Bottom-Shelf Brackets 2021: Round 1: Very Old Barton 86 proof vs. Old Grand-Dad 80 proof

March 25, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Number 1 seed Very Old Barton 86 proof sitting next to number 4 seed Old Grand-Dad 80 proof.

Fun fact. Both of the names on tonight’s labels have won this annual contest before. In the case of Very Old Barton, the 86 proof version was the winner in 2016. For Old Grand-Dad, it was the Bottled-in-Bond version that won in 2018. Old Grand-Dad 80 proof has never made it out of the first round. Let’s see if history repeats itself tonight.

Our first whiskey is our number one seed for Division Two. Coming in at 86 proof and looking to notch its second bracket championship, please welcome: Very Old Barton 86 proof!

And their opponent is the lowest-proof bourbon in Beam’s Old Grand-Dad line. The lower price (and lower quality?) version of Basil Hayden’s, please welcome Old Grand-Dad 80 proof!

Reminder, all of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey 1 (Very Old Barton)

Purchase Info: $15.99 for a 1-liter bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.80

Details: 43% ABV.

Nose: Delicate. Mint, cinnamon, and floral notes.

Mouth: Follows the nose with mint, cinnamon, caramel, and floral notes.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Cinnamon and dried grains with a little caramel thrown in.

Thoughts: The nose is so delicate as to be almost non-existent. The mouth and finish provide more punch than the nose would suggest. Not a bad value bourbon.

Whiskey 2 (Old Grand-Dad)

Purchase Info: $17.99 for a 1-liter bottle, Blue Max, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.90

Details: 40% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, red fruit, and a hint of mint.

Mouth: Caramel, cinnamon, vanilla, red fruit.

Finish: Gentle and medium length. Caramel, cinnamon, and a mineral note.

Thoughts: This is ok. That mineral note on the finish is throwing me a little. There is definitely a lot of flavor, I'm just not sure that it's a good flavor.

Winner: This was a fairly easy decision. #1 has a classic "value bourbon" flavor. Good, uncomplicated, tasty, and showing a touch of grain. #2 is a caramel bomb with an odd funk to it. It isn't bad, but I'm not sure I'm likely to reach for it once I know what it is. #1 wins easily.

IMAGE: Very Old Barton 86 proof advances to Round two over Old Grand Dad 80 proof.

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Bottom-Shelf Brackets 2021: Round 1: Evan Williams vs. Jim Beam

March 23, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Jim Beam White Label sitting next two Evan Williams Black Label. The number one and two best selling bourbons in the world respectively.

What a cool matchup we have in store tonight. We are featuring the world’s top two selling bourbons by volume (if you set aside that one from Tennessee that doesn’t want to be called a bourbon). Jim Beam is the world’s top-selling bourbon and Evan Williams is right behind them at number two. I didn’t plan this, it was luck of the seeding that set these two titans against each other, but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t super excited once I realized it.

First up is our number two seed for Division One. Coming in at 86 proof and looking so good in black, please welcome: Evan Williams!

And its opponent is the number one selling bourbon across the world. Behemoth barely begins to describe this white-labeled giant, please welcome: Jim Beam!

Whiskey 1 (Evan Williams)

Purchase Info: $12.99 for a 1-liter bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.65

Details: 43% ABV.

Nose: Spearmint, caramel, and nutmeg.

Mouth: Caramel, mint, cinnamon candies.

Finish: Shorter side of medium. Notes of cinnamon and peanut butter cookies.

Thoughts: Not bad. Not bad at all. Classic value bourbon flavor profile.

Whiskey 2 (Jim Beam)

Purchase Info: $13.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.93

Details: 40% ABV.

Nose: Peanut, caramel, green vegetables.

Mouth: Thin mouthfeel. Caramel and cinnamon.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Peanuts and dried grains.

Thoughts: Even blind, I think I know what this is. The distinctive peanut note gives it away. though considering at least half of the participants are made by-or source from- Beam, I am fully prepared to be wrong. I like the finish, the mouth leaves a bit to be desired and I'm ambivalent regarding the nose.

Winner: I like the finish on #2 better but I prefer the nose and mouth on #1. #1 wins.

IMAGE: Evan Williams advances to Round 2 over Jim Beam

Bottom-Shelf Brackets 2021: Round 1: Ezra Brooks vs. Benchmark

March 18, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: Two bottles of Bourbon, Ezra Brooks 90 proof and Benchmark.

Here we go! Let’s get down to the competitions. I hope that you guys are as excited by this as I am. Round 1 of the 2021 BourbonGuy.com Bottom Shelf Brackets opens with Division 1 Number 1 seed Ezra Brooks versus Number 4 seed Benchmark.

An interesting thing about both of these products is that neither of the brands originated with their current producers. Benchmark was a Seagram’s brand and Ezra Brooks was created by Frank Silverman in 1957 as a brand to directly compete with Jack Daniels. Current iterations are produced by Buffalo Trace and Lux Row Distillers respectively.

So, first up is the flagship product, and namesake of the Ezra Brooks lineup, and a long-time product of the Luxco/Lux Row. Spawning two current line extensions (Old Ezra 7 Year Barrel Proof and Ezra Brooks 99) and even more discontinued ones, please welcome to the stage the one that started them all: Ezra Brooks!

And their opponent is a true bottom-shelf release. Produced by the Buffalo Trace Distillery and aged for only three years before bottling, please welcome: Benchmark Bourbon!

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey 1 (Ezra Brooks)

Purchase Info: $12.99 for a 1-liter bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.65

Details: 45% ABV.

Nose: Spearmint, dried grain, and vanilla.

Mouth: Cinnamon red hots, spearmint, and just a hint of dried grain.

Finish: Sweet and Spicy. Cinnamon red hots and spearmint linger.

Thoughts: This is a relatively spicy one. A nice flavor of cinnamon red hots playing with spearmint.

Whiskey 2 (Benchmark)

Purchase Info: $13.49 for a 1-liter bottle, MGM Wine & Spirits, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.67

Details: 40% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, buttered popcorn, and a hint of vanilla.

Mouth: Caramel, cinnamon, and milk chocolate.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Follows the month with cinnamon, caramel, and milk chocolate.

Thoughts: Sweet like a piece of candy. this is nice. Uncomplicated but very nice.

Winner: Whiskey 2 has a thinner mouthfeel and a candy-like flavor. Whiskey 1 is spicier and drier. If #2 had the mouthfeel and complexity of # 1, it would be the clear winner. Same if #1 had the sweetness of #2. As it stands each of these has a lot going for it, but also has one aspect that holds me back from an easy decision. In the end, I think the spicy cinnamon and nicer mouthfeel gives #1 an edge over #2. I look forward to finishing both of these bottles, but #1 is advancing to round 2.

IMAGE: The Bracket as it stands so far. Ezra Brooks beats Benchmark in Round 1a.

8th Annual BourbonGuy.com Bottom-Shelf Brackets: The "Find Joy in the Ordinary" Edition

March 16, 2021 Eric Burke

IMAGE: A screen capture of the time with the words “Find Joy in the Ordinary” below it.

I like to use a Chrome plugin called Momentum as a home screen for my instance of the Chrome browser. It has a new pretty photo every day. It tells me the time, local weather, and helps me with my to-do list. Recently it started showing “Mantras” below the time. I found the one pictured above to be particularly meaningful. “Find Joy in the Ordinary.”

It’s sometimes hard to do as a bourbon lover, finding joy in the ordinary. The entire purpose of a site like this is to give people a sense of what is new and exciting. Even if it is only new and exciting to me. So, this year I’ve made a commitment to myself to step back a little and to do what the computer screen told me to do. Find Joy in the Ordinary.

And, perfect timing, it’s time for the Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets again. Maybe it is just me, but I haven’t heard a lot of talk about the NCAA tournament this year…and I’m fully willing to admit that it may be because my beloved Golden Gophers were bad enough this year that the coach was fired at the end of the season. I might just be hiding from any news that has to do with the yearly basketball tournament.

Of course, as long-time readers know, I don’t really like basketball anyway. In fact, this series was started eight years ago as a way to play along with all the folks around me filling out their brackets, while not caring about basketball.

In recent years, I’ve gotten caught up in the excitement of more “interesting” bourbons. Two years ago, I decided to let the readers choose who participated. Last year, I threw out the concept of “Bottom-Shelf” entirely. But this year, following the advice of the computer screen, I’ve decided to find joy in the ordinary. And as such, I’m going old-school on this one. Back to the original rules. Back to some really “ordinary” bourbons. Things that would have been participants from the first few years before I started messing with the rules.

Here are the rules:

In keeping with the theme, it had to be “ordinary.” No Single barrel, no small batch. No Bottled in Bond. Anything that might be used to call something special was thrown out. This is for true entry-level bourbons.
The original rules stated that it had to be under $15 for a 750 mL bottle or under $20 for a liter bottle. I decided to keep that.
The original rules also stated that entries had to be Straight Bourbon Whiskey. I saw no reason to change that.
Participants were seeded based on proof and then age. Higher proof equals a higher seeding. If you stated a bourbon’s age when you didn’t have to, you got a nod over those, at the same proof, who didn’t. If you stated a bourbon’s age because you were young enough that the law required it, someone else got the nod over you.
These were tasted blind. I had no idea what each of the participants was when I tasted them. I poured 200mL bottles of each bourbon. I labeled them with an alphanumeric code and then filled out an initial bracket with those codes. Until we were finished I never saw the bracket or the bottles that were being poured again. My wife (who didn’t know which code corresponded to each bourbon) poured each round and filled out the winners in secret.

So, let’s meet the 2021 competition, shall we? Coming in at the number one overall seed is Ezra Brooks from Lux Row Distillery. This seeding comes down to proof, at 90 proof, this was the highest proof bourbon in the competition. They will initially match up against number four seed, Benchmark Bourbon from Buffalo Trace. At only “36 months” and 80 proof, this was the lowest seed in the competition. Rounding out Division One is a matchup between Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams Black Label and BeamSuntory’s Jim Beam White Label. Due to being 86 proof, Evan Williams was the second seed and due to stating its age, Jim Beam White gets the nod over other 80 proof offerings to take the first number three seed.

Over in Division Two, we have Very Old Barton (86 proof) from the Barton 1792 Distillery as the number one seed. They match up against Beam Suntory’s number four seed Old Grand Dad (80 Proof). In the second matchup, we have number two seed Wild Turkey (81 proof) against number three seed Rebel Yell from Lux Row.

This should be fun. Let’s go find joy in ordinary bourbon. So who’ve you got? Let everyone know down in the comments.

Fall Brackets 2020: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Edition: Who won?

October 6, 2020 Eric Burke

IMAGE: a Collection of bottles of Four Roses Limited Small Batch from 2012 through 2019.

As you are probably aware, this is the last installment of a five-part series where I pit various Limited Edition bottles of Four Roses against each other, bracket-style. The idea grew out of a conversation I had with Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot last September. When I mentioned that I had bottles of this release going back to 2012, he asked what I was saving them for. Not having a good answer to that, I decided then and there that he was right and that I needed to have some fun with them. And since I couldn't get a bottle of 2020's version, it seemed like the right time to open them up and revisit a little yummy goodness.

Tonight we get to see which of these I liked best. My friend Fred Minnick picked 2013 as his Best Bourbon of the 21st Century So Far. If you’ve been following along, you will know that 2013 lost in the first round in a head-to-head taste-off. But, we all have different palates and we all like different things. This is what makes whiskey so much fun to talk about. Besides, 2013 was delicious. It came so close to winning its matchup.

Tonight we are looking at Round2 and the Championship all at once. I’ve been sitting on these results for over a month now and I can’t take it anymore. So without further adieu, let’s get down to it. We aren’t going to go into tasting notes, since we already did that. This is just comparative thoughts for each matchup. And remember, these were tasted completely blind from identical bottles labeled only with an alphanumeric code.

Four Roses Brackets Limited Edition Small Batch, Round 2

2015 vs. 2017

2015 has a nicer nose. Both are fruity but 2015 has more depth to the nose. 2015 has a better mouthfeel and leads with more spicy notes. 2017 is more fruit-forward and has a thinner mouthfeel relative to 2015. But, I love the way that the fruit presents on the 2017 edition. This is super tough but I think I have to give the nod to 2015.

2019 vs. 2012

The noses on these two are fairly similar. Sweet notes and oak. On the mouth, the 2019 edition is richer than the 2012 one. On my first sip of 2019, I just sighed and said "that tastes like classic Four Roses." And because of all that, 2019 advances.

Championship: 2019 vs. 2015

Once again, 2015 has a nicer nose. Sweeter and very slightly richer. On the mouth, 2019 is richer, spicier, and hotter. 2015 is fruitier but still brings the spice." But in the end, 2019 and that "classic Four Roses" flavor wins the day.

IMAGE: Four Roses Limited Release Brackets. 2019 wins!

So there you have it. In my estimation, last year’s version of Four Roses Limited Small Batch was the best to that point. It was shocking since I remember liking some of them, like 2016, so much in the initial tasting. If asked ahead of time, I would have sworn that 2016 was going to with the whole thing. In fact, I even told Brent Elliot when I talked to him about last year’s, that I preferred 2018. The same 2018 that didn’t make it out of the first round. I guess it just goes to show that memories are fallible and tasting isn’t a science. As I always say, this is what I thought of and how much I liked a whiskey on that day. Another day might bring another mood which might bring another feeling about what is in my glass.

But before we close out this competition, I saved just a taste of the 2020 sample to compare against the eventual winner. And I have to say, although it was tough and both were delicious, 2020 was the winner for both of us. It had all the spice and heat of 2019, but brought just a touch more fruit to the party. Which, when we are talking about Four Roses, is totally what I come for. Congrats to Brent Elliot and crew.

Ok. Regular posts return Thursday. Thanks for coming along on this exploration with me and allowing me to miss my trip to Kentucky a little less.

Special thanks to Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot for inspiring this series of posts.

Fall Brackets 2020: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Edition: Round 1d, 2016 vs. 2012

October 1, 2020 Eric Burke

As you are probably aware, this is the fourth installment of a five-part series where I pit various Limited Edition bottles of Four Roses against each other, bracket-style. The idea grew out of a conversation I had with Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot last September. When I mentioned that I had bottles of this going back to 2012, he asked what I was saving them for. Not having a good answer to that, I decided then and there that he was right and that I needed to have some fun with them. And since I wasn't able to get a bottle of 2020's version, it seemed like the right time to open them up and revisit a little yummy goodness.

Tonight’s first contestant is the 2016 edition of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch. 2016 was the year where I got to be “press” for the first time. While I visited the Kentucky Bourbon Festival I got to attend the Distillery Naming event for Lux Row Distillery. I took notes and photos…and my friends from local craft distilleries playfully teased me about it. I loved that week. I spent so much time with friends.

The other entry is from 2012. 2012 was the first year I attended the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. During that week, I visited the Four Roses Cox’s Creek facility for the first time. While there I picked up a bottle of Four Roses Limited Small Batch. I just walked into the very small gift shop and it was just sitting there on the shelf. This was a Monday It wasn’t set to be released until Thursday, but since no one had been there for about a week, they felt it was safe to put it out when they had time.

So here we go. Remember, these were tasted completely blind from identical bottles labeled only with an alphanumeric code.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2016

Original Review: 2016 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Review

Pertinent Quote: "I love this every year and this year is no exception."

Details/Original Price: 55.6% ABV. A blend of 12-year-old OESO, 12-year-old OBSV, and 16-year-old OESK. Purchase Price: $120.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, spearmint, and a nutty note.

Mouth: Caramel, apricot, spearmint, and oak

Finish: Medium to long and warm. Lingering notes of cinnamon, oak, a touch of smoke, and a hint of fruitiness

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2012

Original Review: Blind comparison of 2012 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch vs 2009 Four Roses Mariage

Pertinent Quote: "Wow. This might very well be the best Four Roses, I've ever had. My wife normally puts a small piece of ice in every bourbon. She asked me to remind her that this one she wants neat from now on."

Original Details/Price: 55.7% ABV. A blend of 17-year-old OBSV, 11-year-old OBSV, 12-year-old OBSK, and 12-year-old OESK Purchase Price: $90

Nose: Peaches, baking spice, and brown sugar.

Mouth: Spicy. Notes of caramel, fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe ginger, and then oak.

Finish: Long and spicy. Notes of peaches, baking spice, vanilla, and oak.

Thoughts:

2016 is oakier and more refined whereas 2012 is an explosion of flavor. A lot of bourbon lovers would choose 2016 for its more traditional flavor profile. Not me though, the fruity notes of 2012 are right up my alley. 2012 is the clear favorite in this house. It’s spicy and fruity with a good burn to it. 2012 moves on.

IMAGE: Four Roses Bourbon Brackets. 2012 advances to Round 2

Special thanks to Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot for inspiring this series of posts.

Fall Brackets 2020: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Edition: Round 1c, 2019 vs. 2014

September 22, 2020 Eric Burke

Well, we are most of the way through Kentucky Bourbon Heritage Month, and even though I wasn't able to celebrate it in Kentucky with my friends this year, I do get to spend more time with the bottles I've picked up there in the past.

As you are probably aware, this is the third installment of a five-part series where I pit various Limited Edition bottles of Four Roses against each other, bracket-style. The idea grew out of a conversation I had with Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot last September. When I mentioned that I had bottles of this going back to 2012, he asked what I was saving them for. Not having a good answer to that, I decided then and there that he was right and that I needed to have some fun with them. And since I wasn't able to get a bottle of 2020's version, it seemed like the right time to open them up and revisit a little yummy goodness.

Speaking of last year's Bourbon Festival, tonight's first entry is last year's edition. 2019 was a fun trip to Kentucky. And one where I didn't spend a lot of time at the festival itself. Instead, I spent some time with my friends at MB Roland for the first time in a couple of years. I had drinks with a few other friends and their families. And (after having an anxiety attack that forced me to miss the Foo Fighters on Friday night) went to Bourbon and Beyond Saturday night courtesy of my friend Fred Minnick.

The other entry is 2014. 2014 was a year that I went all-in on the events of BourbonFest. I did as many as I could fit in and loved every minute of it. It was only my second time at the festival, and I wanted to experience all that I could.

So here we go. Remember, these were tasted completely blind from identical bottles labeled only with an alphanumeric code.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2019

Original Review: 2019 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Review

Pertinent Quote: "This is a very good Bourbon. I like how the cocoa and nutty notes play with the spicy cinnamon. The caramel and the fruity undercurrent add a nice depth to the product. Water dampens the fruitiness and accentuates the oak without compromising the spiciness. I like this one without water personally, but the proof is high enough that I'll be drinking the rest of this sample in small pours because of that."

Details/Original Price: 56.3% ABV. A blend of 11-year-old OESV, 15-year-old OESV, 15-year-old OESK, 21-year-old OBSV Purchase Price: $140.

Nose: Toffee, apricot, Juicy Fruit gum, oak, vanilla, baking spice, and a light smokey note.

Mouth: Thick and rich. Toffee, vanilla, baking spice, and a light fruitiness.

Finish: Medium to long with cinnamon, cocoa, oak, and a light fruitiness.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2014

Original Review: 2014 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Review

Pertinent Quote: "This is a very good whiskey and I like it a lot. It's extremely drinkable, even at over 55% ABV … If you find it and find yourself flush with cash, pick it up. If you are a fan-boy like me, pick it up."

Original Details/Price: 55.9% ABV. A blend of 9-year-old OBSK, 13-year-old OBSV, 12-year-old OESV, 11-year-old OBSF Purchase Price: $110

Nose: Brown sugar, mint, cinnamon, clove, tobacco, and a slight fruitiness.

Mouth: Thick and rich. Caramel, honey, oak, cinnamon, and herbal mint.

Finish: Medium to long with lingering spicy cinnamon and oak.

Thoughts:

These are both fairly spice-forward. 2019 has a bit of fruit that 2014 is missing. 2019 is also sweeter. Overall, 2019 is just a more complex and better-tasting bourbon. And because of that, it will advance to Round 2.

IMAGE: Four Roses Bourbon Brackets. 2019 advances to Round 2

Special thanks to Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot for inspiring this series of posts.

Fall Brackets 2020: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Edition: Round 1b, 2013 vs. 2017

September 15, 2020 Eric Burke

As you know, I am not in Kentucky for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival this week as I would have ordinarily been. This means that there was no real way for me to get a bottle of 2020’s Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch. To console myself, I’ve gone ahead and put the last eight year’s releases up against one another Bracket Style. Tonight’s matchup features 2013’s 125th Anniversary release and the 2017 release.

Fun fact, the last time I wasn’t in Kentucky during September was 2013. I spent the time in Toronto meeting whiskey friends. I got a bottle thanks to another whiskey friend who happened to see it on the shelf at his local store, but am tasting out of the sample bottles that I put away in my Sample Library.

2017 happened to be the first time I worked as “Press” at events during BourbonFest. I got free passes, talked to some folks, made some notes, and wrote about them after I got home. It was also the first year that a reader recognized me on the streets of Bardstown and asked if they could get a photo with me. It was all very weird but very flattering.

So here we go. Remember these were tasted completely blind from identical bottles labeled only with an alphanumeric code.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2013

Original Review: 2013 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Review

Pertinent Quote: “I’ve heard people describe it as the best bourbon they’ve ever had, but that’s probably pushing it a bit. I’ll go ahead and say that, for me, it’s not even the best Four Roses I’ve had. I would rank both the 2012 Limited Small Batch and the 2009 Mariage higher (which were basically equally good in my book). 2013 was a bit too thick and sweet and the flavors a bit more muddied when compared to the 2012. But that’s splitting hairs. I can see why this was chosen to be the American Whiskey of the Year last year, it’s an amazing whiskey. It’s just not the best ever.”

Details/Original Price: A blend of 18-year-old OBSV, 13-year-old OBSK, and 13-year-old OESK. Purchase Price: $99.

Nose: Raspberry preserves, oak, vanilla.

Mouth: Oak, raspberry preserves, Juicy Fruit gum, baking spice

Finish: Medium length. Lingering Wintergreen, raspberry preserves, oak, and cinnamon.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2017

Original Review: 2017 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Review

Pertinent Quote: “I know what you are thinking. "Obviously Eric loves this, he's a Four Roses fanboy." Well, you are half right. I am a fanboy. But this doesn't rate a heart from me (my wife disagrees most vehemently). It does, however, rate a very high "like." It's thick and rich and the finish lasts for days.”

Original Details/Price: 54% ABV. A blend of 20% 15-year-old OESK, 40% 13-year-old OESK, and 12-year-old OESV bourbons. MSRP: $130.

Nose: Juicy Fruit Gum, Orange Creamsicle, caramel, vanilla, baking spice, and a hint of oak.

Mouth: Fruity, creamy, and spicy. Cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, vanilla, red fruits, and oak.

Finish: Medium to long and warm. Cinnamon, vanilla, oak, and orange Creamsicle.

Thoughts:

This is a hard one. Both of these are fruit-forward. The obvious difference is that one reminds me of rich, cooked raspberries while the other is bright and refreshing in its fruit presentation. I really like both of these and I could see either one winning in a different matchup. But I'm giving 2017 the nod.

IMAGE: The Brackets. 2013 wins this round over 2017.

Thanks to Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliot for inspiring this series of posts.

Blog

Whiskey 1 (Very Old Barton)

Whiskey 2 (Old Grand-Dad)

Whiskey 1 (Evan Williams)

Whiskey 2 (Jim Beam)

Whiskey 1 (Ezra Brooks)

Whiskey 2 (Benchmark)

Four Roses Brackets Limited Edition Small Batch, Round 2

2015 vs. 2017

2019 vs. 2012

Championship: 2019 vs. 2015

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2016

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2012

Thoughts:

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2019

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2014

Thoughts:

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2013

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2017

Thoughts: