David Nicholson Reserve Bourbon

DAVID NICHOLSON RESERVE *NOSE: Oak, Peanut Shell, Orange Creme, Vanilla, Hay, and Light Fall Spice. Simple, but nice. *NEAT: Vanilla, Orange Oil, Light Oak, Slightly Bitter Tannins, all served up with a Peppery Tingle. A mild, building KYHug with a thin coating of Bitter Oak, Orange Oils and Peanut Shell coating the palate. Classic Heaven Hill. *SPLASH: A little water makes this All Vanilla Creme. *VERDICT: I keep seeing this referred to as "High Rye". If this, as my palate and all other information I can find, is truly Heaven Hill then that would make it 10% Rye. Hardly what I'd consider "high rye" unless you're comparing it to Nicholson's other release (1843) which has NO Rye. There is a certain spiciness here, but I suspect that's more a byproduct of the proof and barrel placement than rye content. It is quite good and perfectly serviceable neat, rocks, or mixed. Where this one loses me is price. It's Mid-$30's price tag takes it out of consideration for me based on the availability of so much equal or better whiskey in that same range. Knob Creek (9year and also 100 Proof), WT101 ($10 less), OGD114 (Actually "High Rye"), Dickel Bourbon (8year age statement), Jack Daniel's BIB (100 Proof and my early leader for best new whisky this year) all immediately come to mind as better options, and I'm sure there are more. It was worth a try to satisfy my curiosity, but nothing special enough to warrant a repeat buy.

This one surprised me as I had low expectations going in. Seen this on the shelf so many times and Im always looking for cheap decent bourbon so finally caved and bought it. Nose is butterscotch and nilla with some spice and oak. Standard bourbon smells- pleasant enough. Palate is spicy with the high rye zinging the buds. Melted caramel and plenty of barrel carry through as well. Its a little thin but flavors are solid. Finish is classic sweet caramel oak fade with the spiciness lasting the longest. Overall nothing groundbreaking here but worth the price of admission if you like a spicy(but not peppery) bourbon. I would still take WT101 but this aint too bad at all.......79/100......kinda like the bottle too. Makes me want to revisit the 1843 wheater again

I found this to be a very middle of the road bottle. Nothing bad about it but nothing to write home about. It’s got a little bit of a heaven hill nuttiness to it. I get a little spice, some oak. For $25 this is a fair value, but I think the problem is that this doesn’t really differentiate itself from Heaven hill products that are an even better value and have similar taste.

The nose is a perfect predictor of the palate here, which is earthy raw peanut. There's a kick of rye spice and herbal bitterness which lingers. This one is a bit hot and definitely not too smooth. This is not a boring flavor profile, but I'm not sure it's one that I love either. It'll take a few more pours before I can render my final verdict.

I continue to be impressed with this bourbon. I tasted this against Haverhill Rabbit hole and New Riff, bottle and bonded. This was number two, very close to the rabbit hole. This was a little less sweeter and had a less complex flavor profile but the price point can’t be beat!

Color: orangey copper Nose: litte arom of cereal grains Neat: light on the palate; a bit of vanilla followed by a lot of spice; long, hot finish Rocks: water and ice bring out the sugar and vanilla; still a spicy finish