Sam Houston 14 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Rating: 19/23 N: Rich, woody, herbal. Maybe a little floral apple or something, but also some char or creosote. I'm not getting a ton of complexity here, but it's rich and appealing for sure. P: Rich, bold, tons of charred oak leading into some really nice herbal flavor. Vanilla, licorice, dill, some mint (peppermint and spearmint), and occasional faint apple. It makes me think of creosote and leather a bit. There are some mineral notes from time to time, but the wood keeps them from making this taste watered down in any way, even though there isn't much spice here (though maybe some clove and a dash of ginger) to crank up the heat. F: A little numbing. I continue to get the wood with the less sweet herbal character. The vanilla is fainter, but the licorice is a little more noticeable. The apple still faintly makes it through on occasion. The dill and mint are definitely both still there for sure. - Conclusion - This is a really nice rye. It's woodier but less complex than Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye. The Russell's Reserve has more mineral and floral flavors for sure, along with a dash more dill possibly. This is great and it's a tough call between the two. I wish I had more of that Dad's Had Single Barrel Cask Strength to try side by side with this because both seem like woody monsters. I expect that Dad's Hat is higher proof, but less mellowed and mature. The two of them seem locked in conflict for the title of best rye I've tried. Kings County Empire Rye - stylistically the closest other rye I have to them and one that I greatly enjoy - has nothing on either of them. Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve - a bourbon with substantial aged rye character showing through - seems close to this in quality. The Belle Meade is more complex, but also tastes a bit younger. This is just show of great rye maturation. I really like the Creosote and leather here though. It makes me think of Joseph Magnus, though the character is actually more pronounced here. I would give the nod to Joseph Magnus, but they're both great. I think what all of this means is that this is in the 18 to 21 range. Most likely, I'll go with a 19 or 20. The long finish on my last sip impressed me enough to almost push this over the line to a 20. I'm open to going up to a 20 on a subsequent tasting, but for now I'm sticking with a 19. Still, this is probably the best rye I've ever tasted, narrowly beating out the sample of Dad's Hat Single Barrel Cask Strength that I tried recently. This is sample A in an unlabeled set of 4. There are about 15 different bourbons and ryes that this could be. OK, so this is obviously a rye. There aren't many options that this could be in terms of ryes - it's literally Remus Repeal, Willett 7, or Willett 80th Anniversary. What strikes me about this is that it's clearly spent quite some time in a barrel and has a bold flavor. Willett 4 didn't seem that bold to me and Remus is known essentially as MGP that's been in the barrel for a long time, so I'm betting Remus. Which batch? I'm not sure. If I had to guess, I would either go with batch 1 because the Distiller rating has it down as the smokiest Remus Repeal or with batch 4 because the Distiller rating describes it as emphasizing richness and vanilla. - The Reveal - Well, you know what they say about assuming. It turns out that this isn't a rye at all! It's Sam Houston 14. I'm really shocked by that. I knew to expect Sam Houston to be bold with smoke, wood, and spice, but I tried this side-by-side with several ryes and it tasted just as much like rye as the ryest 100% rye of them. Belle Meade, which normally has as strong rye character, tasted far more like a bourbon in comparison. I didn't think that I would be likely to guess any of these bottles right, but I'm shocked that I mistook an 18% rye bourbon for a 95% rye rye. This bottle was a humbling and fascinating experience. Thanks @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for letting me try this.

This one has gotten all kinds of hype and there are dozens of batches around so I jumped on the KY-3 after passing on the first 2 batches. Nose - so right off the bat I'm kinda getting Barton'd out. I like their juice and I've had some really good stuff, but it's kinda also becoming boring when everyone is releasing another 12-14 year single barrel with similar profiles. I do get a bit more oak smoke and oak than some of these. Adds a nice balance to the apples and cinnamon spices I tend to find here. Vanilla notes but a thinner less creamy vanilla. Taste - Up front a lot of classic barton, sweet, fruity, then going into spices. The mid pallet starts to get a bit funky with old bourbon notes coming through and then the finish is more rye spice, a lot more old antique oak barrels. I'm really impressed with some of these notes here. I think these barrels they're blending (3 barrels in this batch) are really finding a way to push the complexity up in a very good way. Outstanding blending and down right tasty bourbon. I'm in for another at this price point to be honest with you. I just wish some other distilleries could get some 12-14 year stuff out at under 150 bucks and at reasonable proofs. 3.25, well above average, but not exceptional. I'd have to debate this vs cream of kentucky vs down home 12 year batch 2. Not sure where I scored all those, but this would be the one to get for the weller fans as it's sweeter and seems to be going in a similar direction as WLW. Not sure why I made that connection but here we are. Cream is more generic bourbon, but exceptional at that. And downhome is more oak and spice and a bit more complex and assertive. I'm clearly in the down home camp and I think it is the better whisky of the group in scoring as there's more to it, but that doesn't mean you'll like it more than this.

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 diamond on it. The nose starts off with cherry coke and light banana followed by fruits of caramel apple pie and orange peel that transition to earthy dark chocolate, spearmint, peppermint, cloves, light leather and dusty oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste starts with a thin-medium mouthfeel starting with cherry coke and mashed ripe banana followed by fruits of caramel apple pie and orange peel that transitions to a mild spice that fades to spearmint, peppermint, cloves, leather and dusty oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with flat cherry coke, mashed ripe banana, Granny Smith apple peel, light vanilla, spearmint, peppermint, cloves, leather, and medium tannic oak. This seems like an older bourbon that brings in those traditional flavors with some cola notes along with dusty oak that has a thinner mouthfeel than the nose suggests keeping the same flavors as the nose that starts fruity with cola notes before a mild spice in the middle that fades to those dusty notes before finishing medium length with cola, citrus, banana, spices and a bit more tannic oak than I’d like. An enjoyable pour, but it seems muted instead of bringing in those big bold in your face bourbon notes and isn’t as well balanced as I’d like which gravitates almost towards overly bitter notes on the taste and finish. So what is this diamond whiskey…… Sam Houston 14 year.

Batch GA-2 Simplistically, this smells like a Jack and coke...Pretentiously, floral with a muted cherry candy (insert jolly rancher or Twizzlers; I'm more of a Red Vine man myself, makes a good straw.) On the palate it starts out heavy oak with little else, but then a crescendo of Cherry vanilla coke, with a remarkably long, mint-like / cooling finish. Hiding in the under-current / woven throughout, is a spiced plum that pops its head up intermittently, and looks around at the oaky, cherry-vanilla coke experience. 5 minutes after the last sip: still hints at a once enjoyed cherry cough-drop. Overall, glad I tried it, but I have to compare it with the value of other awesome, more “non-allocated” bourbons - I definitely prefer it to ECBP, but not 1920... ECBP is usually almost as good, and half the price. 1920 is equal IMO, and half the price... Will probably not purchase another SH14. Moral of the story, please give it a sip if you have a chance, but don't have FOMO when skipping this bottle at the liquor store. If this were $80 then it would bump up 1/2 a star. 5.0 - go out and buy all of the stock you can find. 4.0 - must buy at least one bottle before you die. 3.0 - solid, must try at a bar, or mooch from a friend. 2.0 - didn't like it, you may. 1.0 - you may have the palate of my dog, and he licks his own ass.

Batch KY-3, bottle 502 of 528 from a blend of 3 barrels. Age clocks in at a min of 14y and 4 months. Other tidbits are the use of #4 char on American white oak barrels and a mash bill of 74/18/8 suggesting Barton as the source. 49%abv and a light copper in the glass with slow tear drop legs. Oak soars from the glass with sweet notes of toffee and earthy over ripe banana up close. The latter rolls into a varnish like note with some leather as well. Faint baking spices and no nuttiness or ethanol that I can detect. Light bodied and spicier than the nose lets on! There’s a burst of nutmeg and allspice with a bit of brown sugar that transitions into over ripe banana, raisins and then a medium long leathery finish with bits of raisin and tobacco popping up for a minute or so. It drinks like an older bourbon and has heaps of earthy barrel derived notes that remind me of an over-aged EC SB but the funky over-ripe banana that screams Barton. It’s not as sweet as a 1792 full proof, and not as balanced as a result. It drinks at or slightly above its proof and is a pleasant sipping bourbon but fails to take me anywhere special. For the $100+ price tag it’s a good example of a well aged bourbon but doesn’t bring along many surprises.

Neat. Opened almost 3 months. I have a Texas batch of this on the way to see if there is a big difference between batches. This updated review is for IL-01 I got from Chicago. Some people rave about this juice, some call it overhyped. I have a feeling it’s the different batches. Or maybe it needs to air out a bit. I was a bit underwhelmed in my first review. This is a delightful nose. Some great oak, tobacco, and fresh leather. Vanilla buttercream with cherries and strawberries. Nice honey covered crescent roll. I could hang with this nose for an hour happily. Velvety, oily mouth feel. Buttercream and cherry sweetness up front. Nice sweet oak, honey crescent. The finish is funky. It has a surprising sharpness mid palate and then turns to straight oak and overwhelmingly drying. Funky sharpness on the legs that hangs in the back of the throat. It’s a shame too because there are some great flavors on the verge of hitting right before it turns the wrong way. There is this tease of a caramel apple but the note gets too bright too quick. At 98 proof, sharp and harsh on the finish makes no sense to me. IL-01 just must not be a good batch. I’ll come back once I get the TX batch but this still feels overhyped to me.