Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon (2019 Release)

Rating: 20/23 I'm rapidly becoming a big fan of the Cowboy. I'm hoping that my love of this line continues with this one. N: Spicy yet sweet baking spices, with maple and polished wood. A bit of mineral and a surprising faint vegetal hint. Fairly rich and full. Not the most exciting, but it has that necessary Cowboy boldness. P: Spicy, but not with too much of a bite. There is a burn to it, but it also has sweet cinnamon with cloves, black pepper, and fainter ginger. There's a surprising cherry flavor adding some fruity sweetness and also tartness. It's kind of like a brandied cherry. I also get faint maple and a touch of dry minerality. There is some of that sawdusty Garrison Brothers wood in here, but not more than a touch of the usual chocolate. Maybe a touch of vanilla too. There is also a sort of lightly vegetal, barbecue flavor to this that strikes me as a bit off and reminds me of my bottle of Garrison Brothers Balmorhea (2021), which I am underwhelmed by. Hints of ancho chili. Still, this is very tasty. F: The minerality stands out a bit more, and so does that hint of barbecue. I get sawdust and lingering spices (including the ancho chili) for sure. There's a dry, tart vanilla flavor coming out here that I missed before. It's pretty big, actually. - Conclusion - This is great, but It's not blowing my mind. I'd take Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon 2020 (22/23) over this for sure. And by a substantial margin. This isn't as rich or interesting and I'm not a big fan of that barbecue flavor. It does show less alcohol, but the difference there isn't enough to really impress me. Compared with my bottle of Garrison Brothers Balmorhea 2021 (17/23), this is less complex, but also richer with less weirdness going on. This seems clearly superior. It's somewhere between the 2021 Balmorhea and the 2020 Cowboy - so a 19 or 20, most likely. I'm currently thinking that this is closer to the 2020 Cowboy than it is to the 2021 Balmorhea, but let's do some more side-by-sides. I'm pretty confident that this is better than Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 (18-19/23), but the gap isn't huge. In terms of value, I'm sure that the Wild Turkey beats this. In terms of raw quality tough, this wines.I'm now thinking this could be as high as a 21. Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof (21/23) is sweeter, more decadent, and more viscous than this is. It burns a bit more, but it doesn't have any of those weird flavors and there is a substantial amount of depth to it. This is not going to beat a 21. I'm thinking a 20 or a 21, with a 20 seeming more likely right now. This is just a bit less composed. Yeah, it's a 20. This is another case of me adoring a Garrison Brothers product, but concluding that it costs twice what it's worth, unfortunately. This is certainly not as good as the 2020 Cowboy (22/23), which was the first Garrison Brothers I concluded could be worth the money. A big thanks to @pkingmartin for this delightful pour!

On this eve of Halloween eve, I find myself on a eerie Northeast evening. Wind is eerily blowing. Storm is brewing. A damp chill in the air. Time for a warming dram. The color pours as a rich mahogany with maroon hues. Immediately, upon initial pour, an aroma of candied pecans jumps out and dominates. You can sense other notes wanting to come through but it cannot penetrate the dominance. Time will remedy that. As it settles and loosens up, those blocked aromas begin to seep through. Milk chocolate, toffee and a vanilla mix provide a robust sweetness. But wait, there’s more!: sawdust, dried hay, leather, burnt marshmallows, cinnamon, maple syrup. A plethora or aromas. I think I could smell the kitchen sink. The initial sip, unlike the sweet nose, is more earthy. Medium-dense, soft and velvety texture. Successive sips are hot but without burn, which is confounding as the pour is at 68% Abv. A leather base where those pecans continue from the nose. Cinnamon, allspice and root beer is all I can detect as the alcohol bite makes it tough to get more. Time for some water. Tree bark, vanilla, peanut brittle, cigar tobacco leaf bring a wonderful earthiness tempered with a touch with of sweetness. Leather, wood and char stay with the palate for quite some time. Candy corn eventually seeps out that hits with a touch of sweetness. Ultimately, the palate remains woody, dry and wanting another sip. I have had good fortune to taste some wonderful bourbon/whisky. Of those, a handful I can still conjure up without tasting. Midwinters Act 2, Cragellachie 51 amongst some others. This one ranks right up there. There’s a uniqueness to this one. Earthy and sweet packed with some muscle. That muscle, though, is all grace and style. Ballet vs kickboxing. This had an abundance of aromas which is rare. Most drams have pop in a few points (caramel or vanilla or leather). This had it all. All perfectly harmonized. The palate is rich, full and dense with flavor the keeps on line with the nose. A top line whiskey. Time and patience is a must to fully take it all in. If there is a downside to this, as others before have mentioned, is the price. Thanks @pkingmartin for this wonderful sample. [97/100][Tasted: 10/29/21]

Nose - salted caramel, toffee, vanilla, peanut brittle, sweet creamed corn, chocolate nougat, brown sugar, marshmallow, leather, black pepper, tobacco, cherry, raisin, cinnamon, rich oak, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - salted caramel, toffee, rich oak, marshmallow, candied peanut, cinnamon, allspice, dusty corn, black cherry, raisin, vanilla, mint, tobacco, leather, brown sugar, black pepper, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing long with rich caramel, black cherry, dark chocolate, and musty, candied peanut flavors. Wow! Just wow. What a treat after spending the past month reviewing vodka. This is a masterpiece. It’s simply the best nose I’ve ever encountered on a bourbon. And it’s really not even close. I poured my favorite bourbon I own, Elijah Craig B520, to confirm this. In comparison, the EC seems guarded, austere, and overly hot. The palate is equally stunning. Every flavor is fully formed and robust. There’s a sweaty, musty, oaky, peanuty vibe that resembles the Beam funk, but it’s so much more well executed here. As others have mentioned, it’s ludicrous that this is almost 140 proof and only five years old. I have no idea what kind of black magic is being conjured in Texas, but Garrison Brothers has thrown down the gauntlet. This drinks like it’s 100 proof and at least double its age. I do suspect that the flavor profile may be somewhat of an acquired taste. That sweaty, funky, nutty profile may be not suit some palates. But I love it. This is the first perfect review I’ve given. In my mind, this absolutely deserves it. This is bourbon elevated to an art form. Regarding the price, I can’t responsibly claim that this is worth four bottles of ECBP. However, I can say that this is the best bourbon I’ve ever experienced. Before this, I didn’t think a bourbon would be able to rate above 4.5 on my scale. I assumed a perfect score would be reserved for some ridiculously old and expensive single malt. I’m elated to be proven wrong on this point. A hearty thank you to my new buddy @pkingmartin for generously providing the sample for me to review. Here’s to many more encounters with whiskey perfection.

Game on Texas, game on.... Whiskey night October - enjoying an evening on the porch with a friend, a fire pit, a few blind tastings and a few new bottles. All samples from a Norlan glass. Tasting order: Murray Hill Club, Batch 7 The Gifted Horse, Orphan Barrel Larceny Barrel Proof, A120 Lux Row Double Barrel 12y *Garrison Bro. Cowboy Bourbon, 2019 Saved the most intriguing for last. This thing is dressed like a grand martial and the cost of the box, pillow, small booklet (which does contain some fascinating pics of the barrel heads suggesting they are under filled and barreled at 124), leather, was, stickers and 2lb medallion... I’ll get back to the whiskey now. Second impression - there is earth in this bottle. I did not believe the color, but it is truly mahogany and almost a deep brown and purple, so opaque that the flame of a fire pit could barely penetrate the pour. In the bottom of the bottle there was a cot of sediment so thick that I spurned a small dust tornado in the bottle with a single tilt. Color: see above Nose: at first pop, maybe a hint of sweet youth but that is quickly consumed with a swell of molasses, leather, raisin, smoke, hot tires, barn floor... there’s so much going on it’s hard to stay focused. What is equally amazing is the absence of ethanol at +130 proof - I can bury my nose in the glass and not a singe. Unreal. Body: thick, heavy, slow legs, slightly tannic but minimally drying, conveys a gentle solar heat without bite Palate: tons of dark, sweet dried fruits, molasses, tobacco, baked beans, burnt ends... honestly I once again can’t keep up Finish: long, rich, sweet and earthy How is this 5 years old when it drinks with the depth and complexity of a 10-15 year Kentucky bourbon?? How is it over 130 proof?? Don’t let the youth or bottle bling scare you away, the price is likely justified. Assuming as little as 10% evaporation based on barrel to bottle proof this is a blend of no more than 90 barrels and likely as few as 40 thanks to the Texas heat. Thanks to @dubz480 for drawing my attention to this one. Still so many questions, so few regrets. I’m gonna need a toothpick.

I’ve always been curious of Garrison brothers , but that price tag always had me question if it’s truly good, or just some price gauging. Thanks to @pkingmartin , I got to sample this. It’s been sitting at my desk for ages, and I actually opened it up last night to smell it. I was expecting to take a whiff and put it back...but no, the aromas of marshmallows, oak, vanillla and creme brûlée were just too enticing. Taste is more of the same...liquified creme brûlée with a strong dose of a Texas 2 by 4 wooden plank. Lingering taste. I seriously need to make the plunge and buy this. But let’s talk about that price. $200-300 is damn steep. The only way that price will go down is if demand goes down. And...it just so happens I have over 1900 followers on this app...So...fellow 1900+ folks—-do not buy this. We the people must make a stand!! Let’s boycott all things Garrison till prices slump...and then we’ll swoop in and buy it by the truck load!!!!! I propose we go all out Reddit GameStop style —-us against big booze!!! We’ll mass manipulate the price to come down!!! On a serious note...this is damn good. I’d rather pay $200 for this than buy 4 bottles of something subpar. In fact...buying one right now online... Thanks again @pkingmartin

This will be relatively short, because I don't have anything particularly insightful to say.  So I'll get right to the point - THIS BOURBON INSANE.  Powerful waves of candied maple, caramel, tobacco, leather, and a hint of wood (mesquite?) smoke.  Rich and very drinkable at full proof.  Is it worth the $300 that's the current minimum buy-in?  I prefer it to the very fine GTS, and it's very close to my all time favorite bourbon, William Larue Weller.  And both of those bourbons require a much greater monetary outlay. At least that's how I'm choosing to justify it. @pbmichiganwolverine, i stuck with your Garrison Brothers purchase boycott for less than two weeks.  I'd send my regrets, but your stellar review set this chain of events in motion.  A big thank you to @pkingmartin for generously sharing a sample of this gem.