Monday, February 8, 2021

Jefferson’s, Rabbit Hole, Wilderness Trail, High West Prairie, J. Mattingly unique bourbon samples 2

Let’s try more stuff!

Jefferson’s Reserve Pritchard Hill, Cabernet Cask, 45.1%
https://www.bourbonb … cask-finish-bourbon/
Jefferson’s Bourbon extra-matured in cask that used to have red wine in it… Considering that wine cask single malt is quite enjoyable, I wonder if it translates onto bourbon. Interestingly the color has a bit more red in it than usual for bourbon. The nose is a mix of bourbon and intense red wine notes with cherry and spices dominating. The palate is a mix between Jefferson’s reasonably restrained profile that’s shored up by wine influence with a healthy dose of winey oak. More spices, wood and cherry on the palate this tastes like a semi-decent dry Manhattan right out of the (sample) bottle. The aftertaste lasts for a while and is warm with spices, some berries, and oak though the high notes fall silent quite fast. The nose is much heavier with red wine than the palate and the wine influence becomes mostly lost in the aftertaste. I find myself at a crossroads with this one. One one side this tastes decently good. On the other, it doesn’t seem to offer anything particularly interesting versus a regular bourbon or a Manhattan. While it’s not a bad one to try as a middle ground… There are also plenty of interesting exemplars on both side of that fence. As is, it’s an inoffensive, reasonably enjoyable (@work would be great ) drink.
Score: B

Rabbit Hole Dareringer PX Sherry Cask, 46.5%
A Bourbon finished in a PX sherry cask… Typically a good combination. Herbal and anise-y on the nose with a healthy dose of PX and bourbon in there but anise is on the forefront. As time passes, more PX sherry notes come out and anise mostly fades away. The palate brings back anise/dill mixed with sherry notes, orange zest is quite evident as well as some fruits from sherry. The aftertaste is nice, sweet and inoffensive. Honestly, this is quite unremarkable bourbon. Yes, PX is enjoyable with plenty of bourbons but in this one it mostly makes it sweeter without offering much of interest other than sweetness. I’d rather have a sherried single malt.
Score: C

Wilderness Trail Bourbon, Park Plaza Liquor SP, 57.5%
Wilderness Trail is something I’ve been trying to get my hands on for a while. Words “sweet mash” are an interesting part of the description but what exactly does it mean? To paraphrase and summarise this article: https://malt-review. … ght-bourbon-whiskey/ it is essentially clean fermentation start with no bacteria and fresh yeast vs reusing some of old mash as starter. Because the start is clean and mash is
bacteria free it doesn’t spoil (sour), staying sweet. The mash then can be distilled at lower proof leaving more flavorful compounds in the spirit.
Nose is flavorful with grainy and almost malty character as well as light wood notes, following by reasonably balanced alcohol that doesn’t overwhelm. Palate is… hard to describe. Not quite bourbon or single malt. It’s … grain-forward? with ripe red apples and little bit of spices dominating the flavor profile. Tasty and unlike most bourbons by not being wood centric and caramel heavy. Surprisingly tame on the alcohol for its proof. The aftertaste is subtle and lasts for a long while with gentle ginger tickle and more caramel apples. Really tasty offering and while somewhat powerful on paper, it drinks like a casual high-proof sipper.
Score: B+

High West American Prairie Park Plaza Liquor SP, PX Sherry finish. 49.8%
A PX finished bourbon? Yes please! Single Cask Store Pick? Even more so! Nose is thick sherry, wood and baking spices. It is very spice forward, akin to something from Beam’s stills. On the palate I’m tasting sweet tobacco ash, leather, the usual bourbon flavors are present too but it’s definitely on the subtle side. iIf not for sherry sweetness this would be totally drying and super leathery. With sherry, it’s more of a smoked fruit jerky. The aftertaste is long with more pleasantly fruity and dry-smoked leather. I’m legitimately confused on whether or not I’m liking this. On one side of the coin there’s plenty to like, its flavorful, sweet, reasonably balanced and got the trifecta of nose-palate-aftertaste. Yet, it is so unlike any bourbon, or single malt, or anything really. Yes it is still whiskey but it’s not quite like anything else. But what it is… it is tasty and it integrates sherry into the mix brilliantly. Perhaps this reminds me of a peat+sherry single malt but if a bourbon did it well.
Score: A-

J. Mattingly SiB, Miles Experience, 53.5%
A signed bottle with a enough to sample remaining in it, all for myself! Wax-dipped and everything… this is all very ‘fancy’. No way I’d buy it though.
Color is dark amber and it looks viscous in the glass. The color reminds me somewhat of Elijah Craig Barrel Strength. A decent amount of sediment in this one due to no filtration… Okay, don’t chill-filter, but at least get the cask bits out with a finer filter. At least the sediment settles down quickly. Nose is spicy corn caramel, bits of rubber and wood varnish. Super concentrated and strong. Palate is dried apricots and plums, backed up by solid amount of bourbon sugar and spice. Alcohol and wood don’t overwhelm but back up the intensity of the palate. The aftertaste becomes spicier and warming as fruits fade and is of reasonable duration. Availability, price, and exclusivity aside this is quite tasty and balanced. This bottling is enjoyable to drink though certainly on the darker, deeper side of bourbon spectrum.
Score: B+

Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown