Bomberger's Declaration (2019 Release)

Rating: 15/23 Surprisingly, this starts with a bit of cola (or maybe root beer) but without that usual metallic flavor. There's some prickly spice with a decent amount of wood, but it's not a tremendous amount. Although the wood avoids being a big flat bitter weight, it lacks substantial maturity and complexity. Fortunately, there's some other stuff going on in here, so the overall complexity is decent. I don't get the excitement about this. It isn't that robust or mature. I'd call it fairly comparable to Elijah Craig Small Batch. I thought about giving it a 14, but considering how close it is to Elijah Craig Small batch I landed on 15.

This is probably my favorite bottle in my extensive collection. It smells like marshmallows and creme brulee. A touch of vanilla and Maple syrup. Even with my nose entirely in the glass, there's almost no burn. Flavor wise, there's almost a French oak wine smoothness to this, although the flavor is burnt sugar and creamy vanilla pudding. The best part about this is the way it just coats your mouth and lingers. There's no part about this finish that disappoints. Every time I come back to this, I regret having not bought more bottles.

Rich vanilla/caramel nose at first with ice cube not typical of US*1 products (no marshmallow). After some time hints of marshmallow do start coming up however. Sweet finish but not very long and falls a bit flat. Nothing jumping out on the tongue. Will revisit (this is a neck pour)

Very smooth and somewhat sweet. Not a super long finish, but I really enjoyed sipping this neat. I admit that I’m a fan of much of what Michter’s does, so I was glad to find a bottle of this. Probably not worth the $100 price, but still a good Dram.

Nose is a light cherry vanilla. Easy drinker finishes with a barrel note. The barrel is not off putting or overpowering. Slight sweetness but not able to pinpoint source. Best summer up as sweet barrel.

Black cherries and brown sugar on the nose. Palate is sweet and a little sour, with notes of black pepper and candied fruit, followed by a spicy finish. Very pleasant.