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186 items found for "starlight"

  • Middle West Cask Strength Straight Wheated Bourbon Review - How Batch 001 Became an Instant Classic

    Company on Label:  Middle West Spirits Whiskey Type:  Straight wheated bourbon whiskey Mash Bill Percentages

  • High N' Wicked Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Review

    Company on Label: High N' Wicked (Distilled by New Riff) Whiskey Type: Straight Rye Whiskey Mash Bill

  • Old Forester 1910 'Old Fine Whisky' Kentucky Straight Bourbon Review

    This twice-barreled bourbon comes to us from the legendary lineup of Old Forester 'Whiskey Row' bourbons. I've long wondered how I'd rank this up against 1920 - a whiskey I know and love. I've always thought this to be the more tannic sister to that release, but never ventured into a writing anything down on this bottle. Old Forester's website describes the history behind this release, saying: On October 22nd. 1910, a fire on the bottling line halted production of Old Forester. Mature whisky ready to be bottled, instead was stored in a secondary barrel. What emerged was a delightful whisky, remarkable enough to become an entirely new expressions – Old Fine Whisky. Today mimicking this historic bottling, this unique expression of Old Forester has undergone a second barreling, granting it exceptional character, a smooth and sweet flavor and a clean, crisp finish. Entering the second barrel at a low 100 proof allows more of the sweet wood sugars to dissolve into the whiskey. 1910 Old Fine Whiskey is the fourth and final expression of the Whiskey Row Series, presented at 93 proof. A cult favorite experiment is to mix this in equal parts with 1920 to create '1915'; let me know if the comments if you have ever tried that & if I should give it a go too! Company on Label: Old Forester Distilling Company (owned by Brown-Forman) Whiskey Type: Bourbon Mash Bill Percentages: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Barley Proof: 93° Age: NAS Further identification: This is the old style label 1910 that had the words 'Old Fine Whisky' overlayed with the explanation body of text Nose: I can smell the candy sweetness coming off this glass from quite a distance. Port wine ladened oak and marshmallow jump out at me first. Leather, plum and raspberry sit in the nostrils strongly with a hint of something synthetic tying everything together. A swirl of the glass releases a huge wave of black pepper, chocolate and allspice. Nutmeg settles back in quickly after the explosive effects of the perturbations of the glass subside. A glutton for punishment, I swirl again... This time drying vanilla and heavy charcoal char jump out at me. It is so drying it stings the back of my throat slightly, forcing a sip of water before even getting into tasting. Light, tranquil raspberry continues to be the dominant fruit. Let's jump down into a sip now. Returning I continue to find a lot of wood tones. A dusty funk forces me to sneeze. Herbal green tea with just a hint of lemon begins to sit in the low glass. The empty glass smells metallic alongside honey and overnight oats. Palate: This is incredibly fruit forward on first sip. I get creamy plum, raspberry and dried cherries. The linger is short and drying as the nose was also eliciting. Another sip is quite tannic with dark jams interlacing with herbal notes now. A slight raisin flavor introduces a new found spice I wasn't prepared for. Nutmeg meets butter... oddly. Again I return to a plum, raspberry and cherry medley as the glass starts to get lower. My last sip is all wine tannins and chocolate. Dry cornbread, plum and molasses mix nicely in the linger which is still short despite having a handful of sips to build up some backbone. Rating: 3/5 (Decent. I can go either way on it.) While there is great volume of flavors on this pour and a nice array of different characteristics a whiskey drinker can pull out of this pour, I don't think the overall storyline of this glass is quite cohesive. It seems to just throw things at you at any given moment and never feels like it has a true purpose. I think whiskey drinkers new and old can find something to love in this glass, but I couldn't see it as my personal daily sipper (hence why I am still drinking the old label before they updated their artwork!). Let me know below if you agree or disagree with my rating. Cheers!

  • Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 17 Year Barrel Proof Bourbon Review

    I'm almost reminded of the pervasive cinnamon hots that some of the Starlight Cigar Batches take on from

  • Colonel E.H. Taylor Straight Rye Flash Review

    Company on Label: Old Fashioned Copper (Buffalo Trace) Whiskey Type: Straight Rye Whiskey Mash Bill Percentages

  • Hard Truth French Oak Harvest Rye Review: A Taste of Measured Expectations

    Additionally, my knowledge of Indiana whiskey reached as far as MGP and a tiny bit of Starlight . Whiskey Type:  Straight rye whiskey finished in toasted French oak Mash Bill Percentages: 78% Indiana

  • Elijah Craig Straight Rye Review - In Depth Tasting Notes for a Cocktail Mixer's Fever Dream

    Company on Label: Elijah Craig (Heaven Hill) Whiskey Type: Straight Rye Whiskey Mash Bill Percentages

  • Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Review - Elegance & Refinement in the Era of the Rye Renaissance

    Company on Label:  Wild Turkey Distilling Co Whiskey Type:  Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Mash Bill Percentages Ranking: Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph 10 Year Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Brook Hill Indiana Straight Rye Whiskey Barrel 1607 "Want" Parker's Heritage Collection 10 Year Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey WRITTEN

  • Wild Turkey Master's Keep Voyage Review - Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished in Jamaican Rum Casks

    Wild Turkey is back at it again as they extend their Master's Keep line into 2023. With Campari relaunching the Appleton Estate branch not too long ago, one can easily see how this collaboration came about. I don't have much to say about this release other than the fact that I was able to purchase it for myself at MSRP recently & I've had a handful of samplings since then to form a well-rounded, educated opinion on the whiskey inside the glass. Let's get into that part! Company on Label: Wild Turkey Whiskey Type: Finished Bourbon Mash Bill Percentages: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley Proof: 106° Age: 10 years Further identification: This 2023 release is a collaboration between Wild Turkey & Appleton Estate Master Blender, Joy Spence Nose: Cornbread jumps out of the glass first before honeydew melon and lemon yogurt parfait swing in elegantly. The nose-feel is cream-forward with hints of citrus tones trickled in all throughout. Nosing deeper reveals some of the rum influence such as pineapple and a bit of that hallmark funk. Ultimately the finish here feels quite light and the base bourbon shines predominantly. Raspberry and chocolate tones proliferate in the glass as the liquid warms in my glencairn. Deeper tones of peanut shells start to build as the glass opens up. Time for a sip! Coming back from a sip I find plenty of barrel influence coming out. Leather and black pepper tingle the nostrils before parting ways for classic bourbon caramel and creamy cinnamon roll aromas swing in. Clean linen tones and bright sandy beaches come to mind as I nose through the glass as it gets low. Overall this is funky, sweet and fun. The empty glass smells of Summer flowers, juicy pear, mandarin orange, and dusty oak. Palate: My first sip is dangerously delicious with honey, rum-soaked raisin, and creamy layers of tiramisu jumping out of the glass. Floral funk swirls atop a platter of chocolate, almonds and coffee cake. Another sip produces a creamy wave of vanilla, white lily and butter pecan. The linger is tingly like dulce de leche with nutmeg. A longer swish in the mouth produces calm layers of molasses, brown sugar and juicy squeezed orange. It's quite oily on the mouthfeel as creamy caramel drizzles coat the tongue. Overall the glass feels quite akin to a sweet bowl of praline ice cream. Traces of graham cracker jump out between the sweeter tones. This is proving quite crushable for 106 proof. As I sip near the bottom of the glass I find everything to be incredibly agreeable as hints of cornbread round the glass out. My last sip is oily with caramel, candied almond and peanut brittle. TL;DR: Balanced, sweet & crushable Rating: 4/5 (Really good; I want one of these on my shelf.) This is a damn fine pour & one I find ultimately quite crushable. Value seems to be the big question circling in most whiskey circles. With a newly hiked MSRP, you might have to look long at your wallet before you think about adding this one to your shelf. I personally thoroughly enjoyed it, and think you will too, but I will leave the thought experiment of value up to you, my dear reader. Hope this helps!

  • Smoke Wagon Red White and Blue Straight Bourbon Review

    Company on Label: Nevada H&C Distilling Co Whiskey Type: Bourbon Mash Bill Percentages: 60% Corn, 36% Rye, 4% Malted Barley Proof: 92.5° Age: NAS Further identification: Purchased mid 2021. Red, White and Blue specialty label Nose: Apples! Through and through. Bright zesty caramel. The smoke of the fire in front of me is getting in the way of pulling more smells out of this at the moment. Some cinnamon-like sandalwood incense smells showing up how. Dry, light vanilla more like a paper or cloth smell. Very mellow and pleasant when not trying to dig too deep. Palate: Pear forward. Some citrus zest. Younger oak probably around 3-4 years? After taste is something like a dry paprika spice. Cloves and orange peel zest. A hint of rye grain is the only flash of youth that presents slightly metallic. The predominant mood of this pour is a spicy caramel linger. It's a nice warming sensation on this cool, rainy New England day outdoors. Rating: 3/5

  • Blood Oath Pact 9 Review - Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks

    Company on Label: Blood Oath (bottled for Lux Row Distillers) Whiskey Type: Finished Kentucky Straight more of a port influence than sherry, giving off a feeling that this glass can't seem to get its story straight

  • Little Book Chapter 7 "In Retrospect" Review - Freddie Noe's Blend of 4 to 18 Year Straight Whiskeys

    Beam Whiskey Type: Blended Straight Whiskey Mash Bill Percentages: Undisclosed proportions of bourbon to 18 years) Further identification: This 2023 release is a blend of 18, 17, 9 & 4 year old Kentucky straight bourbon, 10 and 4 year Kentucky straight rye, and a 5 year straight malt whiskey finished in applewood

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