Sweetens Cove Tennessee Blended Bourbon (21 Release)

Well this was a take a chance pick up. This is one of these celebrity backed brands, most notably Peyton Manning and Andy Roddick among others. It’s a blend of 4, 6, and 16 year bourbon from undisclosed Tennessee distilleries. What does that mean? Most likely Dickel distillate for at least some of it if not all, but chance others could be involved. The hold your horses moment is the price, which I’ve seen range anywhere from $157-$199. I was able to get this around $120 on sale. The sole reason for taking the plunge, not because of Manning and co., but because of their master blender Marianne Eaves. If you don’t know who that is give it a google, but simply put she knows her stuff. Now for that price, the potential distillate, and that age range of blends that’s still a tough pill to swallow. With that being said let’s see how she did. This was a fresh cracked pour in glencairn and let sit for about 30 minutes before starting. Traditionally I feel that a bottle gets better after at least a week or more after opening, not always, but most of the time if I can open it and it’s good then would expect it to get better. Nose - subtle, there’s no superstar, but there is some complexity hidden within it. I get a plum jam or dark fruit characteristic, caramel, honey, a brown or melted butter or maybe even a hint of buttered popcorn, there is some earthiness to it, grass, and does have the mineral note typically synonymous with Dickel, so I’d be shocked if this wasn’t Dickel or at least some of it. Now when I nose the bottle it was a caramel bomb so will be interesting to see how this opens up over time. Palate - wooo she’s a sweet and spicy gal, the nose matches the palate, has the plum jam/dark fruit, caramel, honey, grass, butter or buttered popcorn, little bit of butterscotch, and peanut brittle. That mid palate turns up the heat big time, allspice, pepper, cinnamon, little bit of oak. The minerality is there and it often gets associated with flinstones vitamins for Dickel products. I don’t know if mask is the right word or maybe to be nice, the blend is complementing that flavor and it’s melding within some of the other flavors as it doesn’t really come across as vitamin. Overall has a really nice viscosity, coats the mouth well and hits all over. Finish - moderate and pretty pleasant, honey comes back, little bit of oak, leather, pepper, and caramel. The caramel stood out more than anything and reminded me of those Brachs caramel chews back in the day. Maybe a slightly drying effect but minimal and hardly noticeable. I admittedly went into this taste with a lot of skepticism especially for the price being asked. Is it good? Yes it is. Do I like the price tag? Eh, not so much. At the sale price I got it at it makes it a little more attractive. With Barrell and Bardstown Bourbon Co. being the big blend names, this for me sits somewhere in the middle if not closer to the Bardstown Discovery series. In my area Barrell products are usually $80-$100, and Bardstown Discovery Series is usually $110-$140. I’d rather see this in the $90-$120 range. It’s got complexity, it’s got good flavors, and a good finish; nose didn’t wow me but it was decent. I could see this be a moving target for people for notes and flavors though. It’s a blend of straight bourbons but almost tastes like it’s been finished in another barrel. I almost think the younger bourbon could be Chattanooga whiskey as there was some sweetness and honey notes that reminded me of their 111 whiskey. Would definitely recommend try before you buy. If you’re feeling adventurous and have the money to throw down then yea this would be a high price tester. I think the $157-$199 is heavy handed and playing the marketing game based upon who all is involved. If you are super sensitive to Dickel then may take a pass as it does have a little bit of the mineral note but felt it was much more muted than prior products. All in all it does taste good, maybe even great. If you’re thinking about buying this would be a roll of the dice splurge pick. It hasn’t built a reputation like Barrell or Bardstown, but it could be knocking on that door step with Eaves at the helm. The big knock though is price I think it needs to come down at least $30.

Nose: initially spiritous, a little nail polish. After it sits in the glass that dissipates. Roasted walnuts, milk chocolate, strawberries, some brown sugar. But it’s BOOZY. Palate: citrus peel, some fresh red fruit, white pepper, menthol, a little oak astringency and slight charcoal. A little thin. Finish: the walnuts reappear, the white pepper transitions to cayenne, strawberry menthol, and lemon juice. Hot. The heat lingers and drinks even a little hotter than its proof of 113.7 would suggest. With water: nose is much improved amd I get dark fruits like prunes. Nice. Palte is calmed down and the heat geeatly controlled and vanilla carsmels come to the forefront. Finish has a lot less heat and oak makes an appearance. A little more balanced. This is massively improved with water, but while a solid, quality bourbon, its price is hard to justify.

Overrated, just like Peyton Manning. I joke, but anything else in the same retail price range would dominate this like the Legion of Boom dominated Peyton and the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII!. Nose is pretty nice, a hint of smoke?, tangy with a sweet Dickelness, lime stone, caramel, soda bread, dill pickle, baking spices and marzipan. Actually, I find the nose quite compelling. Palate is soft and inviting with a general sweet fruitiness, some minerals and baking spices. Finish is fairly long and spicy with minerals, flinty stone and a hint of baking spices. You can’t escape the Dickel DNA in this, but it is actually pretty nice and it doesn’t upset my stomach like most Dickel products.

For the price tag this bourbon is a disappointment. Nose: Chocolate strawberry with a hint of smoke. Taste: I continue to get chocolate covered strawberries, it enjoyable. Very little for the 112 proof, almost taste watered down. Finish: The finsih is a little weird. I feel as if I have some tyle of powder in my mouth. The bourbon stays with you but not in the savory way. Overall: if this was a under $100 bourbon, i would be raving about the flavor profile but at the $200 price point i expect amazing and this just not deliver.

Good nose. Rounded taste. Likely overpriced, but pretty darn good. Would pay a steep price for it to be my celebration bottle, but probably not $250. Free bottle from TDG.

Peyton Mannings name on it. Had to try it. Not worth the 200 bucks it cost but was enjoyable