Four Roses Bourbon 100 Proof

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR partners for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Close-up of a Four Roses Bourbon 100 Proof bottle on a wooden deck railing, showing its white label with the iconic four red roses.

As we discussed last week, I am a long-time fan of Four Roses. Discovering Four Roses was a foundational development in my bourbon journey. In a way, if you enjoy this site, you have Four Roses to thank for it, at least in part. Four Roses was where I discovered the geeky joy that blending can bring (though at one point they would have preferred I use a different word, as blended whiskey was a dark part of their own journey).

The idea that a company was distilling 10 different bourbons and only showcasing a handful of them (at least when I started my love affair with the brand) was mind-blowing to me. As you went up in price on their three core releases, you got more and more proof but fewer and fewer of the recipes in the mix. The prime position went to Single Barrel, which by definition could only have one recipe. They chose OBSV at 100 proof for that. Small Batch was the next lowest in price and proof, using a mix of OBSK, OBSO, OESK, and OESO at 90 proof. And then there was “Yellow Label,” nicknamed as such because, you guessed it, it had a bright yellow label. It had all ten of the recipes (most of the time; I have it on good authority that occasionally only nine make it in there depending on stocks) at only 80 proof.

And the lack of proof on that Yellow Label caused much sadness among bourbon aficionados. The flavor was amazing. The mouthfeel and depth of flavor? Not so much. Not at that proof. Though that hasn’t stopped me from picking it up now and again and then publicly whining about wanting a higher-proof version of their lowest-proof offering. One time, a long time ago, I even made a barrel-proof blend of all ten recipes from store picks that I had picked up. Back then, it was easier to do such things.

So it was with great joy that I opened an email from the Four Roses PR team that was titled: “Four Roses 100 Proof Rolls Out in Bars Nationwide.” I immediately asked if there would be samples and if it was also going to be available at retail. The answer I got to both was yes. This release was developed for bartenders because they wanted a higher-proof version for use in cocktails. But I was assured “it is not exclusive to the on-premise channel” (though there was some confusion on that at first, so you may see others stating otherwise if they published before the correction came out). The suggested retail price is $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle and $32.99 for a liter.

Let’s dig in.

Four Roses Bourbon 100 proof

Purchase Info: This bottle was sent to me at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $29.99 for a 750 mL bottle or $32.99 for a liter.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.00 (750 mL) or $1.65 (liter)

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: Floral vanilla, caramel, red fruit, mint, chocolate, and a touch of cinnamon.

Mouth: Spicy cinnamon, caramel, stone fruit, and oak.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of cherry, cinnamon, chocolate, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face denoting I like this product.

Thoughts: This is so good! It has nice spice. The mouthfeel is very nice. There is a robustness that the 80 proof is lacking. In fact, that robustness is the main difference between the two. The 80 proof might be a little more fruit-forward, but the added spice, caramel, and oak notes make up for that, in my opinion. As I mentioned above, I’ve always wanted just a little more proof, going all the way back to the Yellow Label days. I even tried diluting that barrel-proof mix down to alternative proofs, including 90 and 100 proof just to see how it would react. And honestly, this release is pretty much what I was hoping for with all those experiments. Maybe a little more fruit would be nice, but now I’m quibbling. And it does work very well in a cocktail, holding up nicely to dilution. I’ve spent 12 years publicly, and privately, asking for a release like this and I am so happy with it.

Never give up on your dreams, kids.

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Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2026

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR partners for sending this sample over with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A sample bottle of Four Roses 2026 Limited Edition Small Batch bourbon sits on a wooden deck railing against a softly blurred green background.

It’s that time of year again. September. Bourbon Heritage Month. The time of limited annual releases. And for my money, the one that I have purchased the most over the years has been the annual release of Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch.

My love affair with this bourbon release started way back with the 2009 release. Of course, back then, they weren’t selling nearly as well as today. I found it in 2011 at a store tasting where it was on sale for less than $80. Of course, that love affair really took off the next year when we found out that my wife had ovarian cancer.

The day after she got the news, I went to all the stores where I remembered seeing it on the shelf. I told my story of how it was my wife’s favorite and that she was starting chemo and we wanted to put one away for her for when she got better. I don’t remember how many stores I went to. At least a couple, since I remember one not having it but offering me that year’s Pappy instead. But I finally got it, and we put it away. Nice story, right? That wasn’t what made me a Four Roses fanboy, though.

As she was going through chemo, I was sitting next to her. We were both scrolling Twitter on our phones (Twitter was a much smaller, and nicer, place back in 2012). All of a sudden, I heard my wife say something to the effect of “oh, that’s so nice” before tearing up a little. She’d tweeted earlier that she wasn’t looking forward to chemo that day, and the social media person at Four Roses had just sent a reply from the brand’s account that said a bit of encouragement along the lines of “we’re pulling for you, you got this.” It really did help her feel a little less alone that day. From that day on, Four Roses was a mainstay in the BourbonGuy household.

We joined the Mellow Moments Club. We attended the release party for the Limited Edition Small Batch every year until we stopped going to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival around the time of the pandemic. We are fans. And not just because of great bourbon, but because there are good people producing it, one of whom decided one day, a long time ago, to share a little encouragement during a hard time. It didn’t take long, however, to find a milestone worthy of pulling out that old 2009 bottle. A few months later we got her test results back and they showed no evidence of cancer. At which time, we pulled it back out and raised a toast with it. She has been clear ever since. And so I always have a hard time looking at this release objectively.

Even if I can’t find a bottle to purchase myself anymore. Thankfully, I am lucky enough to get a taste each year in order to write this post.

So now that you know my biases, let’s get into this year’s edition. As always, the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch is made from multiple bourbons from Four Roses’ library of ten bourbon recipes. This year’s batch is made from a 14-year-old OBSK, a 14-year-old OESK, a 15-year-old OESV, and a 23-year-old OESK. It is bottled at 109.2 proof, with about 16,800 bottles being made available. The suggested retail price is $249 per 750 mL bottle. It will be available for purchase starting October 10, 2026.

Let’s dig in.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, 2026

Purchase Info: This sample was sent to me at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $249 for a 750 mL bottle starting October 10, 2026.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $16.60

Nose: Cola, stone fruit, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and oak.

Mouth: Cola and stone fruit lead off, much like the nose. After that comes cinnamon spice, cherry, caramel, and oak.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Notes of stone fruit, almond, cinnamon, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn heart denoting tha tI love the product.

Thoughts: Very nice mouthfeel. Thick and rich. Lovely spice. Big fan of the peach/apricot stone fruit notes throughout. It has a nice sweetness to balance the spice. I’m really digging this one. If I had the opportunity to buy it at MSRP, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I might even stand in line, though, as I am not a line person (at all), that part is less likely. But this is really good. I think I might be in love.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. We don’t take ads, paid placement, or paid articles and are supported only by your generosity.

Four Roses Experimental Series, Experiment 001, Mizunara Cask Finish

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR Team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A bottle of Four Roses Experimental Series Experiment No. 001 Mizunara Cask Finish bourbon sits on a wooden deck railing against a softly blurred green background.

Hello again folks! I sincerely hope you are ready for more Four Roses talk, because that’s what we are engaging in again tonight.

I’m on record as loving when companies experiment with their products. The very first review on the site was an experimental release from my friends over at MB Roland. The experience of tasting something super interesting, that may or may not be ready for prime time, is one of the reasons that I was big into the Craft Whiskey scene there for a long time. I’ve since gotten old and cranky, but I still enjoy seeing bourbon folks experiment now and then. And when it is coming from one of the few brands that I can honestly fanboy out over? That’s even cooler.

Tonight’s whiskey is the first in a series of experimental releases from Four Roses. And interestingly enough, it is one that embraces the Japanese ownership that Four Roses had until the recent acquisition by Gallo. Mizunara is a Japanese oak that is most well known in the whiskey world as being a wood used in the aging of some Scotch and Japanese whiskies. Even though the wood is notoriously hard to cooper (high water content leading to multiple years of drying before being made into barrels, poor water tightness once made into barrels, etc.), the flavor it provides seems to be enough for folks to keep working with it.

Here’s what Four Roses has to say about the choice:

The inaugural release, Experimental Series No. 001, is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in rare Japanese Mizunara oak barrels. Prized in the whiskey world for its rarity and uniquely expressive flavor contribution, Mizunara oak was selected based first and foremost on flavor exploration. Throughout the finishing process, the Four Roses team monitored the barrels closely, pulling samples almost weekly to track maturation and determine the ideal balance point for each barrel individually before blending the final liquid.

Experimental Series No. 001 was developed through extensive trials across recipes, yeast strains, barrel specifications, and toast and char combinations to identify the ideal pairing for Mizunara oak’s distinctive flavor profile. Ultimately, [Master Distiller Brent] Elliott selected a six-year-old OBSK recipe for its ability to complement the oak’s layered spice characteristics while allowing its sweeter and more nuanced notes to shine through.

Let’s see how this experiment tastes.

Four Roses Experimental Series, Experiment 001, Mizunara Cask Finish

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $55 for a 375 mL bottle. It was available at the Four Roses Distillery Visitor Center beginning July 30.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $7.33

Details: 6-year-old OBSK bourbon finished in Mizunara casks. 52% ABV.

Nose: Floral vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and an herbal, almost umami spice.

Mouth: Lots of spice notes right off the bat. Think cinnamon, allspice, sandalwood, and that same herbal spice from the nose. Other notes include floral vanilla, brown sugar, and almond.

Finish: Spicy, warm, and long with lingering notes of herbal spice, sandalwood, and almond.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: If you like bourbons with tons of baking spice, this is one for you. It really is delicious. It takes the spiciness of a K yeast bourbon and layers the sandalwood and herbal spice notes of the Mizunara cask over it. Plus you get the underlying bourbon notes of vanilla and caramel/brown sugar as well. This is pretty damn good. I like it. This is one to take a good look at if you get the opportunity.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Four Roses Anthology Series, Chapter One: Origins

I’d like to thank Four Roses and their PR Team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A sample bottle of Four Roses Anthology Origin Chapter 01, a 21-year-old bourbon, sits on a wooden deck railing against a softly blurred green background.

Bonus Post time! And this time we are looking at one from Four Roses that, for the first time ever, I don’t think is for you and me. Which, coming from a long-time Four Roses fanboy, hurts to say. If you are here, you are looking for the opinion of a frugal bourbon drinker. And there is no $500 release that would be appropriate for a frugal person. Hell, I don’t think there is a bourbon that, in a vacuum, is worth $150. Arguably, at least not until you take scarcity into the equation. But reasonable people can disagree on pricing and value.

Chapter One: Origins is the first in a planned lineup of 10 annual releases that, according to the press release, are aimed at “collectors and enthusiasts.” This version is a series of OBSF single-barrel bottlings that are aged 21 years and bottled at cask strength between 102.5 and 124.9 proof. There were 1,200 bottles available initially.

Let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Four Roses Anthology 21 year

Purchase Info: This sample was sent at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $500 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $33.33

Details: OBSF, 51.3% ABV, 21 years old

Nose: Almond, caramel, vanilla, red fruit, wintergreen, and oak.

Mouth: First sip is hot and full of oak. Subsequent sips bring out more depth of flavor with notes of chocolate, cinnamon, red fruit, caramel, almond, and oak.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Lingering notes of floral vanilla, nutty chocolate, cinnamon, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: As might be guessed by a 21-year age statement, this is extremely oak-forward. Both oak as a note in and of itself, but also oak-derived notes like chocolate. It's very rich and thick in the mouth. There are lovely bright notes that help balance the oaky notes as well. This is a good bourbon. My only issue with it is that after that long in the barrel, it has lost a lot of its inherent "Four-Roses-ness." If handed it blind, I probably wouldn't have guessed Four Roses as the distillery on the first couple of tries. Add to that the fact that my personal preferences are for bourbons in the six- to ten-year age range (where the mash bill- and yeast-derived flavors haven't yet been overpowered by the barrel), and personally, I’d grab one of the F yeast Red Labels over this one. But that is just my personal preference.

If you are a fan of oak-forward bourbons, though, this would have been worth a look…if it weren’t so extremely limited, presumably sold out, and, of course, if the suggested retail price wasn’t 500 dollars! In a vacuum, I like it, even if I like others of their products more. As something I’d pay my own personal money for? I’d politely scoff at anyone who suggested I do so. God bless the folks who have $500 to spend on a single bottle of bourbon, but I’m not one of them. I can get ten of the Red Labels, which I legitimately enjoy more, for that price. Yes, this is a good bourbon. No, being good doesn't make it worth five hundred bucks.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Yellowstone Limited Edition, 2026

I’d like to thank Limestone Branch Distillery and their PR partners for sending this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: A bottle of Yellowstone Limited Edition 2026 bourbon rests on a wooden deck railing, surrounded by sunlit green foliage.

You know that summer is coming to a close when the limited edition bourbons start to be released. I’m always torn about covering those because the tagline at the top of the page says that this information is for frugal bourbon drinkers. But as I often need to remind myself, frugal and cheap are two completely different things. A cheap person is unwilling to spend money, whereas, to me, a frugal one is wants to spend it wisely. It’s a matter of degree. So, a long time ago, I decided to cover them. Partly because I’d quickly run out of content if I didn’t. But mostly because if no one takes the cost into account when covering them, how will anyone know if a given product is worth that added cost?

Of course, none of this really has anything to do with tonight’s limited edition. One of the things I’ve liked best about the Yellowstone brand is that they seemingly cater to the frugal bourbon drinker. I mean, while their limited editions obviously also cost more than the standard releases, compared to their peers, they are downright reasonable at “only” $100. And yet, they are always some of the best bourbons that come across my desk in a given year.

This year’s release is a blend of seven-year-old and fourteen-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons. They were finished separately in ruby port and tawny port casks before being blended together. It is bottled at 101 proof and will be for sale starting this month at select stores nationwide.

So let’s see if this one continues the trend of being one of the best bangs for your buck in the “Limited Edition” realm of bourbons.

Yellowstone Limited Edition, 2026

Purchase Info: This bottle was sent to me at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.60

Details: 50.5% ABV. A blend of 7- and 14-year-old bourbons, finished separately in ruby port and tawny port casks prior to blending.

Nose: Brown sugar, oak, and red fruit.

Mouth: Sweet in the mouth with notes of brown sugar, baking spice, red fruit, leather, and oak.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of caramel, cinnamon, leather, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face denoting that I quite like this product.

Thoughts: As always, this is a delicious release. Honestly, it’s usually somewhere in the Top 5 of annual releases for me. This year seems to be no exception. This is delicious. I like how subtle the port influence is. Just some red fruit notes that help accentuate the caramel and oak notes of the bourbon. It's sweet, complex, and has a great mouthfeel and finish. I really like this one. And while it isn’t cheap, it is suitable for those of us who are frugal and can afford the splurge.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Penelope Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

I’d like to thank the folks at Ross & Squibb and their PR partners for sending this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Close-up of a Penelope Straight Bourbon bottle on a rain-soaked wooden deck railing, with the gold logo and blue label prominently displayed against a softly blurred rainy background.

3.8 inches! That’s how much rain we’ve gotten in the past 12 hours here in the Twin Cities metro area. And unless it happened overnight, it wasn’t like it was a catastrophic downpour. Just a lot of steady, heavy rain. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Needless to say, I am stuck inside today. Which is why you are getting this bonus post today.

Today we are looking at a new release from Penelope Bourbon. Most of the things we’ve looked at from Penelope are interesting blends of mash bills, interesting barrel finishes, or, on occasion, a ready-to-drink cocktail. However, we’ve never looked at a Kentucky straight bourbon from them. And mostly that’s because they haven’t actually offered one until now. Being part of the MGP family, most of their whiskey uses the juice distilled right there in Indiana. So this is the first time they’ve worked with Kentucky distillate "at scale," as they say in the press release.

The bourbon was created from a mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. It is bottled at 92 proof. The suggested retail price is $44.99 for a 750 mL bottle. It is available now in select markets but will be available nationwide later.

Let’s see how it tastes.

Penelope Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Purchase Info: This bottle was sent at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $44.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.00

Details: 46% ABV. Mash bill: 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley.

Nose: Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, and oak.

Mouth: Cinnamon, oak, almond, vanilla, caramel, and red fruit.

Finish: Medium in both length and warmth. Notes of almond, allspice, bubblegum, and oak.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face denoting that I like the product.

Thoughts: Due to a miscommunication between my wife and me, we have been enjoying the heck out of this since we accidentally got a bottle a month or more ago. Yep, it got stuck in with the bottle of the Blackberry Old Fashioned that we reviewed back in early June and wasn’t intended for me at that time at all (though neither was the Blackberry Old Fashioned, so I lucked out twice). Instead, I received a lovely package a bit later containing a second bottle (the one in the photo above) and another bottle that we will be reviewing next week.

But back to the bourbon we are actually talking about. It’s just a great “every day" bourbon. Very pleasant, reasonably priced, nothing fancy (in the best way possible), and an enjoyable sip. Not so fancy that you need to devote your attention to it instead of the people around you, but good enough that you will enjoy the heck out of it. I really like it. If you are looking for just a solid bourbon to have on hand, you could do much worse than Penelope Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Village Bourbon and Village Bonfire

I’d like to thank Village Garage Distillery for sending these samples with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Two bottles of Village Garage Distillery spirits—Village Bourbon and Village Bonfire—standing side by side on a weathered wooden deck railing, with lush green trees softly blurred in the background on a sunny summer day.

Sometimes, the simplest things are the best. For example, right now I am reveling in the opportunity to just sit. It’s a wonderful feeling after spending the last couple of days moving large rocks and mulch from one part of my yard to the other. The good news is that I can finally look outside and not dread the work that still needs to be done. The bad news is that my back will probably remind me of every one of those rocks and every shovelful of mulch for the next few days. But sitting? That’s the thing I’m enjoying right now.

And I don’t know about you, but the "cocktail" I enjoy most is also the simplest. It’s a special thing I like to call Bourbon in a Glass. I know, I’m a wiz at naming things. And tonight I get to look at a bourbon that is very new to me, along with a flavored bourbon made from that bourbon. The folks at Village Garage Distillery in Vermont reached out to me in May and asked if I would be interested in looking at their bourbon. Being the type of person who doesn’t live anywhere near Vermont, I said yes.

So, let’s dig into the bourbon first, as that is the basis for the flavored bourbon. The bourbon comes with a very simple mash bill: 60% corn and 40% malted rye. Two ingredients. Doesn’t get much simpler than that. And since there isn’t an age statement on this, we can assume that it is at least four years old, though it could be older. Bottled at 90 proof, it is available on their website for $49.99.

Ok, now that we have the bourbon out of the way, let’s turn our attention to Village Bonfire. This takes the bourbon above and blends it with smoked maple syrup. Village Bonfire is also bottled at 90 proof. Now, I’m going to show my biases here. I love maple syrup. I can’t say the same for whiskeys with smoke as part of the flavor profile. So I am going to be as fair as I can and tell you how I feel, but also let you know how I think you and others may like it, which in this case will be quite different.

Let’s dig in, shall we?

Village Bourbon

Purchase Info: This was sent to me at no charge by the producer for review purposes. It is available at their website for $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (mL): $3.33

Details: 45% ABV. Mash bill: 60% corn, 40% malted rye (according to an email exchange with their Associate Distiller, the label just says rye).

Nose: My initial nosing note was Cherry Coke, so it's not too surprising that it broke down into the constituent notes of cherry and cola, along with cedar and floral vanilla.

Mouth: Gentle at first, with a spice that hits within moments. Earthy and corn-forward with notes of dried grain, cinnamon, leather, and a touch of fruit and barrel char underneath.

Finish: Warm and on the shorter side of medium length. Lingering notes of cherry, cola, cinnamon, dried corn, and a little bit of earthiness/smoke.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn Smiley face denoting that I like this product.

Thoughts: I'm giving this one a "like" rating. I'd drink way too much of it around a campfire if you brought it along, but I probably wouldn't buy it for my shelf, as I'm not the biggest fan of tasting the corn itself in a bourbon. I prefer corn to be there for mouthfeel and sweetness, not flavor. But this feels like it was made for a night of rustic camping under the stars while gathered around a fire that is starting to burn low. You know that time of night when the voices start to get quieter and you are only putting one piece of wood on at a time, just so there isn't as much to put out when you finally retire to your sleeping bag. That is what this bourbon brings to mind. It's not my preferred bourbon flavor profile, but I could see myself really enjoying it in the right setting.

Village Bonfire

Purchase Info: This was sent to me at no charge by the producer for review purposes. It is available at their website for $39.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (mL): $2.66

Details: Village Bourbon with Vermont smoked maple syrup. 45% ABV.

Nose: There is a medicinal, almost Band-Aid-like note at first from the smoke. Under that are cherry, vanilla, maple, and brown sugar.

Mouth: The same smoke-derived medicinal note appears on the palate, but so do notes of cherry, maple, vanilla, baking spice, wintergreen, and oak.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of maple, cherry, vanilla, baking spice, oak, the smoke-derived medicinal/Band-Aid note, and wintergreen.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn neutral face denoting that I this product is not for me, but that others will probably love it..

Thoughts: First, my biases. I have never found a smoky whiskey that I've liked. I am extremely sensitive to smoke in my drinks. Peated Scotch makes me want to gag. I just don’t care for the Band-Aid, candle wax, and similar notes that peat smoke brings to a peated Scotch. I also don't care for most wood-smoke flavors in bourbon. So, that said, this has smoke notes that split the difference between peat smoke and wood smoke for me. As you can guess, those notes severely detract from the flavor for me.

That said, this is a very well-crafted flavored bourbon. The mouthfeel is thick and rich. The flavors are complex. It isn't nearly as sweet as you might expect from a bourbon with maple syrup in it. If it didn't have that smoke note—or if I were someone who enjoyed both smoky bourbon and peated Scotch—this would be getting a "love" rating. However, as it is, I have to give it a neutral rating because, while I don't care for it, I think a lot of folks without my personal smoke sensitivity will really enjoy this one. Seriously, if you enjoy smoke notes, this is one to check out.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.