Batch 206 Barrell Raider II Irish Whiskey

Rating: 11/23 N: Dry, grainy, some mild bourbon character (dry wood, vanilla, a little cinnamon. P: Light and fairly dry, but crisp and clean. Grain first, then vanilla, and a sort of fuller sweetness that adds a touch of viscosity to this otherwise thin whiskey. A bit of ethanol, but not too much. Some cinnamon and a black pepper burn. Not super complex and the flavors do muddle together a big, but it's an easy sipper. There's a light woody backing. That pepper burn eventually turns a bit harsh. There's a bit of an oily flavor with a larger sip, which is a nice addition. Occasionally it think I taste a little tangerine or cherry, but I'm not really sure. F: Light. Vanilla, grain, light malt. Dry with some restrained sweetness at points. Clean and smooth, despite the palate being a bit harsh. - Conclusion - I'm kind of liking this better than Glendalough Double Barrel and Proper No. Twelve. There's a bit more going on here. That said, I don't like it a lot more. I was kind of impressed by my first sip, thinking that I might give this a 13, but subsequent ones have not been so kind. I do like that I can taste the Batch 206 Old Log Cabin Bourbon finishing - which I sure should given that it was finished for two years. The Old Log Cabin's high (49%) Barley concentration really suits this well. The faults I find here I think stem from the Irish whiskey and relatively young age, not the Old Log Cabin Bourbon. I'm looking at a 10 or 11 here. Considering that it's better than the Old Log Cabin, I'm going with an 11.

Rating: 6/23 There is definitely a rye scent on the nose, so this must be a grain whiskey. There's also some dry wood on the nose. The palate is interesting. It has that Irish floral flavor mixed with some strong wood and sweetness, but the flavors taste artificially combined. There's some weird bitter flavor in here that I can't make sense of. There's a strong artificial caramel and alcohol flavor coming out that is really hard to swallow. This is more interesting than José Cuervo with its graininess, but the actually execution of flavors if of comparable quality an they don't really balance well. The balance gradually improves, but then the awful caramel really stands out. It tastes super young and it's really hard to drink. The finish actually isn't that bad with some grain and nectar/honey standing out and highlighting the floral notes a bit without adding that awful bitter flavor.