Belle Meade Sour Mash Straight Bourbon

Rating: 13/23 N: Some nice wood. It's dusty. I'm getting some real age out of this. Sour mash with a bit of orange zest. There are some faint herbal notes that I'm struggling to make out. A touch of minerals, but not in a bad way. It doesn't hit me with too much youth or alcohol. A really nicely balanced dry bourbon nose. P: A bit sweeter and lighter than the nose suggested. I get surprising notes of candy corn mixed with slices of orange that at times creates an almost sherbert-like effect. There's some wood wfor sure. It's a nice mellow layer, though it doesn't taste as mature as I'd expected. Plenty of spices come out, with pepper, cinnamon, and then ginger being the most prominent. I do get a bit of bitter herbal flavor with kind of a rye vibe heading into that sour mash. The candy sweetness really thickens my saliva in contrast to the bitter, dry rye. This certainly is not a balanced profile. I do taste minerality, but it's not too strong. F: Orange hard candy mixed with some bitter wood, and some spicy rye. None of the flavors are all that strong though. - Conclusion - This was really surprising. It's much more youthful than expected, but it's kind of fun. Don't write it off. I would say though that Elijah Craig Small Batch (15/23) is substantially better. The Elijah Craig tastes older and more decadent with a fuller profile and better balance and flavor execution. I'd considered whether this could be a good alternative to Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16/23) when I made my purchase and the answer is NO! This is decidedly inferior. Uncle Nearest 1856 (15/23) is definitely better than this, but not by a whole lot. While I can sip this, it's pretty borderline. A 14 seemed too generous for a while, but I'm considering it again now. Should I go below a 13? It's especially hard to tell because I've made great progress in clearing most spirits scoring less than a 13 off of my shelf. I.W. Harper 15 (14/23) is dry and spicy, but it tastes better put-together than this. I don't think that the gap is tremendous, but I might go down to a 12 on this. It's a 12 or 13. I think this can have a 13, but I'll be reassessing it later. Doing some more side-by-siding, I am now seriously considering a 14 again, but I'm definitely not confident. At times, this tastes about on par with the I.W. Harper, but other times it really doesn't. I think I need to stick with a 13 for now. I'm pretty disappointed in the palate following such a nice nose. I had pretty high expectations. This is fine, but definitely overpriced and difficult to enjoy.

Sorry I've been so quiet for *checks watch* 6.5 months 😬 It has been a crazy time, resulting in a decision to finally move back to Memphis. I will try to rectify this with a review of the very first thing I tried after setting up the new bar; and it's from Nashville, no less! (followed slowly by a massive backlog) The nose starts faint, but gets more pungent as it opens up: corn flakes and cherry, then mineral with a slight citrusy note. More of those sharper notes carry forward onto the palate. It really is more sour than sweet, and barely reads as a bourbon to me at first. The classic flavors are still in there, but it really forces you to peel back the layers. Lemon oil gives way to a rewarding cinnamon bark complement if you can find it, and a decent finish that only gets sweeter. As far as complexity goes, this is an outstanding complement to all the "honeyed vanillas" that you probably have in your bar... This appears to be a somewhat technical bourbon that succeeds at being "interesting", perhaps a result of not chill filtering (who knows?), and that in itself is worth a decent score. With that said, I was expecting this to be a lot more enjoyable though, even going so far as to make it a "house bourbon" candidate, but something about the sour notes just don't hit right for me... Oh well. Now I'm back to *real* liquor stores that aren't controlled by the state, so I don't even care! 😉

I love the Reserve version of this one but when I went to get a new bottle, I discovered the price had gone from $53 to $70 in less than a year. Shouldn't be surprised since the comparable Smoke Wagon is only a bit more. So, I decided to try this version. It's made in ultra small batches of two different high rye bourbons of at least 6 years resulting in a 30% rye product. The color is a nice caramel. While the fragrance is a bit shy, I like the buttery caramel with a little spicy citrus in the background on the nose. It reminds me of a muted version of E T Lee back when I could get it. This one shines on the palate. Here comes an almost intense rich buttery caramel The spicy citrus has been replace with a touch of nutmeg apples in the background and that's not a bad thing. There's a thick mouth feel, almost chewy, mouth filling. The finish is long and complex, it's nutty and oaky with some leather and spice. Nice. In rating this at 3.75. I cut back .25 due to the shy nose. The Reserve is a little older and a nicely developed nose.

Nose: On the nose I get vanilla, baking spices and tobacco. Palate: On the palate I get a pronounced vanilla that mingles with a fructose sweetness. Hints of ripe apples and pears. I get peanut shells at the very end. Finish: The finish is probably the biggest negative of this whiskey. There is a short and clean finish. The flavors fade away, leaving a subtle echo of sweetness with a little pepper on the tongue but no where else. I just cracked this bottle and am already pleasantly surprised by this whiskey. It was light, fruity, and very sweet on the palate. I found it to be a good change from the normal bourbon in my opinion. Maybe because of these reasons I gave it a bit higher score than I normally would. I’m a fan.

Nose: Caramel, light oak and spice Palate: Vanilla frosting a hint of spice Finish: Short, lingering sweetness A brand to relaunch a dead distillery is now itself deceased. When Nelson's Green Brier Distillery was relaunched, Belle Meade Bourbon was front and center. The bourbon is sourced from our favorite distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. A proprietary blend of different mash bills and yeast strains. What used to be available nationwide has been replaced with the rebranded Nelson Bros. brand. Besides the nostalgia and the history, this pour is a good sipper: light, simple, and sweet. The rye content gives it a little bit of spice, but overall, this one is all about sweetness.

Definitely getting some peaty notes - semi-scotch like. Nose has cherry, oak, vanilla. Taste has cherry, light notes of honey. The initial taste has kind of a burst of complexity and then the alcohol definitely takes over mid-to-tail end and kind of deadens the taste entirely. Definitely need to get into the bottle more but my initial reaction is that it may be good for a mixer (old fashioned’s).