Tag: whiskey (Page 3 of 7)

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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BSG Review: Taconic Dutchess Private Reserve Cognac Cask Finished Bourbon

November 11, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Taconic Distillery

Location: Stanfordville, NY

Parent Company: N/A

Class: Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Cognac Casks

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Age: 3.5 years

Mash bill: 70% Corn, 25% Rye, 5% Barley

Taconic Distillery releases periodic limited production runs of their Dutchess Private Reserve Bourbon that has been finished in various other casks. This Cognac cask release is one of those highly sought after limited production finished bourbons. All of their offerings are non-chill filtered and their aging process occurs in shipping containers rather than in traditional barrel warehouses, or rickhouses. The founder, Paul Coughlin, is just about the nicest person you’ll ever talk to and their head distiller, Brandon Collins, formerly of Buffalo Trace, is just as personable. The company was established in 2013 and was inspired by a passion for the outdoors through hunting and fishing. The distillery facilities were officially completed in August of 2016 in the Hudson Valley of New York.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Light amber, very clingy short legs on the glass

Nose: Sweet stone fruit (plum), caramel, oak

Palate: Oak, vanilla, nutmeg, plum

Finish: Medium-long, buttery, oak, plum

The Cognac cask finished Dutchess Private Reserve bourbon is a light amber colored whiskey with short legs that just cling on the sides of my Glencairn glass for days! The nose starts with a burst of stone fruit in the form of plum. I also get the lighter notes of caramel and oak through the aroma after you get past the initial plum note. The taste brings out more of the oak than the nose did, along with the more familiar vanilla note. I also find a bit of nutmeg along with the plum as the whiskey crosses the mid-palate. I would say this one has a medium-length, buttery finish that lingers with the oak and plum notes through the final moments. The stone fruit notes throughout the entire experience and that buttery finish really hit the sweet spot for me. I loved this whiskey from start to finish even though I’m not a huge fan of Cognac in general.

I have already tasted a few other offerings from Taconic and have to say that these guys are doing something right. Keep an eye out for more BSG Reviews on Taconic Distillery products! I can only hope that their distribution makes it to Indiana and Kentucky soon so it’ll be easier to get my hands on it. If they are in your local market, don’t overlook these bottles.

BSG Score: 91/100

Images courtesy of taconicdistillery.com and @taconic_distillery on Instagram.

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BSG Review: Old Grand-Dad Bonded

October 24, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Jim Beam Distillery

Location: Clermont, KY

Parent Company: Beam Suntory

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Age: 4 years

Mashbill: 63% Corn, 27% Rye, 10% Barley

Old Grand-Dad Bonded is made by Jim Beam from their high rye mash bill. It’s aged for at least 4 years and meets all of the legal requirements to be labeled as bottled in bond. If you’ve had the OGD 114 proof version and found it to be too hot, this could be a perfect compromise to keep the heat down and, yet, the flavor still be bold enough to keep it interesting. Most consumers should be able to find this bottle for under $25.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Copper

Nose: Caramel, butterscotch, baking spices, oak

Palate: Caramel, oak, leather, mixed fruit

Finish: Long, caramel and baking spices

Old Grand-Dad Bonded started sweet on the nose with caramel and butterscotch sticking out before the baking spices and oak came through underneath. This bourbon tasted of caramel on the front end, but then transitioned to an oak and leathery mid-palate with a hint of mixed fruit to round it out with no one specific fruit flavor standing out. The finish was long and stayed on the caramel note, but the higher rye mash left the baking spices hanging around the longest as the mild Kentucky hug settled in for a while.

This is a solid choice for a daily sipper or even a cocktail if you so choose. I would say this bourbon would be a good candidate for an old fashioned on a hot summer day, but I was perfectly happy sipping it neat in a leather wingback with something to read on this cool Fall evening.

BSG Score: 86/100

BSG Review: Jim Beam Repeal Batch

October 16, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Jim Beam Distillery

Location: Clermont, KY

Parent Company: Beam Suntory

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 86 (43% ABV)

Age: 4 years

Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley

Jim Beam Repeal Batch is basically the same 4-year-old bourbon that is used for the standard white label offering, but there are a few differences that will make this one worth your time. The main differentiator is that this expression is non-chill-filtered and bottled at 6 proof points higher than white label. This was created as a commemorative offering celebrating the 85th anniversary of Repeal Day. It is supposed to result in a taste that more closely resembles the taste profile of their post-prohibition whiskey. Most consumers should be able to find this bottle for under $20.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Golden with long, thin legs

Nose: Vanilla, popcorn, oak, almonds, clove

Palate: Oak forward, clove, butterscotch, cinnamon, corn

Finish: Oily, medium-long spice and honey

Jim Beam Repeal Batch starts of visually with some very long, thin legs down the side of the glass. The nose initially comes off with vanilla, popcorn and oak. After a few sips I also picked up some almonds and clove. The taste was very much oak forward with clove also on the front end. The transition back went from butterscotch and cinnamon to the familiar corn notes as it went down. The finish was oily and relatively long with a spiciness and some honey notes coming through at the very end.

I’m not usually a big fan of the entry-level offerings from Jim Beam, but this one has me intrigued enough to keep sipping. This is a well-done sub-90-proof offering that is sure to do well with consumers that don’t really want to move into higher proof bourbon, but still want a little more interesting experience than the old familiar college mixer in the white label bottle. I definitely recommend giving this one a shot. The price is right and I think they did a great job with the branding efforts for this throwback styling on the label. It makes this bottle look nice on the bar, too!

BSG Score: 75/100

Tag: whiskey (Page 3 of 7)

BSG Review: Angel’s Envy Finished Rye

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Taconic Dutchess Private Reserve Cognac Cask Finished Bourbon

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Old Grand-Dad Bonded

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Jim Beam Repeal Batch

BSG REVIEW:

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