MrWizard's Ramblings

Or at least somewhat rare bottles. An odd comment here is that I try to write abv whenever possible but if no abv is available on the sample I’ll write the proof, thus the inconsistency of notation.

Barrell Armida, 56.77%
Armida is a blend of three Straight Bourbon Whiskeys finished separately in Pear Brandy, Jamaican Rum, and Sicilian Amaro Casks. I’ll be brief on this one as I don’t quite like it. Honestly, a bit of a mix between gin and some sort of herbal medicine initial sips are very rough. With time, it somewhat grows on me but I am not a fan. It is rather bitter and herbal, some whiskey notes come up here and there but for the most part are hidden away by amaro. The flavor profile is similar to a whiskey bitters. Perhaps something for the mixed drinks? Anyways, not a fan of this straight. It certainly is something and I have to commend Barrel on experimenting, but it’s certainly not what you’d call whiskey blindly. It’s uniquely weird and not quite like anything I’ve ever had. It grew on me slightly towards the very end of the sample but still not quite my type of pour. The score here reflects my preference for drinking it rather than quality of blending and flavor.
Score: D+ (C for most?)

Barrell Cask Strength 15 (2019), 106.52 proof
This is the 2019 Barrell release. It is made up of bourbons distilled in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana and bottled at cask strength as is modus operandi for Barrell (cask proof). Let me summarize this in few words… It is a blend… and there’s a solid core of Dickel in there… and it’s thus full of peanuts. If you like Dickel, this is awesome. If you dislike Dickel (or peanuts)… This may not be your jam. Also it is by no means whatsoever worth the $200+ MSRP. Huge huge negatives for the valuation… But also same goes for Old Carter blended bottlings, though I digress.
Nose: Roasted peanuts galore (Dickel). Perfume/cologne and nearly no alcohol is felt.
Palate: Diiiiickel (roasted peanuts) primary palate but it’s real hard to get away from it… It’s not overwhelming of course, but a solid core around which other flavors are built. Mouth-coating and slightly oily texture helps it out. Still no alcohol burn so it’s really is proofed and balanced to perfection. The MGP spice appears around the peanut core and does it justice. Dark fruits, plums perhaps, are there too.
Aftertaste: Actually fantastic. The peanuts are gone and spices and sugars and wood and vanilla come to play.
Overall: It’s Dickel peanuts + MGP spice. It’s also reasonably tasty and would have been priced right at about $100. As it stood in 2019… the price is a huge negative point on this for frankly not very expensive ingredients. Dickel 15 year old single casks show up at about $60 in retail. But we’re not here to debate about value… So, what is the score really? Well, it’s basically a good Dickel and with repeated sips it is growing on me… Still not nearly anywhere near a bottle commitment. Try at a bar for a checkbox at best, bordering on skip if price is a factor.
Score: B-

Garrison Bros, Cowboy Bourbon (2019) 137.3 proof
Mash bill of 74% corn, 15% soft red winter wheat, 11% two-row barley, aged five years. Distilled in Texas and all. Nearly hazmat proof this is a dark monster in a glass. Thick, rich, burnt sugar caramel with solid wood core on the nose. Odd as it sounds… the nose doesn’t quite invite me to dig in… Yet it is super rich. Flavors galore on the palate with the toasted wood, corn caramel and warm baking spices taking the front. Very slightly metallic and almost savory at the immediate contact, it warms up and sweetens up as it flows through the tongue. The aftertaste primarily fades fast leaving residual sweetness for a long time. With water, the burn is mostly gone and sweetness comes fore. Slightly torn on water here as while making it easier to drink it loses some of its unique potency though near-hazmat isn’t everyone pour so few drops of water are probably recommended. Well worth trying though perhaps not buying a whole bottle, still this is something that is very nice. It’s hot, it’s rich and it’s full of multitude of good flavors. Majority of my A grade scores evoke a sense of ‘wow’ from me, this one happens to be one that is the opposite, it grew in the grade instead; leaving nearly nothing for me to criticize, other than overall value… this being a 5 year old bourbon with ~$250 tag.
Score: A-

Parker’s Heritage Collection 2020, 10 y/o, Heavy Char, 60%
A Heaven Hill product… Smells like Heaven Hill corn with wonderful dose of perfume. The palate is… well Heaven Hill corn and perfume profile plus a healthy dose of wood with a huge gollops of sweetness flowing through it all. Very much like a caramel lollipop. Much much gentler ECBP with less wood and more candied sugar. Quite delicious actually. Sweet sweet aftertaste that lingers and lingers for a while. Actually this reminds of a really good version of Fighting Cock. To summarize, this is right up my alley and I wish I picked up a bottle of this when it hit the stores as this is delicious and fantastic and sweet and full of perfume. A very specific type of bourbon for sure, this being a sweet corn variation vs Buffalo Trace more of a spicy, woody, cherry products, this is right up my alley of drinking. I would really love to keep on drinking this if available and strongly suggest others to keep one around… Yet, this being a limited release it’s all gone now. At the same time this isn’t a contemplative drink but rather a dessert in a glass and should be graded as such.
I don’t always agree with TheWhiskeyWash but this one mostly matches my opinion: https://thewhiskeywa … -heavy-char-bourbon/
Score: A

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch B520, 63,63%
Nose is dark corn caramel (as opposed to the PHC above), heavily laden with wood. Palate yet again delivers the warm flood of flavors from the nose. Very wood forward, this doesn’t descend into tannic bitterness but instead sticks with sweet char. Aftertaste isn’t as ridiculously long as the PHC fades a reasonably fast yet… plenty of wood, baking spices and sweet caramel. The woodiness borders on comfortable levels for me with being perhaps just a tiny bit too much. It balances and offsets other flavors nicely, but I’d personally would prefer little less intense. The proof is rather low for ECBP is still somewhat punchy. That being said, for bourbon and specifically for Heaven Hill fans, this is likely as good as it gets. A 12 year old full proof delicious flavor bomb. Good news! This being a 12 year old… it takes water like a champ. Even with water it’s great and doesn’t fall apart as most younger spirits do. The sliver of too much wood (for me) is the only detriment here. Great stuff across the board otherwise.
Score: A-

Old Carter (OC) Straight Kentucky Whiskey, Batch 1, 58.75%
I’ll be brief in this one. I suspect the core of this is a 1792 Barton distillate with other things in the mix, likely being rye. The nose is menthol, spices and burnt sugar on the lighter side with less wood than darker bourbons would. This is light amber situation so refined sugar vs charred caramel. Palate delivers everything the nose promises and more. Aftertaste is light menthol lollipops. Overall: pleasant but not exciting bottle with too much menthol notes in the flavors and frankly at the price/scarcity Old Carter can do much better. There are OC releases that are truly delicious but this one is mostly middling. It really is mint sugar candies or cookies. It’s a fancy Barton that doesn’t evoke any wow factors.
Score: B-
—
Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown