t find anything that stood out to me.  Now if you’re a fan of Coopers’ Craft, this might squarely hit the mark (although if you really like that ‘exceptionally smooth’ profile, keep in mind that this definitely has a sharper edge).

Rating: Average

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