Blue Note Premium Small Batch Bourbon 9 Year

Neat. Sample. This pour won a head-to-head blind with a Chattanooga single barrel last night. I capped it and let it sit over night to give the other ounce a proper tasting. So now that I know it’s Dickel, it smells like Dickel. But it is great Dickel! Burnt caramel, medicinal cherry, subtle smokiness. Hints of tobacco and leather. There is some almond too. Blind, I honestly standing doubting myself of this was a whiskey or a rum aged in whiskey barrels. It has these unique elements with the almond, medicinal and smokiness that were throwing me off. It is a nice nose overall. Mouthfeel is honestly thin for the proof. Oily, but thin. It costs just enough and gets out of the way. Mmm, I enjoy this quite a bit on the taste. It’s a cherry cheesecake with a coating of chocolate syrup over the top. The crust is more of a chocolate graham cracker too. Oh, there is some orange zest there too. Oh that orange is taking over on me. Geez. One of the best sources Dickel products I have had, especially for a 9 year single barrel. I wish all Dickel tasted like this. I wonder if it is not charcoal finished. If you know, let me know. I have such a love/hate relationship with Dickel and I don’t understand why yet.

Nose: you can definitely smell the Dickel right off the bat, not a bad thing just tells you this is sourced juice immediately. Once you move past the Flintstones vitamins notes you get some more fruit such as pears and apples with an ever so slight dusting of cinnamon. Palate: The Dickelness comes up once again on the front of the tongue. There is a wonderfully soft and oily mouthfeel to this pour, but the notes are fairly muted. Maybe some caramel and vanilla, along with apples again. Finish: This might be the best part as you start to get some wood spice making appearance at the end. Not much heat either, but is still a change of pace from the nose and palate. Overall: nothing wrong with this, but you could of just packaged this as Dickel and called it a day. Not sure that Blue Note really put their "stamp" on this in anyway. Not bad at all, but at the end of the day you are drinking Dickel and nothing beyond that.

Assessed in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Not a ton going on here. Mild green apple, mild vanilla and a touch of oak. Adding a few drops of water . . . this has amplified the green apple but done little else. Taste - Neat - Pretty one-dimensional. Tart apple, vanilla bean and wood. Adding a few drops of water . . . This has dumbed it down. I am only picking up mild oak and vanilla. Final thoughts - It tastes like whiskey. And not an impressive one. I see stellar reviews for the Blue Notes with age statements. Not sure what the craze is for the 9. I’ll hold out for the 17 and see what it’s like.

Still definitely Dickel on the second pour of the bottle, but decidedly less so. This taste “amber”. I know that’s color but thats how it tastes, golden. Honey, syrup, light fruit. Barely cooked pancakes. Less flintstones than straight Dickel after it opened up a bit. Ain’t bad for the price, but took a hunt to find it on shelves around me.. Wouldn’t call it a must stock but its definitely a try. Especially for all the Dickel haters. Could make you change your mind. A great way to ease into that Tennessee flavor. Or just buy anything from Chattanooga or Roaming Man from Sugarlands for a better Tennessee Whiskey.

Nose... Vanilla, green apples, butterscotch, and an herbal touch. Color... A light to medium copper. Taste... Seasoned wood, pepper, grass, cherry, slight ethanol, and dessert notes filter through... Overall... Two nights in with this one and I'm just not sold. It's age statement led me to believe I'd find some real depth of flavors after nine years in the barrel. That just want the case. It's definitely good, and it has some complexity, just not what I was assuming I'd find...

I was hoping for more, but didn’t get it. This has a nice brown sugar, banana and oak smell on the nose. The flavor profile has a sweet and pronounced wood, more brown sugar, toasted almond, caramel and butter to it. At 93 proof, I thought this would be subtle in alcohol-I was wrong. This is nice, not overly complex. Decent for the price.