Doc Swinson's Exploratory Cask Series 15 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon (Release No. 6)

Nose - rich toffee, vanilla, brown sugar, roasted peanut, black pepper, carameized banana, coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, leather, clove, cola, apple, cherry, tobacco, strong oak, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - toffee, butterscotch, vanilla, peanut butter, strong oak, burnt brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, clove, dark chocolate, black pepper, apple, black cherry, leather, tobacco, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with toffee, creamy peanut, apple, and baking spice flavors. Is it Beam? Is it Heaven Hill? Is it Barton? Maybe we’ll never know. Who cares. This bourbon is tasty. Its old age is very present, with deep, rich oak dominating the entire experience. Those quintessential American notes immediately make themselves known. Caramel, vanilla, peanut, apple, cherry, baking spices. They’re all here and richer, more well integrated than in more youthful whiskies. The texture is full and luxurious, coating the mouth completely, leading to a satisfyingly long finish. This particular sample is pulled from Batch 8, bottled at 57.1%. If I had to find some fault here, I’d say it’s probably past it’s prime, with oak starting to play a more commanding role than it should. Also, there’s a bit of sourness on the mid palate and into the finish. It’s not off putting, but noticeable nonetheless. Maybe bottling at a higher proof or a younger age would make a positive difference. I poured this next to my current favorite ECBP, the B520 batch. I like the Elijah Craig better, albeit not tremendously. It’s punchier, fruitier, and spicier, lacking the slight sourness of the Doc Swinson as well. They share many of the same qualities, but the ECBP is a notch above in most ways. Maybe I’m just a sucker for the higher proof. Who knows. Overall, the Doc Swinson is great and will likely satisfy most bourbon palates. However, there are better bourbons for the money, at least for my tastes. A big thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for the sample. I likely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to try this otherwise.

Doc Swinson has come on the scene as a Non-Distilling Producer in the last year or so, mostly releasing sub-$50 bottlings of moderately aged TN whiskey (Dickel) and youngish MGP rye. But this Rare Release #6 is an 18-barrel batch of 15 year-old Kentucky bourbon, widely speculated to be from Heaven Hill. Nose - Peanut shells, leather, oak, tobacco, caramel, vanilla, orange peel, cherries, and some varnish. A little hot at first, but opens up after some breathing time. Palate - mouthfeel is fairly thick but not really oily, starting with dry roasted peanuts, vanilla, burnt caramel, maple, nutmeg, allspice, and oak. The moderately long finish closes out with some slightly tannic oak, dark chocolate, and dark brown sugar.  There's a Kentucky hug, but no harsh burn. So yeah, I feel confident in saying this is definitely sourced from Heaven Hill. It has that dry-roasted peanut note that I often get from HH (different from the Beam peanut funk). I would put this in a similar league to some of the better Elijah Craig Barrel Proof releases I've tried. It has a little more oak and a little less caramel, so I could see people's preferences going either way depending on what they like. Given the age and proof (118.2), I'm guessing this is from a lower tier than ECPB usually is, but I'm not one to judge a whiskey on its ABV. Cask strength whiskeys under 120proof are kind of my sweet spot anyway. At twice the price of ECPB the value proposition might seem questionable; but lets be honest, ECBP is way underpriced for the current market (which is why it's so hard to find in most places). My suggestion is anybody who likes HH in general and ECBP in particular should definitely go for this one if they see it.

This sample was kindly provided by @jonwilkinson7309 and is from batch 8 that was bottled at 57.1% from an undisclosed Kentucky distillery. The nose starts with a mix of powdered sugar, florals and dusty old antique furniture that fades to a creamy butterscotch caramel on top of roasted peanuts and dark chocolate cocoa powder then five spiced apple pie, candied orange peel and cherries jubilee that transitions to spearmint and old leather bound books with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with candy fruit chews before a moderate ashy oak spice that slowly fades to dark chocolate covered peanut brittle and toasted marshmallow then five spiced apple pie, candied orange peel and maraschino cherries that transitions to spearmint, old leather bound books and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with moderate ashy oak, chocolate covered peanuts, toasted marshmallow, Granny Smith apple peel, maraschino cherries and old leather. Overall, this is a great bourbon that brings bold traditional flavors with a fantastic nose, but the taste starts moderately on the bitter and sour side from that old oak overpowering some of those bourbon notes and finishes moderately bitter upfront before fading to allow the citrus, nuts and leather to come through. This likely could have been bottled a few years earlier to lower that oak influence, but is still a very delicious whiskey.

Neat. Neck pour. Release 009, NASA Liquors. 15 year Heaven Hill at 113.8 proof. Yeah, that is a delicious nose. Dark, dark oak. I would call it sweet oak as a single note, but it is surrounded by a tremendous amount of sweetness. Powdered sugar covered caramel cheesecake. Some cherries on top in a cherry sauce too. Lots of cinnamon. Yeah great nose. Mouth feel is odd. Little rough and grainy. Wood bitter up front. Geez, this teeters really close to over oaked. It opens up nicely on the palate. The bitterness lingers as a dark, low note but there is some good flavors to tease out. Yeah, sticking to the caramel cheesecake with a hint of cherry. Gets bitter on the finish again. I’m going to let this sit for 20 minutes before final judgement... So air time marginally improved it. More sweetness is coming through and the bitterness is turned down, but still prevalent throughout. Ugh, the sticker is the best part of this bottle. Hopefully air time on the shelf makes it more enjoyable.

Tasted like lead paint that had been in the attic for 15 years. I was able to try this during a very long night of whiskey tasting, but I was unfortunately unable to take good notes. I use the rating scale below. Distiller uses a scale of 5 and I use a scale of 10, but I’m sure you’re not too drunk to do the math! 1. Disgusting - So bad I poured it out. 2. Poor - I wouldn't consume by choice. 3. Bad - Multiple flaws. 4. Below average - Not bad, but many things I'd rather have. 5. Good - Just average. 6. Very Good - Better than average. 7. Great - Well above average. 8. Excellent - In a league of its own. 9. Incredible - An all-time favorite. 10. Perfect

Nose: neat. oak, cinnamon, almond, salted caramel. Baking spice. Sugared orange. Body: medium Palate: caramel, smokey caramel and candied orange. Finish: moderate to long, smoky caramel. Much longer than the initial sip suggests is coming. Note: this is for the 107.2 proof (53.6 ABV) batch. initial sip, this is good. I really like this. A taste from Don. Extremely smooth with a lengthy smoky finish. This was very nice for a spring break vacation dram up north. Word on the street this is 15 year old knob creek. Either way it’s very good.