Cyrus Noble Bourbon

Color: Light-medium orangey amber Nose: Nice nose! Slightly sweet with leather and cloves (think ,"holidays"). Apples, and some oh-so-slight alcohol whiff. One of those noses that you hope follows through on the palate... Palate: Light mouth feel, with an initial blast of heat at the back of the throat. This may sound weird, but this is the most "refreshing" bourbon I have ever tasted. Fruity and spicy, slightly sweet. But... I'll be honest. I was hoping this would knock me out. But it's nothing all that impressive — yet it's nothing to turn your nose up at, either. It's good. But I like my bourbon to be more smokey, nutty, and slightly more robust. This reminds me a lot of other "good but not outstanding" bottles I've had, where lightness and more of a citrus/fruity side dominates. Maybe subsequent pours will reveal more...? But as of the first two, it earns a respectable 2.75 stars with room to grow. P.S. The bottle is nice. Light coming in from behind reveals some interesting details. Added: 8/18/23: Yeah, this is not destined for a regular spot in my bourbon rotation. Tastes more like a light single malt whiskey to me. Downgrading from 2.75 to 2.5. Added 11/25/23: I've had this sitting around for a while now, and figured I'd give it another go tonight. I detected something on the palate tonight that I hadn't noticed before: An almost beer-like hoppy flavor. Very strange. Not a fan of beer, but I will be generous, and keep my rating at 2.5.

It's 5 year old juice from Heaven Hill (they don't say it outright, but the clues--and the flavour profile--point right to it), and that's fine--except I can get older, better Heaven Hill juice locally for so much cheaper. Not a bad whiskey, it's just hurt by its pricetag and competition. Flavours of chalky vanilla, grape drink cream soda, corn husk, rye. Leather, cinnamon. Caramel corn, cut grass. Chocolate, orange zest, a bit boozey. Banana, custard, a distant lumber yard. Light in the mouth and very "typical" bourbon flavours. Maple, mint. Fine bourbon that does an adequate rendition of what I expect from bourbon. But I'll stick with Evan Williams Black Label or Single Barrel for my Heaven Hill fix.

Old worn leather nose. Reminds me of chewing the laces of my baseball glove as a kid (minus the salt). I held the juice forward in my mouth hitting the front part of my tongue, adding a little oxygen (my wife hates it when I do this, she calls it slurping) helps open up the rich tobacco and orange flavor. There is almost no heat until the finish. Which grabs the sides of your tongue and back of your throat. I love this whiskey. Reminds me of being dirty and playing baseball all day.

I found this Bourbon easy to drink, but the herbal or grass note was fairly strong. I tried it without knowing the history at all and thought it might be sourced form MGP with it's Rye notes. Hearing it's from Heaven Hill is surprising for me.

It's not a bad bourbon. The price tag hurts it. Pretty typical rye bourbon notes. Kind of an uneventful flat finish. A little citrus, and caramel up front. For my money, I'd buy Evan Williams single barrel.

This is the only bottle I've had to give away. It tasted like fake sugar or flat coca-cola. Thin, floral, and with an unpleasant aftertaste. Did not like it even in cocktails. No longer in my collection.