Chattanooga Whiskey Bottled in Bond (Spring 2017 Vintage)

Neat. Sample. Time is passing fast, hard to believe Chattanooga is ready for a bottles-in-bond release. Very excited fo try this for the first time. And the nose does not disappoint on first impression. Nice blend of malt and toast. It’s a beautiful blend of sweet and savory. Getting this nice BBQ rub with apple, cinnamon, brown sugar. Little corn bread too. Lots of vanilla. Getting a cherry cola now too - it’s morphing a bit from the first impression. Mouthfeel is a bit watery. Hmm, it packs less flavor than the nose let on but the finish is nice. Initially it is all brown sugar and cinnamon, hint of apple. Transitions into that savory BBQ rub and the cherry cola. Malt and baking spices, hint of pepper on the finish. On the finish, a vanilla emerges and lingers and carries the pepper along the way. I like it, but I like it less than I expected. The combo of sweet/savory is nice, it finishes strong but I would buy a 111 proof over this.

This is a really tough rating. On the plus side, I do get a fair amount of complexity going on in the nose with the different malted barley strains. Additionally the mouth feel and finish is outstanding. I do get some of the chocolate come through and on the finish a bit of cherry and this definitely drinks differently than traditional bourbons. On the side I don’t care for as much, I get an ashy taste that pulls the rating down for me. For the $45, this does deliver a different experience and glad I have it. Will see how it opens up over time. Retried in late Jan …. Still the same. That ashy taste is quit off putting and really hard to get past. Not looking to buy another and the 3 stars I originally rated would likely go down. Just not a fan.

Aroma - caramel and apple slices. Smoke and butterscotch. There another fruity component but I can’t quite pin point it Taste- Quite a bit of complexity blends nicely with the bourbon heat. Sweet floral notes with butterscotch come through. The smoke is more subtle here than in the nose, not picking up too much char. Dark fruit presence as well. A couple drops of water and the butterscotch, oak and vanilla really start to shine through. Overall, it’s another outstanding offer by Chattanooga.

Cracked 1 week ago, tasting neat in glencairn. N: heavy cinnamon, vanilla, tart cherry, ethanol. P: cinnamon toast, glazed butter, lime rind, sawdust, smoky oak. F: a lot of burn with smoke and oak. Overall: nose and tasting notes are muted by the ethanol and burn. Drinks young and proof seems higher than 100.

This my follow up rating as I edited taste from a few months ago. Has not opened up well. That ashy taste is even more pronounced. I just don’t enjoy it so fair drop in the rating if you want to see my original review look it up but this has not aged well.

The nose on this is a bit odd to me initally, after it sat a bit, I warmed up to it.The high malt comes through across the palate feel, very reminiscent of scotch. I get loads of chocolate, & a good level of rye spice. Finish is ultra short.