Lux Row Double Barrel Bourbon 12 Year

To change things up, @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a series of samples that have either shapes or some code on them to prevent me from being able to know what they are until after I’ve tasted them. Will I mistake a rye for bourbon or completely miss a finish, who knows, but I’m dying to find out so let’s continue this blind challenge with the vial that has a circle on it. The nose is dense and rich starting off with fresh hot off the oven butterscotch caramel sauce that’s been poured over flapjacks that were cooked in bacon drippings then dark chocolate covered candied pecans followed by fruits of maraschino cherries, sautéed apples and candied orange peel that transitions to cloves, spearmint, nutmeg, high end leather jacket and old polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The taste is a viscous mouthfeel starting with butterscotch caramel pudding, dark chocolate covered marshmallow, candied pecans followed by fruits of cherries jubilee, apple tarte tatin and mandarin orange that gravitates towards a high and drying spice before fading to cloves, spearmint, nutmeg, high end leather jacket and old polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with chocolate covered caramel pecan clusters, marshmallow fluff, mandarin oranges, apple slices, cherry jolly rancher, ginger, cloves, spearmint, leather and old polished mahogany. This is a fantastic example of great bourbon that brings in those traditional bourbon notes dialed up to a 10 that lures you in with a thick dense nose that you can get lost in, but must proceed to that viscous butterscotch pudding mouthfeel with citrus, buttery pastry before that high spice hits causing a slight worry but thankfully fades with those spices and old notes reemerging before that long finish. In a head to head match up against a Garrison Brothers Cowboy, this really shows some of those brash youthful cracks on the Cowboy and against my personal favorite of an Old Carter American 13-year Batch 4, this slightly edges it out as well. Now I really wish I had a bottle of that Kentucky Owl bourbon batch 10 to throw at this to see if it would best it as this is easily one of my favorite bourbons. So, what is this circle whiskey that I will need to purchase soon, kill the lights, drumroll, pyrotechnics and big reveal shows……………… Lux Row Double Barrel 12 year!!!!!! Haha, well good news is there is already a bottle of this in my house and now I just need to plot out another trip to Kentucky to go pick up another one.

I've been struggling to do this one and I'm not sure I'll hit that save button but lets write this one up and see. So I had this a while ago and really loved it, but I couldn't really recall WHY I loved it. So I bought this when I found it for 150 + 500 points...later fond it for 156 and no points, oh well. I also first gave it a shot next to ECBP B520, review coming and thought they were oddly similar. So been drinking a bit today and writing some reviews (I'm starting to collect a plate worth of un finished bourbons in front of me), and figured this being high proof maybe it was time to give it a go while other whisky that isn't ECBP has been with me. Nose - so this is odd but I'm getting a super vegetable note. Perhaps rye and oak are creating that one. Normally with a double oak I get a lot of chocolate but that's 100% not here. It's old oak, what I'd call tired oak on a scotch, and there's a rich body but it's still giving me that vegable note. Note, this was two barrels not double oaked, error on my part. Taste - yeah this is super oaked in a very interesting way. There's also a tootsie roll like element. It's a fresh or young oak element with huge amounts of sweetness. It's a drying bourbon, high proof, but not barrel strength. Complex for sure, but it's missing the mark a bit for me today. I'm going to save this as this isn't my first pour and every time I do this one I come up feeling it's missing something. That said it's so rich, it's so big, it's bold, and while I am finding off notes, it's got some really wonderful bourbon sweetness and flavors too. They're just not best suited to be compared with other bourbons. You know I'm now getting like a waxy chocolate note and some butter scotch. Very enjoyable bourbon 3 out of 5 but the alcohol is a bit unchecked and the oak has some issues that I think will put some off. I'm still enjoying it and glad to have a bottle. I'd buy again but only if I see it in a few years, it won't be a quick rebuy. Edit, moving this down to a 2.25, the more I go back then more I just feel something is off here. It's above average bourbon but just a little bit.

It’s been some time since I pulled a shared sample, switched on a Mets game and taste. But tonight, a Friday night stars align. A quiet night. A well pitched, low scoring game on both sides. And now a sample to taste with no constraints. N: As it opens, breakfast aromas greet and meet you. Vanilla-soaked French Toast smothered in maple syrup and confectionery sugar (but alas, no coffee and bacon aromas). As it expands, some earthy notes come through. Tanned leather, like a baseball glove, walnuts, ground cinnamon. As it further expands and loosens, fruity notes of apple cobbler with cherries and toffee bookends the breakfast. Drizzle some salted caramel for good measure. The high proof is ever present as whiffs of vapor punches every now and then. Gentle reminders that as sweet and earthy it is, it’s still muscular and a force. P: A semi-dense feel with some bite. As you chew, maraschino cherries, pecans, dark chocolate and caramel atop apple crumb pie. The earthy leather lingers in the background. The longer you chew, the spicier side comes forward and the black and red pepper muscles up, prickling the tongue. W: A touch of water softens the bite and reveals the rye side of the bourbon. It also allows some orange zest to become detectable. F: A nice, long finish that just sticks everywhere. Wood char, nutmeg, cloves, tobacco, dark chocolate and spearmint. O: This is a quality bourbon. Some muscle. Some sweetness. Some bite. Some warmth. Similar to Noah’s Mills, but more refined. From the nose to the finish, there is always something to stir the senses. Always moving and evolving. I am sure there are subtleties that are escaping my senses that with more time and more to pour I would draw out. With so many whiskies on the market these days vying for your hard-earned pay, finding quality becomes a expense and a chore. This is one worthy to seek. (Mets lost to the Blue Jays 3-0). Thank you @pkingmartin for sharing. Not sure if I would have sought this one out, until now. [92/100][Tasted: 6/2/23]

Nose - toffee, dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, orange, black cherry, spearmint, leather, tobacco, peanut butter, black pepper, rich oak, allspice, nutmeg, apple, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - salted caramel, brown sugar, coffee, dark chocolate, orange, rich oak, cinnamon, vanilla, leather, pretzel, spearmint, black pepper, tobacco, hazelnut, black cherry, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with caramel, rich oak, dark chocolate, and caking spice flavors. In a previous blind tasting, I remember trying this and thinking it was really good, but not amazing. Granted, I was multiple drinks into the evening, and this was up against some other very strong offerings. So let’s see how it fares in a more controlled environment. The nose is beautiful. It’s reminiscent of a Texas bourbon. Rich, bold, and robust. It’s very dark with toffee, chocolate, coffee, and leather aromas front and center. The palate is powerful, but not too bright. The salted caramel note is really nice. It begs you to pick up the glass and take another sip. This sample is evaporating way too quickly. Well this is stunning bourbon, and the profile is right in the sweet spot for me. If I have to find a fault, I wish it were a bit more mature on the palate. At almost 60% ABV, this drinks slightly bright and right around its proof. Still I want a bottle, but unfortunately they’re $400 on the secondary now, so that won’t be happening anytime soon. It would be an instant buy at the $150 MSRP. Regardless, this is an outstanding whiskey that’s worth the high price tag. Many thanks to @pkingmartin for treating me to this one twice. Second time was the charm.

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 This is a five course meal for the senses... I’ve lost many a starring contest with this bottle as it’s sat on my shelf waiting to be opened. The bottle itself is a work of art. The cork topper is pure copper and could take an IW Harper cork without difficulty. Color: reddish-amber, slow legs Nose: this freshly opened bottle gave off cinnamon, dark cherries and oak that opened up to become richly sweet with pungent honey aromas and darker molasses aromas and with more time a bit of funky tobacco Body: heavy, viscous, even building warmth and then drying in a way that calls for another sip Palate: again, this is a 5 course meal that starts with cherries and dark fruits and clove, then rich vanilla cinnamon roll and tobacco, then barrel char and pralines and then to smoke, dark chocolate, tums mints and ultimately back to molasses and cherries Finish: the plate says it all - this just evolves and balances itself the whole while over a period of several minutes before becoming quiet. At first I couldn’t see the GTS comparison but by the third or fourth sip the absolute richness and cornucopia of flavor, albeit at lower proof, is all there. This bourbon is a black hole - it has far more mass than it should and the closer you get it just pulls you in...

Nose- very oaky and a bit of acetone, finger nail polish. Once you get past that you are hit by some nice vanilla Palate- It is without water a bit too hot on entry. A few drops tempers that though. This is also a spice chest with plenty of clove and dominant all-spice.....perhaps too much spice? The rye forwardness is showcased in what has to be a high rye mashbill as I also detect a hint of dill. Vanilla is the prevalent tasting note though after all of the spice is through overwhelming your taste buds. Finish: long and lingering. It is warming but a bit dry. I get a woody bitterness toward the end of the sip followed by some medicinal cherry cough drop that to be honest, I might have enjoyed more of earlier on. Overall- I so wanted to fall in love with this one. My expectations were high. The thought of a 12 yr old, high rye, limited release that was perhaps kin to Old Ezra 7 Barrel Proof had me squirming in my seat to try. Alas, to my disappointment- Too much oak, too much spice, too much ethanol. The balance was just off. Where OE7 balances the spiciness with some sweeter brown sugar and caramel notes, this moves toward being bitter, slightly woody, overwhelming spicy with dashes of vanilla thrown in. I think it crosses the line into being overoaked. Glad I got a sample from a friend because to me, this one is not a bottle buy at the premium price.