George Dickel Bottled in Bond No. 4 (2022)

What’s this? Two posts in one week? Everyone quick grab the ones you love and give them one last hug because surely the end times are upon us.

I kid, of course. But my time off taught me one thing. I need to have more fun in these. Every year, about September everything becomes a grind. It’s usually been about a year since I’ve been out of my house overnight. And normally months since I last had a day off. When you run three businesses out of your house, you don’t get days off. You are always working on one of them no matter the day. And as sad as I am to say it, writing just isn’t as much fun when you’ve been working one job or another for six months straight or more.

But like I said, I need an outlet for fun and I’m hoping to make this that outlet. Going back and reading some of those old post, was a wake up call. I’m not a serious person (ask my poor wife), it doesn’t seem right to write like one.

But enough of all of that. Let’s get to the whiskey. Tonight’s is an old friend. This is the fourth iteration of George Dickel’s Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey. And I’ve been a fan of all of them.

If you aren’t aware, George Dickel is the “other” major Tennessee Whiskey. For the longest time, Tennessee whiskey was synonymous with Jack Daniel’s. Dickel has been around for a long time, but they didn’t get nearly the love. But in recent years, I’ve found that even though Jack is doing some really fun things, I usually prefer Dickel if I’m reaching for a whiskey from Tennessee. I especially love these Bonded versions. They’re always delicious. They are aged for more than a decade. And they are relatively inexpensive, well when compared to other American whiskeys aged to double digits that is.

So this edition was originally distilled in the fall of 2008. It is 13 years old. And I’m going to tell you now, it’s delicious. Let’s dig into it.

George Dickel Bottled-in Bond No. 4

Purchase Info: I’ve already bought 2 bottles of this so here are both. $52.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN. $47.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Costco, Burnsville, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.53 and $3.20 respectively.

Details: 50% ABV. 13-years-old. Distilled Fall 2008

Nose: Cinnamon, brown sugar, black tea, and mint. Reminds me of a Chai tea.

Mouth: Notes of cinnamon, caramel, mint almond, and the "Dickel mineral note."

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of cinnamon, almond, and mint.

Thoughts: I've been a big fan of every previous release in this series, and this is no exception. It has a more pronounced Dickel mineral note than I remember previous editions having. So if you are a Dickel fan, as I am, keep your eyes out for this one.

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I.W. Harper Cabernet Cask Reserve

Well, hey there! I’m back from vacation and ready to roll.

Roll into bed, that is. Although I had a great vacation, I did bring a little something back home with me. And that something would be a couple of cases of Covid for my wife and I. Apparently, I’m just about the last person in the US to get it. I heard that our soon-to-be Octogenarian-in-Chief told a news outlet that the pandemic was over while I was away. Really wish someone would have told that to the virus that lodged its way into my head and chest. It might have saved me some coughing.

But even with getting a case of the VID, this was possibly the best vacation I’ve ever been on. I love seeing new places and experiencing new things, and this trip had two weeks filled with nothing but places I’ve never been before. It was heaven. I really liked California. My wife, not so much. Well, she liked it enough to visit, but not enough to stay. Which is fine by me. After almost 20 years of living in Minnesota, I’m finally coming around to the idea that there are so many worse places to live than here…I mean, where else do I get semi-yearly temps that are cold enough to freeze 80-proof bourbon?

Heck, even the whiskey I drank in California was new to me. While visiting Monterey and their world-famous aquarium, I stopped at Total Wine and picked up a new (to me) bourbon. I’m still too sick to do too much research on it, but here is what the press release had to say:

Cabernet Cask Reserve is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey aged for four years in new charred American oak barrels, then perfected in luxury California Cabernet Sauvignon casks and bottled at Stitzel-Weller Distillery, one of the true cathedrals of the American Whisky industry. This spirit takes the distinct character of fine Cabernet wine and pairs it with the brand's bold bourbon to create a clean, dark fruit and wine-like aromatics, along with an exceptionally complex flavor.

Luckily for you, I decided to write down my tasting notes a day or two before I started to show any symptoms. Because my taste buds, while not gone, are very messed up right now. If they don’t come back soon, we may be looking at re-runs of old “educational” articles next week instead of reviews. So in the meantime, let’s see what I thought of this one sometime last week.

I. W. Harper Cabernet Cask Reserve

Purchase Info: $55.99 at Total Wine, Monterey, CA

Price per drink (50 mL): $3.73

Details: 45% ABV. Four years old. Finished in Cabernet wine casks.

Nose: Cinnamon, brown sugar, dark chocolate, and a subtle dark fruit note.

Mouth: Cinnamon spice, nutmeg, red fruits, toffee, and chocolate.

Finish: Warm and sweet with notes of oak, then cinnamon, toffee, and chocolate.

Thoughts: This was a very good bourbon. We had a pour of it quite a few nights while on vacation, and it is possible that beautiful or fun settings may have colored my enjoyment. Be that as it may, I still really liked it. I’d buy it again.

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George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend Rye

I spent the entire day today getting a new batch of items ready for the online store. Looks like I should have them up sometime tomorrow if you are in the market for relatively inexpensive bourbon-themed tchotchkes. In addition to the posters and tasting journals, I’ve been getting sticker packs, lapel pins, and keychains photographed and ready to be posted for sale. Now all I need to do is get them listed.

I’ve been sitting on most of these items for over a year now, running three businesses keeps a guy busy, but I finally found a couple of days in a row where my other businesses were slow enough to allow me to get off my ass and do it. It’s a nice problem to have, I guess.

What I love about the various things I put up on the merch site is that it gives me an opportunity to flex my creative muscles a little bit. One of my day jobs is creating items, mostly junk mail, for plumbers and electricians. It pays the bills but isn’t very creatively fulfilling. With these items though, even though I hope others will like it, I’m mostly just doing things that I want to have and then ordering enough to help recoup the cost. Any extra goes to help keep BourbonGuy.com up and running.

Whoa. I just wanted to talk about creativity and it turned into an ad (BourbonGuyGifts.com if the ad worked…). Ah well. In any case, it was serendipitous that I was working on creative items today as tonight’s whiskey is a creative collaboration between two well-respected distillers. Nicole Austin of George Dickel has done an absolutely bang-up job over the last few years, introducing products such as Dickel Bourbon and the delicious George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond whiskeys. Todd Leopold is, to quote the bottle, “one of the most respected and acclaimed pioneers of American Whiskey” and a 2020 James Beard Award Nominee. I know him as the guy who’s been making the absinthe that I use in my Sazeracs since I first fell in love with Sazeracs many years ago.

Here is what the Dickel website has to say about it:

George Dickel has teamed up with the Leopold Bros to produce an innovative rye whisky offering.The release blends George Dickel’s column still rye produced at Cascade Hallow Distillery with Leopold Bros’ Three Chamber Rye to recreate a historic style. This union between column distilled rye and Three Chamber distilled rye turns back the hands of time, returning to an era that saw heavy-bodied rye whisky served at bars and saloons throughout America. The Cascade Hollow component of this blend is a never-before released traditional column still rye.

So on top of it being an interesting blend, this also contains our first taste of Dickel-distilled rye. The rye they sell now is sourced from MGP. So let’s see how it tastes.

George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend Rye

Purchase Info: $139.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Chanhassen, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $9.33

Details: 50% ABV.

Nose: Cedar, mint, floral cherry, and baking spices.

Mouth: Floral and herbal with notes of mint, cedar, cinnamon, and caramel.

Finish: Nice and warm. Medium to long. Notes of cherry, cedar, cinnamon, and spearmint.

Thoughts: I was unsupervised at the liquor store for this one. After reading about it last week, I was so excited that I ignored the price when I saw it on the shelf. Luckily, this is so good that my wife/accountant has forgiven me for the splurge. It is one of those whiskies where you could just nose it all night long. And, bonus, you also get to drink it too! This is complex in all three phases, nose, mouth, and finish. And delicious to boot. I do not regret this purchase at all.

It will, however, be placed on the special shelf so it has a better chance of lasting a while.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

George Dickel Bourbon

I’m not going to lie, I bought a lot of whiskey on vacation. And by no small coincidence, a lot of the stuff I purchased happened to be things that I either haven’t had, or haven’t written about. You gotta have content. And as such it’ll probably be December before I stop referencing it. I really hope that you don’t get sick of posts that bring it up.

I mean, I could try writing so that I don’t mention it, but where is the fun in that?

Anyway I primarily stayed in two cities while on vacation, Chattanooga and Louisville. I’ve been to Louisville numerous times but I’d never been to Chattanooga before except as a place I drove through on the way to somewhere else. And as it was our first time in the area, we really felt the need to do some touristy things. We visited Rock City, which was cooler than I’d have thought it would be; we paid our respects at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park; and because of who we are, we went to distilleries. I did the tour and tasting at both Jack Daniel’s and at Chattanooga Whiskey. I didn’t at Cascade Hollow though. Mostly because they were not offering tours. Instead I spent a lot of money in the gift shop as I picked up a few things that I couldn’t easily get at home. I grabbed a 15-year-old Single Barrel, I grabbed a current Bottled-in-Bond for about $15 cheaper than I’d find it at home, and I grabbed tonight’s Bourbon. That’s right, Bourbon.

From June’s launch press release:

For Cascade Hollow Distilling Co.'s General Manager and Distiller, Nicole Austin, creating Dickel Bourbonwas an opportunity to showcase the amazing, mature whiskies at the distillery. At the same time, it allowed the brand to give a home to those barrels that leaned into more traditional bourbon notes and did not express the Tennessee Whiskey tasting characteristics found in the rest of the George Dickel offerings.

Basically it is the same juice, following the same procedures, that is in all of their other Tennessee Whiskey products, it just tastes more like a traditional bourbon then those do. But much more important to me than what they call it, is how it tastes. Let’s find out.

George Dickel Bourbon

Purchase Price: $40.00 for a 750 mL bottle at the Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. Gift Shop, Tullahoma, TN. $30.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Kroger, Louisville, KY.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.67 (TN), $2.07 (KY)

Details: 8 years old, 45% ABV

Nose: Red fruit, herbal mint, caramel, baking spice, and mineral notes.

Mouth: Thin mouthfeel. Caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Finish: Medium length and very flavorful. Cinnamon red hots, caramel, vanilla, mint and the "Dickel" mineral note.

Thoughts: I like this one. Not as much as the high-end, extra-aged Dickel products, but more than No. 8 or No. 12. I picked up a bottle of Bottled-in-Bond at the same time for only five dollars more, and I definately like that better. But since people in my neck of the woods are gouging on the Bonded, this will be a pretty good alternative once it shows up here in Minnesota.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

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George Dickel Bottled in Bond No. 3 (2021 release)

Kids. Pull up a chair and let Old Man Eric tell you a story.

It all started way back in the late twenty-aughts to early teens. I was first getting into whiskey and it was a lovely time to be doing so. You’d walk into a store and sure, most of the time there wouldn’t be a lot of American Whiskey on the shelf, at least by today’s standards. The stores I frequented here in Minnesota didn’t usually offer a full aisle dedicated to just Bourbon and its brother from Tennessee. But what you didn’t have in the number of brands, you’d make up for in quality of the whiskey. Well, some of the time. I mean Jim Beam White was outselling everything not named Jack back then too. But age statements were everywhere and they were used to entice you to buy a bottle not to price it out of the range of affordability.

It was by no means the Golden Age that our memories and nostalgia make it out to be but you could be pretty sure that the bottle you were buying probably contained good bourbon if you saw an age statement. And it wasn’t unusual to see double-digit age statements at a relatively low cost.

Tonight’s whiskey is a bit of a throwback to that time. 13 years old. 100° proof. Bottled in Bond. Rich and thick in the mouth. And, at least compared to others in its age range, a relatively low price. This is the third edition of George Dickel Bottled in Bond and, according to Whisky Advocate, it is the biggest batch yet. Now, the price did go up some. The suggested retail price was in the mid-$30s in 2019 and is in the mid-$40s now, but it is still a remarkably good value. Especially when compared to others in its age range.

So instead of me blathering on anymore, let’s see how it tastes.

George Dickel Bottled in Bond No. 3 (2021 release)

Purchase Info: $40.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Apple Valley Liquor, Apple Valley, MN

Price per Drink (50mL): $2.73

Details: 13 years old, Spring 2007 distilling season. 50% ABV. Distilled at DSP-TN-2. Bottled at DSP-IL-58.

Nose: Honey, mixed berries, nutmeg, and a slight mineral note.

Mouth: Spicy in the month. Nice mouthfeel. Honey, mixed berries, cinnamon, leather, and tobacco.

Finish: Medium in both length and warmth. Lingering notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and tobacco smoke.

Thoughts: This is damn good whiskey. I am really enjoying it. Rich and thick in the mouth with delicious notes of pipe tobacco smoke on the finish. Note, this is not a "smokey" whiskey, it just carries the flavors of tobacco smoke. I'm a big fan. Really, really like this one. I think I will be stopping off on my next trip out of the house to see if I can find another bottle to have for after this one is empty.

Post-Script: So, after I finished writing this, I had to go grocery shopping. I thought that I might check my local corner liquor store to see if there was another bottle to be had, as mentioned above. There was, but there was no price on the shelf. I grabbed a bottle thinking that I knew what it should be and that these guys are usually really good about just charging a set margin on items. I was beyond shocked when it rang up at $69.99! While talking with the poor guy behind the counter I mentioned the price I got it for a couple of suburbs over and that the suggested retail price was $45. He told me that, apparently, there is a local distributor in my area who is doing a little price gouging on items like this and that, unfortunately, they must have gotten it from that one. He apologized for the inflated price and the trouble. So keep an eye on the price of this one. Sounds like there might be some foul play in the Twin Cities metro on it. I’ll be paying around MSRP on this one or I won’t bother buying it. I suggest you do the same.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.

George Dickel Single Barrel 15 Year Old, Hazel's Beverage World Selection

Running a little late tonight. I was out trying to buy a new car. Buying a new car is weird right now. You might have heard that there is a shortage of new vehicles at the moment. And after tonight, I believe it. I’ve never seen a new car lot with no cars on it before. Basically, you walk in, take a test drive of a similar car to what you’d like to buy. And if it passes muster with you, you go look at the inventory that the dealer has already ordered, see what hasn’t yet been purchased, and then put a deposit on it.

If you’ve ever ordered a car to be built for you, it’s kind of like that in that you don’t actually see your vehicle in person when you put the deposit down and you get to wait a couple of months to get your car. But, it’s also kind of like picking one off the lot in that you don’t get to pick all the options you want and you are picking from “available” inventory. (Those are sarcastic quotes around available in case you were curious.) In other words, it is the absolute worst of both worlds. That said, we found one that we liked so we put down the deposit, and in late September or early October, we will be the proud owners of a new vehicle.

But all of that has nothing to do with tonight’s whiskey. I couldn’t possibly come up with a segue that could go from a weird car buying experience to a fantastic whiskey-drinking experience. Not one that would do justice to the whiskey we are looking at tonight anyway.

In late 2020, it was announced that a new single barrel would be coming out of Cascade Hollow. It was a 15-year-old George Dickel and it was available to retailers in select markets. Early in 2021, they expanded those markets to include Boulder, Colorado, where I bought this bottle at Hazel’s Beverage World.

George Dickel Single Barrel 15-year-old Tennessee Whisky is, as you may have guessed, a single barrel version of the standard George Dickel mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley that's been aged at least 15 years. My bottle was barreled in January of 2004 so, who knows, it might be over 15.

George Dickel Single Barrel 15-year-old, selected by Hazel's Beverage World

Purchase Info: $59.98 for a 750 mL bottle at Hazel’s Beverage World, Boulder, CO.

Price per Drink (50mL): $4.00

Details: Barrel #: 04A22-148. Barrel Date: January 22, 2004. 52.3% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, oak, cinnamon, gingersnap cookies

Mouth: Spicy with a nice, thick mouthfeel. Caramel, cinnamon, leather, and oak.

Finish: Long and warm. Notes of cinnamon, toffee, oak, and Flintstone's Vitamins.

Thoughts: Oh my goodness! I really, really like this. It is as close to a heart rating as one can get without getting one. The vitamin note knocks it out of the heart range for me. That said, this is in the conversation for the best whiskey I've bought this year. My only regret with this purchase is that I wish I had bought two.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.

Orphan Barrel: Copper Tongue Bourbon

I’d like to thank the PR folks working for Diageo for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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First things first. You all still have all of your fingers, right? I love Independence Day, but I do worry about folks. Pretty sure my neighbors spent their paycheck on illegal fireworks and combined their ignition with copious amounts of alcohol. And having had more than one close call before I liked to consume alcohol…well…I just hope everyone still has all their extremities.

But since multiple neighbors had such a large display of explosive celebration, I ended up spending my 4th inside with the curtains drawn and the music cranked. As you might know, one of my businesses is a dog sitting service. And after a few years of doing this, I’ve found that rock music inside the house helps camouflage the scary noises outside the house. Plus if you really like the songs you are playing, the singing along with the songs and the dancing with the pups allows them to be distracted.

Believe it or not, I had fun though. I may not have been able to see most of the displays, and I might have had a shaking sheepdog on my lap at times, but I had fun anyway. It just goes to show that you never really know what you will think of things until you experience them yourself. I was dreading having a bunch of scared pups, but it turned out to be a really fun night as we had ourselves a rockin’ party.

The same can be said for tonight’s whisky. I haven’t gotten an Orphan Barrel sample for three or four years now, mostly because I really didn’t care for the ones that I had gotten. But when I saw that the newest one was a 16-year-old bourbon coming out of Cascade Hollow Distillery, home of George Dickel, well you can believe that I very quickly shot off a note to see if I could get on the sample list.

Older Dickel is some of my favorite whiskey out there, a fact that I was reminded of in my Sample Roulette tastings while on vacation. Add in the fact that it is Cask Strength and was developed by Nicole Austin? Well, that was just icing on the cake. Ms. Austin is the force behind the delicious yearly George Dickel Bottled-in-Bond releases and the very exciting, just-announced George Dickel 8-year-old bourbon. Yes, bourbon. And she has been doing a great job as far as my taste buds are concerned.

One thing that surprised me about Copper Tongue is that, while it is cask strength, it is only 89.8° proof. I find that fascinating. It isn’t unheard of to find an old bourbon barrel that is of a lower proof, but it is pretty unusual to sell it. I can really only think of one other and that was the first edition of Wild Turkey Master’s Keep. But since I liked that one, I tried not to let the surprise bias my tasting.

Orphan Barrel: Copper Tongue Bourbon

Purchase Info: This sample was graciously sent by the producers for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $100 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50mL): $6.67

Details: Cask Strength at 44.9% ABV. 16 years old. Bourbon.

Nose: Brown sugar, clove, cinnamon, leather.

Mouth: Follows the nose with brown sugar, clove, cinnamon, leather and adds red fruits and melon.

Finish: Warm and sweet with lingering spice notes.

Thoughts: I really like this. The mouthfeel is a bit thinner than I expected, even at the low (for cask strength) proof, but the flavors make up for that. It is sweet and has just the right amount of spice to it. The press release describes it as “surprisingly delicate [and] sophisticated.” That sounds like an accurate description but it is working for me. For once, I think I'll be keeping my eyes open for an Orphan Barrel release. Though for the price, it’ll be going on the special shelf should I find it.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.

Sample Roulette: The I'm Still Tired from Vacation Edition

As I said earlier this week, I didn’t have the time, opportunity, or desire to do much whiskey tasting while on vacation last week. The weather was hot. I really lucked out on the timing of the trip, having it land right in the middle of a very unusual and long-lasting heat wave. The first week had temps over 105 every day. Which meant getting up before dawn to visit Utah’s lovely National Parks before the heat became dangerous.

Let me tell you, I’ve seldom loved a hotel room’s cooling system more than I did during this trip.

Of course, we got to see beautiful sunrises this way. Sunrise at Arches National Park is a sight to behold. So was the one we watched from a hot air balloon 1000 feet over Moab. We didn’t see the sunrise in Lake Powell, but we did get to drive fast in a rented speed boat and go swimming in a couple hundred feet of flooded canyon. That helped beat the heat as well. Plus sleeping in until the sun came up gave us the time in the evening to sip on a few blind surprises while we watched the sun set from our hotel room.

As before, these samples were all laid down between 2011 and 2017. The labels were covered up in September of 2020. And they have lived in a box untouched since, except for the occasional adventuresome sip now and then. They made a fun vacation sip too. I mean you’re out on an adventure, it is only fitting that your nightly tipple be an adventure as well.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 1:

Nose: Delicate nose. Hints of caramel, vanilla, and mint.

Mouth: Mint, baking spices and fruit notes.

Finish: Medium in heat and length. Lingering notes of dried grain and cinnamon.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is ok. Not great, not terrible, just kinda meh. I'll probably finish the pour, but probably won't be sad to see it go.

Reveal: Ezra Brooks

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Wow! Super shocked on this one. This has gotten so much better since I put this sample away!

Blind Whiskey Sample # 2:

Nose: Caramel, cherry, pipe tobacco.

Mouth: Cinnamon, caramel, smoke, and floral fruit.

Finish: Smoky and spicy. Lingering warm notes.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is yummy. Going to have to fight my wife for the rest of this one. Lol.

Reveal: George Dickel 9-Year-old Private Selection from Ace Spirits (2014)

Post-Reveal Thoughts: It just goes to show how much our palates change over time. When I reviewed this back in 2014, I thought it was a bit too hot for my tastes. Now, though it had some heat on it, it was certainly within acceptable levels. I didn’t even think to add water as I finished it in the hotel. Of course, there are a lot more options for Barrel Strength whiskey out there these days to help build your tolerance.

Blind Whiskey Sample # 3:

Nose: Floral vanilla, caramel, and fruit.

Mouth: Spicy. Cinnamon, vanilla, black tea, and hints of fruit.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Lingering mint, black tea, and floral fruit.

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is quite good. I'm really enjoying it. Nice floral fruitiness and vanilla.

Reveal: Ancient Ancient Age 10 year old.

Post-Reveal Thoughts: Oh, do I miss the days when you could get a handle of 10-year-old whiskey for a decent price. Scratch that. I miss when you could get a 10-year-old whiskey from Buffalo Trace for a decent price, whether it came in a handle or not. This is a bourbon that was better than I remembered. Sadly, when this was put away we were spoiled with an abundance of aged bourbon. It was less good than other 10-year-old bourbons when it was discontinued, but is still a damn sight better than much of the bourbon on the shelf today. For that, I savored this pour after the reveal. Made me a bit nostalgic, as you can see.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more.