So…I’m an asshole.
A few months ago, a reader reached out to me and asked if he could send me a sample of a private selection he was a part of. Just to see what I thought of it. I am almost always happy to accept free whiskey. I mean, “free” and “whiskey” are two of my favorite words. So I told him to send it over. That very nice email conversation inspired this post and I would love to thank him for both the sample and the idea. But, and here is where the asshole part of it comes in, apparently I deleted the entire email chain and then emptied my trash. So not only can I not give him a shout-out, but I also can’t let him know that the post he inspired is going live.
If you know the folks who made that little bottle above, let them know the post is finally live.
I’ve discussed how much I love to pick up whiskey store picks, I wrote an entire post on it last time around. So I’m not going to go into all that again. But as a reminder, one of the reasons I like store picks is that there is the possibility of variability. So, here is the gist of the post in a nutshell: I gathered a bunch of store picks from a couple of different stores and combined it with the sample the reader sent. I’m going to see how different they are.
Notes are in the order I tasted them in. Let’s get to it.
"Gangsta Riff" Barrel #16-10167
Purchase Info: This was generously sent in by a reader and inspired this post. I have no information on the price.
Nose: Wintergreen, nutmeg, caramel, and oak
Mouth: Nice mouthfeel with notes of nutmeg, wintergreen, and caramel.
Finish: Long and warm. Notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, and mint.
Thoughts: This is delicious. Consistent notes of nutmeg and wintergreen throughout. Nice job Spa City Bourbon.
Justins' House of Bourbon Barrel #17-0068
Purchase Info: Purchased as part of a 2-bottle set from BourbonOutfitter.com. Two 750 mL bottles for $89.99.
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.00
Details: 52.2% ABV. Distilled: 1/4/17. Bottled: 1/28/21.
Nose: Strong toffee note along with orange zest, baking spice, and black pepper.
Mouth: Spicy with notes of nutmeg, clove, orange zest, black pepper, and caramel.
Finish: Medium length and heat. Lingering notes of cinnamon, caramel, and oak.
Thoughts: This is a very "bourbony" bourbon. Nice spice and caramel notes accented by orange zest.
The Party Source- Barrel #16-12144
Purchase Info: $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle from the Party Source, Bellevue, KY.
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.00
Details: 51.6% ABV. Distilled: 8/30/16. Bottled 10/6/20.
Nose: Creamy with brown sugar, black tea, cinnamon and nutmeg, and just a hint of wood smoke.
Mouth: Spicy and hot with cinnamon, black tea, caramel, and oak.
Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Strong oak notes that fade to show cinnamon, creamy caramel, and milk chocolate.
Thoughts: Another very nice bourbon pick. This is much hotter and spice forward than the others have been. I'm really enjoying the tannic black tea undercurrents.
Justins' House of Bourbon-Barrel #16-3370
Purchase Info: Purchased as part of a 2-bottle set from BourbonOutfitter.com. Two 750 mL bottles for $89.99.
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.00
Details: 52.65% ABV. Distilled: 12/2/16. Bottled: 1/28/21.
Nose: Sweet caramel and vanilla, cherry, and a hint of baking spice.
Mouth: Almost gentle on entry, but then it blossoms with flavor. Notes of cinnamon, caramel, Earl Grey tea, and black pepper.
Finish: Sweet, warm, and long. Almost syrupy. Caramel, maple, and cinnamon notes linger.
Thoughts: A very sweet bourbon. I was intrigued by the cherry on the nose and could wish that had carried through. But that is just me musing and not a knock on what is there. I enjoy it very much. I've never found Earl Grey tea before so that's fun. And the syrupy finish with the sweet caramel and maple was divine.
The Party Source - Barrel #16-9641
Purchase Info: $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle from the Party Source, Bellevue, KY.
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.00
Details: 52.9% ABV. Distilled: 5/3/16. Bottled: 7/16/20.
Nose: Delicate nose on this one. We are teasing out caramel, vanilla, baking spice, and mint.
Mouth: Nice spice with citrus, ginger, cinnamon, caramel, and oak.
Finish: Warm and medium length. Lingering ginger spice and almond.
Thoughts: This is a fairly muted bourbon. The ginger and citrus notes are nice, but it feels a bit muddy overall.
The Party Source-Barrel #16-9523
Purchase Info: $49.99 for a 750 mL bottle from the Party Source, Bellevue, KY.
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.00
Details: 52% ABV. Distilled on 4/27/16. Bottled on 6/16/20.
Nose: Brown sugar, mint, vanilla, and cardamom.
Mouth: Orange Creamsicle, cinnamon, mint, and nutmeg.
Finish: Sweet and spicy. Medium length. Notes of orange, nutmeg, and tobacco.
Thoughts: Nice and citrusy. Bright and vibrant on the mouth and finish. Big fan of this one.
Conclusions:
So, did I learn anything in this experiment? Well, yes. New Riff makes damn fine bourbon and as I had hoped, there is a fair bit of diversity in the flavor profiles between bottles. There isn’t a bad bourbon in this bunch. Hell, there isn’t a mediocre bourbon in the bunch. Every single one is top-notch. As we tasted them head to head to decide our “favorite,” I found it funny that the one that came out on top was the one where my notes say it was muted and muddy (16-9641). It just goes to show that tasting notes are very subjective and what a difference a couple of days will make. I really enjoyed the reader-provided “Gangsta Riff” (it came in second in the unofficial rankings). The wintergreen notes were completely different than any of the others. I’d never gotten Earl Grey Tea on a bourbon before so that made 16-3370 from Justins’ House of Bourbon pretty interesting as well. Overall, this was a fun tasting.