Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Limited Edition Barrel Proof
"Uncut/Unfiltered"
67.3% ABV (134.6 proof)
paid $80
Color: medium/dark brown, with a garnet tinge.
Smell: given the proof, I was bracing for a whopper. Instead, it's smooth - powerful yet approachable. Big notes of sweet cinnamon candy, as if Red Hots were interspersed with caramel cremes. Maple syrup note dancing in the background along with a blackberry/black pepper note you'd find in a Syrah. There's also cinnamon (the baking spice) and a little bit of interesting mustiness. Lots going on!
Taste: shockingly smooth considering the proof. And really, really good. It's exactly what you'd expect to taste given the aroma. Maple syrup and cinnamon candy on entry, and then the heat picks up with much more pronounced cinnamon (baking spice), black pepper, and alcohol heat on the midpalate. The finish has these flavors in spades, as well as that strange mustiness and some lingering sweet oakiness.Overall: It's an "A" for me. I like it a lot, and would recommend it in a world in which you could find it. That said, I think it's so stylistically similar to Booker's and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof as to be virtually indistinguishable - I'd be shocked if I could tell the difference in a blind tasting (stay tuned...). So don't feel like you're missing out on the whiskey of a lifetime if you couldn't snag a bottle (and, obviously, don't pay hundreds for one on the secondary market)!
