Belle Meade Bourbon Sherry Cask Finish

Rating: 15/23 I've heard great things about this one and have been wanting to try it for some time now. I barely missed my opportunity a couple years ago to get a pack of 3 200 ml bottles of cask-finished Belle Meade, but I was fortunate enough to get a sample of this one, which I've heard the most praise for. This will be extra interesting because I loved Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve, but was not impressed by regular Belle Meade. N: There's a musty funk here that makes me think concerningly of wet cardboard. Dry barrel spice starts coming out though. Then a bit of rich grain. A little minerality, There isn't as much happening on the nose as I'd expected. There is a very light layer of restrained wood in the back though. Waiting another couple of minutes, more smells start to appear. Peanut shells and faint English walnut oil. The faintest cherry and orange zest. P: Cherry sherry sweetness hits first, with some funk that makes me think a bit of PX. There's some nice spiciness too though. There's a feeling of weight to this spirit too - perhaps the effect of some oiliness. Maybe this is finished in PX and oloroso? There are still some mineral notes here though and it the low-ish proof keeps it from being all that full and bold. There are lot of dried fruit flavors here, starting with loads of raisin, working though faint banana and unsweetened cranberries, with very faint hints of wild blueberries. The wood does start showing up and it's a bit flat and tannic (probably the French oak to blame here). There's a low spicy burn throughout that's a bit hard to place. There's a bit of caramel that's also oddly malty. Oh, and I at times get this slightly off cherry syrup with bittersweet chocolate. F: Tannic with mild burn. Perhaps faint leather. Occasional hints of dried fruit. I did get a little bit of just straight clove flavor a couple of times. - Conclusion - This may not have the leathery sherry finish I was hoping for, but it's a tasty bourbon that greatly improves upon the base Belle Meade. This is funky, so it's a bit hard to place, but it doesn't have nearly the same problems as Rabbit Hole Dereringer (12/23), which is plagued by far too much PX. Is this as good as Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16/23) though? Thats a tougher call. My inclination is to say that this isn't quite as good. Old Forester Signature (15/23) is also pretty funky and tastes pretty competitive with this. I'm leaning toward a 15 here. I'm certainly not inclined to say that this is better than the Old Forester, so this still could be a 14. I.W. Harper 15 (14/23) seems pretty competitive with this. I might be looking at a 14 here. Switching back to the regular Belle Meade, I no longer find this to be such a big improvement. The other bourbons largely demonstrate much bigger quality gaps than the one I'm observing between these two. This is an improvement, for sure, but not a huge one. It's quite clear that something similar to regular Belle Meade was used in this. Coming back to I.W. Harper 15, I think I would take this over that. Uncle Nearest 1856 (15/23) seems quite competitive with this. This is more sweet, funky and off-kilter, but also less boring. Russell's Reserve 10 is still probably better, carrying more complexity and a more traditional bourbon profile, but I'm less sure now. George Dickel Bottled In Bond (1st release) (16/23) isn't as complex and interesting as this, but it's better-executed in that it has a nice core flavor and fewer off notes. I think I'd take it over this, though they're close. This is fun. It has the nice sherried finish of a Scotch - and Belle Meade does remind me a bit of a scotch with its sweet candy corn flavor mixed in with the rest, somehow. I like this, but it is definitely something very different. I started at a 15 for this, then I considered going down to a 14. Now, I'm considering going up to a 16. I think I need to end on a 15 here. Thank you @ctbeck11 for this sample.

It's that time again. That magical time of year when all the "Best Whiskey of the Year" lists come out. I've been searching around and found that most of these lists consist of highly aged Scotch and limited release or allocated Bourbon, and while I'm sure these drams are delicious, the fact remains that most of us will likely never taste most of these, so over the next five days, I present to you this longhorn's humble top 5 whiskies of 2020. Most of us could agree that this was not our best year. However, all the time spent at home resulted in expanded imbibing of our favorite brown beverage. This is the criteria for my list: (1) The whiskey has to be readily available on store shelves. No special releases. This means the most excellent Wild Turkey Masters Keep expressions I tried and rated this year are out, though you should feel confident to buy on sight. (2) Every dram on my list is $80 or less. Everyone should be able to taste great whiskey, and yes, I realize my definition of "great" might be different than others, but that's the fun of what we all do here, and (3) I had to have tasted it in 2020. None of the whiskies on my list were released this year, but this year is when I finally got around to them. Coming in at #3 is perhaps the most unique entrant on my list this year. Once derided, MGP juice is now sought after product in its well-aged format, which seems to hit its stride around 9-11 years. Some of these "craft" startups that build a line around MGP product are starting to come into their own, either by aging the juice further, doing unique cask finishes, or in the case of this bottle, both. I wanted to included the Wild Turkey Masters Keep Revival on this list, but it violates my rule of no special releases. This bottle is still readily available and checks all the right boxes for a finished bourbon. Finishing a bourbon in sherry casks is different than finishing a Scotch/Irish/Japanese whisky in a sherry cask. The latter tends to be dominated with the sherry, making it a much more sherry-forward experience. Because bourbon is a...feistier spirit shall we say, I want the sherry to complement and envelop the bourbon, not mask its inherent spicy, caramel flavors. This bottle achieves this splendidly, with a oaky, spicy, mature MGP bourbon wrapped in a fruity, jammy sherry blanket. If you're not careful, you'll find yourself with an empty bottle faster than you'd like. At around $80 depending on your market, this is the most expensive bottle on my list this year. If that's a bit steep for your budget, may I also recommend the equally excellent Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve for about $20 less depending on your market. Cheers!

Now this is a whiskey nerd's whiskey. First, the details. This is 9-11 year old high rye MGP bourbon (aged just right in my opinion), which is then further finished in what I'm guessing are quality, fresh Spanish Oloroso sherry casks, not tired used ones like some Scotch distillers are using (cough...Highland Park). I'm reviewing batch 19-01, bottle 154 (love the details and transparency). There's a lot of MGP bourbon on the market. A lot of startups and craft distillers are using it, some larger brands like Bulleit use it, and these guys at Nelson's Green Brier are using it. Some people get snobby about sourced whiskey, but I've noticed that everyone who does source it does something to it, such as age it longer or finish it in something else. If you've read my reviews for a while now you know I'm a huge sherry head, so this seemed like a well met match. The nose isn't what you'd expect. While you can detect the sherry finish, with all the classic fruit and nuts, the bourbon isn't masked or covered up. You can instantly tell the rye spice is there, but the sherry finish has almost sanded down the rough edges, balancing it out and complementing the MGP bourbon rather than compromising it; enhancing the overall experience. The taste is magnificent. All the hype on this is worthy. Usually a high rye, well-aged bourbon smacks you in the face on first visit (think Knob or Turkey). This would do that were it not for the sherry, which again, complements the bourbon and enhances it rather than masking it. The classic caramel, vanilla, and rye spice are balanced with a fruity, velvety coat that initially confuses the experienced palate, but repeat visits present a cohesive portrait combining the best of old and new world techniques. The lingering notes on the finish are reminiscent of raspberry dark chocolate ganache and caramel praline, with a lingering spicy sweetness that begs you to go back for more. A finished bourbon isn't really such an outrageous notion. When the early American settlers were making rye and corn whiskies, there weren't always new, charred oak barrels to use (That process wasn't adopted until the late 1700's). Rather, the settlers would use what barrels they had on hand, which were often fortified wine casks from Spain and Portugal. In a way, this bourbon and its Madiera finished cousin are a possible snapshot of what early American whiskey tasted like. That's about the tastiest history lesson I've ever received. Cheers all!

Final entrant in the cask finish BM. Cognac and Madeira were both 6-9yr blends. This guy is only 9-10 so age stated 9yr. I don't know if its the extra 3 years or the sherry finish but DAMN this is easily better than the others and I really liked the Madeira. This has a refinement and richness along the lines of high end scotch. The easy smoothness of the deep dense flavors set it apart. Poured neat, nose is succulent fruits, light maple and salted caramel with some nuts and oak. The rye is present but in check as well as ethanol . Palate is scrumptious with dark fruit, maple fudge, melted toffee, oak, butter and rye spice all tied together with a cohesiveness you have to taste to understand. This is bourbon for scotch lovers. Tastes more like it was sourced from Glendronach rather than MGP. Finish is long with the palate ringing true without going dry or bitter. Sweet toffee, some cigar leaf and buttery oak for miles. The overall experience is quite impressive. Really no discussion whether to purchase full bottle at price(70-80$). I will have this as BM is a unique profile on its own and well worth the base offering. This sherry finish 9yr takes it to another level and is elite imo......95/100... Easy recommend and purchase despite lower proof...That's another thing most of my top bourbons are high proof bruisers this one here doesn't need that to deliver the goods.

batch 18-12 bottle 1379 I feel perhaps we need to discuss batches on this one more and this is going to be a case of this. Nose - sweet baby fruits and brown sugars. Sharp alcohol notes, really surprising on this, but yeah alcohol bites at 46%. Tart and tannic oak, very bitter. Those oak notes are tough to get past. Raisins and dates and all kinds of dark fruits with little sweetness are really strong here on the mid to finish of the nose. Up front no bourbon sweetness but it's there, just hard to get to. Taste - Dry, bitter, HEAVY oak and then on the finish it transitions to more oak. Not that vanilla barrel influenced oak, but more just a dry wood plank. There's just this light fruity sherry thing that's generic and boring that then gives way to the tannins. I'd give a more complete review but I can't get past the oak. This is one of the least enjoyable finished bourbons I have had. There is a good whisky in here, but it's been killed. I"m at a 1 star. That said I think some batches are less oaked and you'll enjoy them. But I want to be clear, this is a different oak than over oaked old whisky. It's young oak over oaked and I like that even less.

Powerful aroma for a 90 proof consisting of dried fruit (raisin, date, fig) potpourri, walnut, tobacco, pepper, and soft, subtle oak. No ethanol to speak of. Very inviting. Palate brings the dried date and raisin from the nose, along with chocolate, marzipan, cinnamon, licorice, almond, and toffee. Flavors are complex and punchy as hell for the proof point. Finish continues elements found in the palate. Short but memorable with chocolate, black cherry, sticky moist pipe tobacco, leather, clove, and wine-soaked oak chips. Spice level is low, which really lets the sherry finish shine. Mouthfeel extremely full bodied. Drying finish. A unique and delicious depression. You would never guess it’s 90 proof given the richness and decadence of the flavor profile. So sherry forward it’s ridiculous, but I found it to be a good thing. At $80, I regret nothing and could see myself rebuying.