Hancock's President's Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

Color: Medium-light copper amber Nose: Light nose with oak and something akin to "fruity". Palate: (First pour drank neat) Medium mouth feel. Remember when you were a kid... those little wax bottles that had juice in them? Well, I got that on my first taste. Whoah! Talk about a blast from the distant past! Was not expecting that... Very nice mildly sweet cherry-wood note. Not very spicy — which is totally fine with me. I prefer "sweet" over "spicy" when all's said and done. Warm chest hug came in pretty quickly. For < 90 proof, that surprised me a little. The "spice" does ultimately show up, on the back of the tongue, several sips in. The profile is evolving as I continue drinking. Got a little hint of mint(?) on my final neat sip. Second pour with an ice ball... First sip and I got some "citrus" right off the bat. Rather pronounced "cinnamon", along with "Thanksgiving" spices, come through as the ice slowly melts. Very nice. Finish: I'll call it medium, with a classic tongue tingle and more cinnamon and holiday spices. Final Thoughts: I really like this stuff. There's a lot going on here for such a relatively low proof. Top-notch expression from the folks at Buffalo Trace. I've come to the realization that I may have thrown out ratings of 4.0 and above in the past a little too liberally. I've resolved to dial-back my over zealousness with regard to my ratings. However, that's not happening tonight. LOL. This is really good stuff, and I'm giving it a solid 4.25.

Neat. Sample. Never seen this bottle with my own eyes. A friend provided a sample to me to help take it off the “never had” list. On the nose, it can’t get much more cherry forward than this. Getting a nice honey and a buttered cracker, like those Townhouse dinner crackers. Underlying caramel. It’s a very pleasant nose, especially with the over the top cherry. Surprisingly creamy mouthfeel! Taste matched the nose note for note. Honey sweet initially. Transitions straight into that cherry and the volume on that note is turned way way up. And that buttered cracker comes through with a slight hint of pepper on the finish. Cherry has surprising legs to it too, lingered for longer than I would have expected. This is probably a perfect intro whiskey. Inviting, pleasant, easy sipper, no rough edges. I’d only purchase a bottle at retail and I probably wouldn’t drink it myself. It would just be for guests.

Assessed in a Glencairn spirits nosing glass. Aroma - Neat - Fruit basket, mango, nectarine, orange, gentle & clean, with the faintest hint of cinnamon stick. Adding a splash of water . . . A bit of a caramel, peanut brittle type confection has developed. Taste - Neat - Buttery, oily, unsweet apple and banana and extremely mild tobacco. Adding a splash of water . . . A bit more fruit has shown up now from the nose. Dried apricots and mango. Final thoughts- This is a very approachable and easy-sipping bourbon. It isn’t terribly complex, but with what it does, which is fruit primarily, it excels at. It certainly doesn’t warrant the cult-following collectibility, but If given the chance to buy at MSRP again I would. I find myself enjoying this one with a tiny drop of water rather than neat.

On the nose i get notes of vanilla, oak, apple, and honey. The spicy starts immediately and slow but grows as the pallet develops. Heat is not overpowering. On the pallet there is oak and char as one would expect but I get a soft undertone of maple syrup, dark chocolate, and honey once again. Ice only changes the spice. The overall burn is almost deminished but leaving behind the notes found previously. This is a good offering. Its not found where I’m from but i would recommend getting one again.

The nose is absolutely wonderful … sweet with nice tobacco notes and overall classic fruit notes some bourbons have. It’s the highlight of the pour as the taste is good, but all of that goodness doesn’t fully transfer to the palate as it does not pack a robust taste or mouthfeel. It’s about 89 proof and does well for that proof point, but really holds it back in the end as the finish is also quite short. A buy at retail, but don’t chase or pay over that. My rating may be a touch high.

Aroma was bold and really nice. Coconut, vanilla and even almonds. As it opens a touch of cinnamon. Flavor is creamy vanilla. A touch of toasted grain. Few drops of water kills the Aroma and brings out a touch more spice. Not sure I'd add water again here. (starting at 89 proof so makes sense) Later in the glass the almond returns in the palate. Finish is mostly just lingering bitterness