Smoke Wagon Private Barrel Bourbon

Taste: 2 oz. neat, and then 3 drops water in glen cairn. This is Binny'sBarrel #308, 8yrs at 62.85% Nose: Simply spectacular nose. Notes of caramel, brown sugar, oak, and cinnamon. Leaps from the glass. Palate: The mouthfeel is oily and thicker. Upon entry this reminded me of a soothing sip. The notes are browned butter, nougat, and prickly baking spice. This bourbon is not for the faint of heart. It challenges you in a rustic way with traditional caramel tones and spicier rye notes. The water tones down the spice and tunes in some oak. Have it any way you like it, but this bourbon is rough, ready, and willing to deliver. Finish: If there is a flaw it is in the finish which is a bit drying. It doesn't trifle and is in your face. The spice is forward, but there is a butterscotch send off making me want to dive more. Overall: Hard to fault good cask strength MGP. This bourbons flaw may well be its greatest strength- it is not complex but rather traditionally caramel and cinnamon forward. It will challenge the novice on how hard it hits. As compared to the uncut, unfiltered version this had a better mouthfeel and richness about it, but is in the same taste profile wheelhouse- not vastly different. Think of it as the best of the best of uncut/unfiltered. Where it lacks is that the very same whiskey aged longer in a more changing climate (Illinois) that is found in Old Fangled Knotter Bourbon 9 year for comparison is more polished. Perhaps the Galena climate smoothed out some rougher edges or the extra year mellowed OFKB a bit. Side by side- 9 year OFKB is just more sophisticated and polished. That said, from the cowboy themed, cross gunned bottle, to the rough and rugged finish, Smoke wagon doesn't try to be sophisticated and proudly so. It is rough, ready, in your face and delivers as it intends to. I welcome that with open arms and will certainly search for more private, and perhaps older barrels. As Jimmy Russell once said about Wild Turley," I don't find all the tastes all of you find in our bourbon, but I do know what is good bourbon and what is bad bourbon." He then took a sip and proudly exclaimed, "Ahhh! Now that's good bourbon!" Like Jimmy, I feel the same about Smokewagon.

BOTTLED FOR // Spec’s AGE // 7 yrs WAREHOUSE // WF6 BARREL # // 39-56 ALC/VOL % // 61.43% NEAT NOSE - Brown Sugar, Caramel, Maple, Oak, Cherry Sweetness PALATE - There is a bold explosion of flavors on the palate. The brown sugar and maple are the initial note and they are bold and unmistakable. The cherry sweetness comes through on the mid-palate with oak soaked in caramel on the finish. Complex and amazing. FINISH - Long BUY? - This is much better than the batched Uncut and Unfiltered that I currently have, but is reminiscent of the first and more favorable uncut and unfiltered batch that I tried at a restaurant. To me, that means there is either alot of variation between batches and the single barrels stand out better but I need to try more than this one to have a better opinion. Regardless, at around $80, I don’t think you could go wrong with this bottle. BUY AGAIN? - For sure. Hopefully, I keep coming across barrels as good as this one.

Uncorked pick, "Gallenstein Selection #1" Barrel No. 39-193 Warehouse WF5 Age - 7 years 57.83% abv; 115.66 proof Open 1 month Nose - Peanut brittle, toasted marshmallow, sweet cinnamon, baked apples, white peach, nutmeg, white pepper, medium oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Honey roasted peanuts, caramel, milk chocolate, cinnamon bun, fresh cracked peppercorns, and sweet baking spices. Finish is medium-long with bitter oak tannins, dry cinnamon, peanut shells, cocoa powder, cherry, and medium ethanol. This is delicious. The only reason I'm knocking it half a point is the price and the finish. Everything up until the finish is 5 stars, which is slightly more bitter and dry than expected. Otherwise, this pick is a home run. I thought Smoke Wagon UCUF was one of the best available MGPs, and this certainly tops it. I know it is pricey, but if you see it under $90 I would pull the trigger.

Neat. Prav Saraff pick Hot Box. Tons of oak and baking spices upfront like a slightly burnt pie crust. Waves of vanilla and cinnamon. Hint of apples. Very nice, cozy nose on this. Nice and thick on the tongue, that apple, sugar hit your tongue first. The sour of the apple transitions to ethanol and burn on the tongue. Finish is the apple, vanilla and cinnamon. The sourness of the apple lingers on the tongue. Definitely some unique qualities to this barrel with that apple note. I don’t get apple from the Smoke Wagon Desert Jewel at all. There is a harshness I wouldn’t expect from a 12 year. It hits the tongue and then you get it again on the finish. If a few months on the shelf sands off the rough edges, I could bump this up a .5 or so. I’d put a lot of MGP ahead of this particular barrel.

SW Private Barrel Select Nose: Damp rickhouse, cocoa powder, roasted marshmallows, Graham cracker, caramel popcorn, red apple and rose petals Palate: Buttery mouthfeel, milk chocolate, red apple, great balance of sweet oak with a subtle spice underneath Finish: Oak spice sizzles to start, and leaves the tongue and top palate tingling and gives the impression of Red Hot or Hot tamale candy, heavy cream aftertaste along with tobacco leaf and dried apple Overall, a very pleasant dram. I love the buttery/creamy mouth feel and great balance of sweet and spicy notes. Interestingly, the creamy sweetness and cinnamon notes make me think of horchata or eggnog which is really fun. 86/100

39-8, 39% Rye mashbill - 60.03% abv, 6yrs 10mo Nose is hazelnut rum with a peppery vanilla, slight fatty mushroom tang, non-fruity sweetness that maybe has a slight apricot note, oat. Palette has a big honey-rum sweetness, the honey sticks out with a slight honey-suckle floral note, there is a deeper nutty-caramel behind it. Finish is great. The honey sweetness hangs and a nice Kentucky hug that kicks in. Relatively long finish T8ke: 8.3