Jefferson's Grand Selection Château Suduiraut Sauternes Cask Finish

My favorite Blood Oath to date was the Sauternes Cask release. Like many people, when I think of wine cask-aging, Scotch and even Irish whiskey come to mind before bourbon. But it worked beautifully when Lux Row did it, and since I believe this was similarly-priced, I have high hopes for Jefferson’s take. The Groth Cabernet cask was fantastic, and the Pritchard Hill is good as well, so there’s precedent for it. Let’s see how they did. Nose: Gala apple, grape, cherry, and apple pie. Raisin and cranberry. Jam. Nougat, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. Toasted almond, cashew, and macadamia. Cocoa butter. Rye, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Mint, apple, cherry, and raisin. Honey, caramel, toffee, nougat, milk chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla. Dried apricot. Orange citrus and light pipe smoke. More toasted almond and macadamia. Heavy black pepper. Clove, nutmeg, and oak. More spice than the nose suggested. Finish: Brown sugar, honey vanilla, caramel, nougat, and milk chocolate. Cocoa. Dried apricot. Ginger snaps. Orange citrus and pipe smoke. Loads of spice. Black pepper, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Moderate length. Nicely executed bourbon. It’s refined, balanced, and elegant. The cask selection brings out the sweet bourbon notes without it venturing remotely near the territory of sickly sweet. I have two gripes. First, the nose was exquisite. The palate was also very good, but didn’t quite measure up to the expectation established with the nose. And at 45% ABV, I’d call the finish “good.” The problem is the price. This cost be $150. The Groth cask, my favorite Jefferson’s release, was only $70. That was discontinued around a decade ago, so let’s ignore that for now and just attribute it to price creep. The Blood Oath Sauternes Finish was only $120, and it was considerably more vibrant and unique and was less watered down. That was a 5 star bourbon, while this was a 4, and I’m docking a quarter star for not quite hitting VFM. Still a very good whiskey in its own right and worth owning if you’re a collector like me. But if you’re judicious in selection-making process, it wouldn’t be a sin to pass on this. 1.5/1/1

This is in the port-finish/other-finish division of my finished bourbon bracket. Quick recap of the blind taste tests so far: Joseph Magnus, Noble Oak, Wild Turkey Revival, Rabbit Hole division. WT Revival won division. This division: Isaac Bowman vs Angel’s Envy IB won. This next round is Amador Double Barrel vs Jefferson’s Grand Selection (Sauternes). After this is Jefferson’s old rum cask vs Beer Barrel Bourbon. Did I mention that this is for science? Nose on this is very faint, which is surprising to me. Very low astringency, and if you really jam your nose down in there you can get some hints of jelly and possibly tomato sauce. If the whiff hits me as a sweet scent, it’s the jelly. If it’s savory, it’s the marinara. Can’t get both together. The body delivery’s on the grape jelly flavor. The sweetness from the wine is super evident. I can’t get much besides the grape jelly. Finish carries off more grape jelly, with a bit of cinnamon. Don’t know where the marinara thing comes in, but even now I’m getting on the nose despite the flavor being nonexistent in the drink. This is a bit less interesting than I’d hoped given its sticker price. I enjoy it, it’s just very basic. That grape flavor is intense. Definitely would not buy again, but it won’t keep me from getting excited about the other products in the Jefferson’s lineup. For me, this beats Amador, but that’s less a statement of greatness for Jefferson’s and more an indictment of Amador.

It’s a solid whiskey, and the white wine influence hits big mid-palate. As it sits a bit, the wine influence mellows. Really enjoyable with a long finish.

Taste isn’t bad but has a really weird nose. Bad enough to almost ruin it entirely. Definitely not worth the price.

Grape jelly nose and grape jelly all over the tongue. Nice lightly spicy finish.

Just the best I've had lately