Kings County Bourbon (Discontinued)

Rating: 13/23 N: I get sawdust. It's lightly sweet with a hint of shaved chocolate. A little bit of the grain comes through. This reminds me a bit of Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Strength, but a lot lighter, less rich, less sweet, and with more of a bitter. There is a little bit of fresh and maybe toasted graininess to this too. It has a bolder, woodier scent than Elijah Craig Small Batch (which also has a bit of teabag character to it). There's surprisingly little spice here and no fruit whatsoever. P: Sawdust, with sort of a corn sweetness (though it isn't terribly sweet). Some minerals. I get a fair impression of the raw alcohol here, suggesting little aging. It's fairly dusty and quite tannic. It isn't terribly harsh, but it does kind of numb my tongue and I do get a bit of a burn without a whole lot of discernible spices (though maybe there's some allspice and cinnamon). I eventually get a bit of chocolate, sort of more like cacao nibs though. It tastes a lot like knock-off Garrison Brothers. It also reminds me of some of my experiments with aging bourbon where I left wood chips in the bourbon for too long. F: The bitterness increases as the sawdust and especially teabags become more pronounced. This isn't a great finish, but honestly I can't imagine what it would need to be like to really make this particular palate work through to the end. - Conclusion - I kind of like the style here. The Garrison Brothers sawdust style isn't really my favorite, but it's fun now and then. During the palate, I thought that this had a pretty good shot at a 14. When the finish hit though and the tannins took over, it lost me. This is also (I presume) a sweet mash bourbon, which is often not what one would be looking for. Thinking back on what all I've given 12s, that seems too low for this. I think it's pushing up against 14 quality, but is probably stuck at 13.

Straight Bourbon Batch 141: LOTS of American oak on the nose (I like American oak so I consider this a good thing), with some vanilla in there as well. Palate is nondescript grain, but with a pretty strong and tasty smoke/char note at the end. I don’t get the “youth” that others on here seem to, but I definitely agree with the one dimensional-ness. Overall, the flavor doesn’t quite deliver on what the nose seems to promise, but wow am I excited about what will come from this place.

2/5 Very grainy and under mature. Lots of issues here: 1) they should not be making such a heavy distillate with pot stills if they aren’t going to age longer, 2) open fermenters in NYC climate creates consistency issues, 3) minimal aging using small casks creates a harsh, immature spirit, and 4) I’d include wheat or rye in the mashbill. Just corn and malted barley makes for a pretty one dimensional bourbon IMO. Really not a fan of this, particularly at the price point.

I've had the chocolate iteration of this brand. I won some at a company party. It has to be one of the most aweful flavored whiskies I've ever had. It smells of super dark cacao, and licorice. It hits hard and leaves a synthetic syrup residue in your mouth. I'll be passing this off to somebody else who is curious about this little quirk.

A bit subdued on the nose, wood, cinnamon, umami, grain and caramel. Soft and sweet on the palate with confectioners sugar, wood, vanilla, caramel, apple and Red Hots. Short finish with a little cocoa. This is clearly young and drinks much weaker than 90 proof. The presentation is nice, though the whiskey is a little thin.

Nixe nose- hints of corn and leather- pepper- P- smoke- herbal- burnt coca - orange finish- light- low proof- quick burn and light finish- carmel or chocolate- Interesting bourbon- would like a higher proof- smells light & enjoyable - needs a stronger finish-