Woodford Reserve Bourbon Personal Selection

I guess I should put down some thoughts about this barrel pick Woodford, as I put down the last glass from the bottle. A 1 Liter, local store pick of Woodford, from August 2020. The nose is classic Woodford Reserve, with a bit more rye spice coming in. It is those familiar toasted pecans, caramel popcorn, vanilla, with some rye bread, caraway, and allspice. The taste delivers pretty much exactly what the smell does, maybe a little more peppery, the rye is more pronounced on the tongue than the nose. The finish is about the same as standard for Woodford, this is where the oak astringency comes in, again, not too strong, just a bit more than the standard offering. Smell: 17/20 First taste: 27/30 Follow up and finish: 19/25 Experience (esthetics, value, bottle): 16/20 Subjective feeling: 1/5 Total: 80/100 Like Woodford Reserve, the barrel pick was a good bourbon, but not a great bourbon. I enjoyed it, it was worth the buy, but I don’t feel like I need to buy another of this batch, let alone grab a few before they are all gone.

Bull City Bourbon Club pick, "Two Barrel Bullpen" A blend of two barrels instead of a single barrel Open 8 months Nose - Lemon peel, brown sugar, light cinnamon, sweet corn, oolong tea, maraschino cherries, and light ethanol. Palate - Artificial cherry, flat cream soda, caramel, powdered sugar, and light tea. Finish is short with lemon bars, over steeped herbal tea, white sugar, bitter watery oak, and little to no ethanol. I have little interest in Woodford these days, but bought this club pick anyways. Woodford is fine, but there are so many bottles you can buy that offer more proof and flavor. Is a barrel pick better than standard Woodford? Who knows. It's so light and thin that I struggle to pick out any notable flavors. I've barely touch it in 8 months, and it'll probably sit on my shelf for a while.

NOSE - Cherry, Honey, Oak. Leather musk. Flower or grass. PALATE - Oat and oak. Brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal packet. Slightly sweetened oatmeal. Light to medium body. FINISH - Not harsh. Minor cinnamon spice with grainy light taste. Touch of sweetness but just a touch.

Vanilla toffee with a hint of oak. Tastes of toffee and wood. Coats the tongue nicely. Goes down smooth with an after taste of wood and wheat.

Not bad with tastes of oak and char.

Batch 210450, CDS WC 2025