David Nicholson 1843

In honor of staying out of the rain and society, NO I AM NOT actively isolating myself from the huflue, just enjoying life, I've dusted off this bottle of David Nicholson setting on my shelf. It's a low dollar bottle so expectations are fairly low, this is a Luxco product and reputedly sourced from various distilleries, so as much as always YOUR mileage may vary. If you handed me a snifter of this my first inclination would be "oh this from Barton" it's a load of musty dusty barn wood with a faint hint of sweet honey and corn. On the nose, nothing wrong with it but nothing special either. Taking a taste I would say THIS IS Very Old Barton, one of the higher proof offerings and I would probably bet a good stack of dollar bills on it. Really nothing like Weller or Makers so these are NOT all a "wheated" mash and that suggestion is way off the mark. I would give this a strong corn with the average 25% of rye and barley. Another possibility would be a HH's Evan 1783 in this style of mash. So is that bad? No of course not, but it's not a "hidden gem" bottle either, you certainly wouldn't want to overpay for this juice. Adding a snit of water takes away some of the after burn and mellows it just a bit making it a nice 100 proof standard corn bourbon. In a few years, we'll see what the rebooted Lux Row distillery does with this, assuming they keep the label active, but right now in no way is this a "must try", I would say much more it's for the average curious enthusiast like myself, and of course those on a serious budget. At the worst a bottle of this will keep you warm on a cold night and help chase the flu bugs away! Cheers and be well!

I picked this up on a whim when I saw it on the discontinued shelf, knowing nothing about the product or brand. That was almost 1 year ago, and it's taken me a while to get through this underwhelming bottle. Oak and ethanol hit the nose quickly. There are dark fruits and dusty corn hidden behind it, but they are faint. It's actually a decent nose, standard bourbon profile despite it being a wheated bourbon. The nose is the best part of this bourbon. On the tongue I get bold notes of oak and corn. The pleasant spice and sweetness I typically associate with bourbon is absent. It then starts to burn on the finish. I love high proof bourbons, and this is harsher than almost everything I've tasted over 100 proof. It's actually more pleasant one year later after mellowing in the bottle. When I first opened it I would've rated it closer to 1.5 than my rating today. It tastes like a cheap whiskey I drank as a freshman in college, which should not be the case for a $30 bourbon. Although I love Heaven Hill, I am not a fan of Larceny. I wish I knew this was sourced from leftover Larceny and Rebel Yell barrels because that would've been an automatic hard pass. This is one of my least favorite bourbons to date. Luckily I can dilute this with Coke and Dr. Pepper to finish the last few pours in the bottle. I'm interested in trying the Reserve, but I'll try to find it at a bar first.

David Nicholson 1843 was another bourbon I had been wanting to try from the selection wheated bourbons that were formerly produced by Stitzel-Weller during the 20th century. I let this sit for about 10 minutes. When I dove my nose around this, I smelled ethanol and a faint scent of maple syrup. I picked up caramel, butter, maple syrup, and some wood on the palate. The finish was medium-length, and it's a little oaky with a bit too much heat for my taste. This isn't bad, but I wouldn't pay $35 for this again. I really like Larceny, and I'm also a fan of Rebel 100. If I were to buy this on a regular basis: 1) I'd have to be able to find it near me as opposed to ordering it online from a liquor store in California, and 2) I wouldn't be willing to pay more than I pay for a bottle of Larceny Small Batch ($26.99) or Rebel 100 ($21.99). Without taking price and availability into account, I'd say this is a decent 3.5/5. However, as I feel this is a little bit overpriced and isn't available nearby me, I'm bumping my rating down to a 2.75.

I own a bottle of David Nicholson Reserve, which I’ve reviewed. But now it’s time to try it’s wheated bourbon counterpart. The nose was somewhat muted at first, so I gave it a solid 15mins to open up. Now it has very dusty corn, sweet vanilla, light oak, honey, a grassy note, a light note of cooked stone fruit, and a little bit of some baking spices. The palate is bitter and a little sweet with a medium-ish body. There is honey, corn, light grass, wood shavings, and some spices. The finish is slightly bitter with lingering honey, corn and grass. After a while there is a slight peanut note that sticks to the checks. There’s a burn on the mid to back palate and the top of the throat. The burn lasts longer than the flavors. On the flavor side, it has a medium finish, but the burn goes on for a very long time. Not painful really, the burn just covers up the flavors, instead of enhancing them. Really not bad at all, but many more better options at this price point. It’s brother, David Nicholson Reserve, is the one to choose.

Very pleased to find this at Specs Liquors. Have read about this bourbon so grabbed a bottle. I really like wheaters- Weller, Larceny, even Makers and Rebel Yell. This is quite a different animal. Poured neat, thick legs coat the glass. Nose has dusty spice, glove leather, molasses, buttery oak and a whiff of smoke. Not your typical wheater. Palate is spicy oak and cinnamon with peanut shell, singed pie crust and a nice smoky char. Carries the 100 proof well. Quite tasty with a looong fantastic finish of oak, spice and char. Has the trademark HH peanut note but with wheater cake/pie crust flavor and an extra bonus of smoke/char. Im impressed with this DN1843. It does not taste like a standard wheated bourbon more like a hybrid. I never had the Old Fitz BIB but this is supposedly along those lines. If you can find this I recommend......82/100....Lip smacking good, Will tryout the DN Reserve next

I have been wanting to review this wonderful Bourbon for a while now but every time I went to write it something would distract me. So here were go. I really like this Bourbon and it is completely different from its mate David Nicholson Reserve. This is a "wheated" Bourbon that a nice smooth sweetness and softness. The nose is sweet vanilla and something else like sugar cookies maybe, but with ice, the flavors become very nice. It makes an excellent counter-point to the boldness of reserve that is smooth where the other is bold. This makes a very fine Old Fashioned and Manhattan but it is sweeter so take that into consideration. Around here this is $27 so it is an easy recommendation. Enjoy.