Category: BSG Reviews (Page 1 of 6)

BSG Review: Rabbit Hole Boxergrail Rye Whiskey PLUS Bonus Bespoke Gin Tasting

May 18, 2020 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Rabbit Hole Distillery

Location: Louisville, KY

Parent Company: Pernod Ricard (as of June 2019)

Class: KY Straight Rye Whiskey

Proof: 95 (47.5% ABV)

Age: 3+ years

Mash bill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley

Boxergrail rye whiskey was named in celebration of Louisville’s rich boxing heritage. Rabbit Hole says this Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is bold and unexpected like the prize fighters that have emerged from Louisville’s neighborhood gyms.

Boxergrail is aged in #3 wood-fired, toasted and charred new American Oak barrels from Kelvin Cooperage and has a barrel entry proof of 110. It is aged just under four years and is non-chill filtered. This rye whiskey has a SRP just under $50 per 750 mL bottle.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Caramel

Nose: Vanilla, baking spices, oak, leather

Palate: Baking spices, oak, light caramel, lemon zest

Finish: Medium-long, lemon tea and baking spices

Boxergrail starts with an aroma that is mostly spices and leather. The vanilla is there up front, but subtle. Not at all unexpected for this 95/5 mash bill. When it hits the palate, those baking spices are dominating with hints of oak and the lightest of caramel flavor coming through the mid-palate. It then pulls in some lemon zest at the end before going down. The finish is medium-long and stays on the baking spice note before fading away into a nice lightly refreshing lemon tea. As with the Heigold high-rye bourbon from Rabbit Hole, I experienced almost no Kentucky hug with this finish, which made for an extremely easy sipping rye whiskey.

I enjoyed the familiar “95/5” baking spice notes from the nose to the palate. That is exactly what I would expect from just about any rye using that mash bill. However, the lemon tea finish was a nice way to round this one out that I don’t normally get on other rye whiskeys of the same 95/5 mash bill. This is a solid rye whiskey in the Rabbit Hole lineup and puts a nice little spin on the typical 95/5 flavor profile for me.

Buy/Try/Pass?

BSG Recommendation: Buy

BSG Score: 84/100

Disclaimer: Rabbit Hole provided this product in exchange for an honest review with no strings attached.

BSG Reviews: Scoring Explanation

BSG BONUS TASTING: Rabbit Hole Bespoke Gin

On April 27, 2020 Rabbit Hole announced that Bespoke Gin would be the newest addition and first non-American whiskey spirit added to their lineup. Bespoke Gin is 89 Proof (44.5% ABV) and it has a SRP of $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

I’ll be the first to admit that gin is not my forte when it comes to tasting spirits. However, this one grabbed my attention because of how it’s finished. I regularly venture into the realm of barrel finished whiskeys, but have recently been jumping in to see what other spirits can gain from being finished in whiskey barrels. I love beer aged in whiskey barrels, so why wouldn’t I try spirits aged in whiskey barrels, too?

Bespoke Gin starts its life as a London Dry Gin made using botanicals of angelica, coriander, juniper, lemon peel, licorice, orange peel, and orris root. Rabbit Hole imports this gin into Louisville and puts it to rest in thier Boxergrail rye whiskey barrels for 9 to 12 months. Anyone who has read my past reviews or heard me speak of my flavor preferences and dislikes will know that licorice is one note that turns me off of a whiskey faster than any other note. After reading the recipe for the London Dry Gin, I had a preconceived notion that this might not be the right barrel finished spirit for me.

I won’t pretend to be a gin expert, so there will be no full scale review of the spirit like I have done with the whiskey, but I will give you my thoughts from the perspective of a whiskey enthusiast.

The time in the rye barrel gives the spirit its golden color and imparts some very non-gin flavors into the spirit that seem to make it fit down my alley for the flavor profile. Surprisingly, I did not get any licorice notes, nor an overpowering juniper note that I had really expected to have dominated the flavor profile. I did get those citrus zest notes on both the nose and the palate, but also some honey and baking spices that undoubtedly were thanks to the Boxergrail rye barrel. So, what would my recommendation be for the Bespoke Gin from a whiskey drinkers perspective?

Buy/Try/Pass?

BSG Recommendation: Try

If I’m going to imbibe a gin-based cocktail or even a rocks pour, I would say give me this barrel finished gin all day over another non-barrel-aged London Dry Gin. Try it out in a bar first before jumping in on a whole bottle. You never know, maybe barrel aged gin is just what you need to open up another door in your journey.

Disclaimer: Rabbit Hole provided this product in exchange for an honest review with no strings attached.

BSG Reviews: Scoring Explanation

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BSG Review: Willett 4-Year-Old Family Estate Bottled Small Batch Rye

March 5, 2020 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: The Willett Distillery, Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD)

Location: Bardstown, KY

Parent Company: N/A

Class: Straight Rye Whiskey

Proof: 106.2 (53.1% ABV)

Age: 4 years

Mash bill: Barely Legal Rye (thought to be 51% Rye, 34% Corn, 15% Malted Barley)

This Willett Family Estate Bottled Small Batch 4-Year-Old Straight Rye Whiskey is a continuation of Willett’s own product that has been coming out with a new older variant each year since the 2-year-old was released in the summer of 2014.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Amber

Nose: Black pepper, cinnamon, oak, vanilla, orange zest

Palate: Black pepper, orange, blackberry, cinnamon

Finish: Dry, cinnamon, orange zest, oak

This 4-year Willett is a rye that didn’t disappoint. The nose started things off with some black pepper and cinnamon that eventually gave way to that familiar oak and vanilla before uncovering a citrus note that presented as orange zest. The taste kept the black pepper and orange notes alive right up front. Then, it veered off of the citrus note and came across the mid-palate with blackberries and cinnamon. The finish dried up with the cinnamon, orange zest and oak notes sticking around all the way through a mild Kentucky hug. If you are a fan of barely legal rye whiskies, I definitely recommend that you give this one a try.

BSG Score: 90/100

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BSG Review: J.W. Dant Bottled in Bond Bourbon

February 12, 2020 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.

Location: Distilled in Louisville, KY; Bottled in Bardstown, KY

Parent Company: N/A

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Age: NAS (at least 4 years)

Mash bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley

J.W. Dant bottled in bond bourbon is named after Joseph W. Dant, who started distilling at the age of 16 the mid-1830’s. The Dant family has a long history of distilling, however, the J.W. Dant brand name was sold to Heaven Hill in the 1990’s. Joseph started out distilling using two halves of a hollowed out log that was filled with fermenting mash and had copper steam pipes running through the log to start the distillation process. This family history has inspired Joseph’s great-great-grandson J.W. “Wally” Dant to announce in the Summer of 2019 his purchase of 220 acres to build Log Still Distillery on the old property that was most recently home of Gethsemane Distillery (shut down in 1961). Due to Heaven Hill’s J.W. Dant brand name ownership, his name isn’t expected to ever show up on a bottle produced by the new Dant family distillery.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Amber

Nose: Heavy oak, sweet corn, citrus zest, hint of banana

Palate: Caramel, corn, heavy oak

Finish: Long, black pepper, oak, slightly medicinal

J.W. Dant is a budget-friendly offering coming in around $15 for most consumers. It starts with a nose that is heavy on the oak with some sweet corn trying to come through. There is some citrus zest and a hint of banana as well once the big oak aroma passes. The taste brings some caramel and corn flavors but still with that big punch of oak dominating the palate over everything. This bourbon finishes pretty long with some black pepper spice to go along with all that oak. I did pick up a slight medicinal note that pops out at the very end that could be off-putting for some people. Though I find this bottle to be a decent everyday budget bourbon offering, I do believe I would give the edge to another comparable Heaven Hill product, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond (White Label).

BSG Score: 78/100

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BSG Review: Angel’s Envy Finished Rye

January 23, 2020 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Sourced for Angel’s Envy

Location: Louisville, KY

Parent Company: Louisville Distilling Co. (Bacardi Ltd since 2015)

Class: Rye Whiskey Finished in Caribbean Rum Casks

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Age: NAS (6-7 years old, finished up to 18 months)

Mash bill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley

Angel’s Envy rye spends up to 18 months in Caribbean rum casks. According to the distillery, the team that created this finished whiskey sampled over 100 rums before deciding on the right flavor to use in complimenting the sourced rye whiskey. This is released in limited quantities twice per year. However, their bourbon finished in Port wine barrels is released year round. As you will see in my review, I think this rye expression is a much better finished whiskey than the standard finished bourbon.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Bright copper, long thin legs on the glass

Nose: Pancakes, maple syrup dominant, caramel cream candy

Palate: Black pepper, rum, oak, lemon zest

Finish: Long and dry, maple syrup, oak

Angel’s Envy finished rye is bright copper in color and leaves very long thin legs all the way down the side of my Glencairn glass. The nose is nothing short of a pancake breakfast platter smothered in maple syrup. Once I got past the syrup, I picked up what seemed to be a caramel cream candy note. The palate hit first with the spiciness of the rye coming across as black pepper. Then quickly presenting the taste of rum and oak across the mid palate before uncovering a hint of lemon zest on the back end. The finish was long and dry with the maple syrup and oak notes sticking around the longest. This screams to be an after dinner dessert whiskey.

This is a very well done finished rye whiskey that should please both rye and rum fans alike. It balanced both spicy and sweet perfectly and kept me coming back for more. I’ll keep this on my list of limited releases to keep looking for as the years go by. This is one whiskey that should definitely be shared with family and friends as this bottle was shared with me. Check out my review of the Angel’s Envy Finished Bourbon to see how I think it compares.

BSG Score: 95/100

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BSG Review: Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon

January 16, 2020 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Wild Turkey Distilling Company

Location: Lawrenceburg, KY

Parent Company: Campari Group

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Age: 10 years

Mash bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Barley

Russell’s Reserve 10 year old bourbon sits in a product pricing slot right in between the Wild Turkey 101 and Rare Breed expressions. Master Distiller Jimmy and son Eddie Russell decide which barrels become Russell’s Reserve. The #4 “alligator” char barrels being aged in the center of the rickhouse for 10 years is their selection grounds. This is the only whiskey line that they put their name on.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Deep copper, long legs on the glass

Nose: Almonds, vanilla, oak

Palate: Allspice, toffee, nuts, oak

Finish: Long, buttery, vanilla, cinnamon

Russell’s Reserve 10 year old starts with the aroma of almonds and a large dose of vanilla that fades into a bit of oak. The taste is where the spiciness hits me first as allspice. I expected a big vanilla flavor after the nose, but this one really seemed to lean more toward a toffee flavor on the mid-palate for me. As it went down, I picked up the nuttiness and oak again as I had previously experienced on the nose. The finish was rather long and buttery that held on to the vanilla but then took a drastic turn toward cinnamon as it lingered longer. There was almost no Kentucky hug in the chest and that made for an easier transition into the big cinnamon spice finish.

The 10-year-old expression of Russell’s Reserve is not what I would consider a typical Wild Turkey profile to my palate. It has a little more spicy bite to it than most of the other product lines coming out of the distillery even at the relatively low proof of 90 compared to my more typical Wild Turkey selections consisting of both 101 and Rare Breed coming in at 116.8 proof. All things considered, I would say that Russell’s Reserve 10 year old is a solid bottle if you are looking for something a little different than the typical Wild Turkey profile.

BSG Score: 81/100

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Category: BSG Reviews (Page 1 of 6)

BSG Review: Rabbit Hole Boxergrail Rye Whiskey PLUS Bonus Bespoke Gin Tasting

BSG REVIEW:

BSG BONUS TASTING: Rabbit Hole Bespoke Gin

BSG Review: Willett 4-Year-Old Family Estate Bottled Small Batch Rye

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: J.W. Dant Bottled in Bond Bourbon

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Angel’s Envy Finished Rye

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon

BSG REVIEW:

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