Category: Hall of Fame

This year’s 2023 Weller Special Reserve single barrel is a sweet treat. Nose of honey and half melted skittles with lemon and leather as well. On the palate, soft fruit gives way to ripe oak, orange blossom, and mixed nuts. Long finish for the lowest proof and youngest Weller.

With all the over-hyped finished and MGP bottled brands on the market it’s nice to see a measured, value-driven, age-stated release from a major distillery that has the juice to back it up, and that’s EXACTLY what you get in Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7yr, a 100 proof bourbon from HH that pulls no punches. Even though it’s priced relatively higher than Evan Williams or Elijah Craig, it delivers the age, proof, flavor, and drinkability that new brands at TWICE the price can’t match. Soft fruit on the nose leading with pear, apple, and citrus. On the palate a minty, herbal, cinnamon flavor bomb that’s sweet up front and spicy on the finish. I wish more distilleries would take a page out of the Heaven Hill book and release non-gimmicky better versions of what’s out there!

Sourced from five different rickhouse locations and bottled at 128.8 proof, the 2023 release of Parker’s Heritage eschews any fancy wood tricks or secondary ageing and simply falls back on a 10yr, barrel proof rye whiskey to do the talking. And THANK GOD because this is the best Parker’s Heritage release in years. Step aside Van Winkle Rye 13, you’ve got some competition. Smoked meats and smoldering oak fire on the nose with ginger, brine, and orange fruit emerging. On the palate, intensely chewy rye, bready at first, then sharp and textural. This ain’t a starter whiskey. The oak is dark, but eventually lets the grain come out and play as you chew. Fruit is obliterated on the finish leaving nothing but a tingling oak sensation. Blockbuster and worthy of the name!

The 103 barrels that make up this year’s 2023 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon release were all barreled on May 5th 2011 and stored on the 5th floor of Warehouse I, released this year as a 12yr old at 96 proof. Beautiful perfumed nose, oak, dark, ripe fruit, fig, cherry, and plum with dark brown sugar, molasses, and leather. On the palate, as elegant and as rich as they come. Soft fruit giving way to light oak, then more bright fruit and cinnamon and brown sugar on the finish. May not be for the proof chasers out there, but gosh darn it if you just want the BEST TASTING bourbon that you can really enjoy sip after sip, you’ll LOVE this release, as I do!

Locally owned and blended from a small batch of 5 barrels, this CLASSIC 21% rye MGP bourbon is as good as it gets at 100 proof. Full on cinnamon spice with orange, pine, and maple on the nose. On the palate, softest spice you’ll ever taste with lifting notes of red hots, silky vanilla, and lingering mint with herbal oak.

Want to taste Blantons at 3yrs old, then crack open a big plastic jug of Ancient Age 80 proof and have at it. Made from Buffalo Trace Mashbill #2, this higher rye straight bourbon whiskey has recently come back in stock and we can’t get enough! Candy corn and dusty oak on the nose with red fruit and light caramel emerging. On the palate, simple, tasty Buff Trace with a decent showing of actual CORN flavor. It’s young, but not rough, and makes one hell of a value Old Fashioned. Sometimes a simple 80 proof in the glass is all that’s needed.

Sweet mother of mercy if you don’t run out and buy a case of this, you’re crazy because it’s currently the best tasting. perfectly proofed rye whiskey in the market for less than $30! The fresh pine and rock candy rye notes are just sensational with sweet fruits and strawberry syrup emerging along with the spice. On the palate, a fresh shot of rye spice that’s youthful and zesty to go with a background of charred oak. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Sazerac rye and I have LOVED Bulleit and the 95% MGP rye over the years as well, but this new 101 rye has the spice to compete now and for the price and availability you need to buy it before Campari realizes they are $15 too cheap!

When they did away with the 10yr age statement on Knob Creek a few years agao, I 2was DELIGHTED to see the 12yr pop up not soon after. While it’s priced decently high compared to the regular 9yr, it’s actually MORE than just 3 years worth of quality higher, it may simply be the best bourbon Jim Beam makes. 12yrs and 100 proof? Perfect. Massive cinnamon oak nose with herbs and mint? Yes, please. On the palate, the oak attack is perfectly measured against the relatively low proof for this category and price point.

When Maker’s Mark BLASTED a cave into the side of a bucolic Kentucky hillside on their property in 2016 we all knew something special was about to START, and now with the release of “Cellar Age” we have the finished results of that building. Maker’s ALWAYS said that anything aged over approximately 6 years got too bitter and oaky, but with the advent of the much cooler (47 degrees) cave, they were able to slow down the ageing, allowing for deepening flavor without necessarily the bitterness of the oak. The 2023 release is a blend of 12yr old barrels and 11 year old barrels. They started life as regular Maker’s Mark, a 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley mash entered into the barrel at 110 proof. On the nose, a load of piney oak with maple syrup, dark fruit, and molasses. On the palate, bold but measured oak, as if Weller 12 and Weller Full proof had a love child! Softens with ice and regains some creamy, sweeter flavors. Mouth coating, extra aged wheater that’s maybe the perfect LAST drink of the night!

Big tropical fruit on the nose with banana, papaya, mango, and orange, a touch of oak spice as well for balance. On the palate, tropical fruit candy, this is a liquid life saver in a bottle. Only a handful of these bottles out there. Grab them before they’re gone.