Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Batch Proof 119.8

Woodford Batch Proof Neat // Glencairn Sample provided by: @tbran19 Nose: Holy banana cream pie, Batman! Complete with nicely toasted crust and a light sprinkle of cinnamon dust on top, this nose is absolutely wonderful. Dusty oak, leather, cherries are all present as well. I revisited this nose several times, and the dusty oak become more pronounced with time, as well as cracked black pepper. Palate: banana taffy, Swedish fish, black pepper, a bit of star anise as well. Numbs the front of a tongue a bit, and tingles on the sides. I detect some milk chocolate as well. Finish: Long finish. No Kentucky hug at all, which I miss. Dry oak, chocolate, a bit of nuttiness, a touch of black pepper and tobacco leaf. I like this! The nose was especially pleasant, and the palate backed it up. I wish the finish had more of a Kentucky hug, but the absence of any alcohol burn allows the flavors to be tasted without distraction. 89/100 My scoring system: 59 and below: Bad. Not worth buying. 60 - 69: Decent, but with obvious flaws. Might buy, but very price dependent. 70 - 79: Pleasant to good, worth buying, but nothing spectacular that wows me. 80 - 89: Good to very good. Insta-buys that I actively seek out. Must contain some “wow” moments. 90 - 94: Greatness has been achieved. No detectable flaws, and every moment is sheer pleasure. 95 - 100: This is where I score my “best of all time” drams. Similar to lower 90s, but with something tangible/perceptible that sends it over the top.

Nose is bold and very Brown-Forman with cherry, vanilla ice cream, chocolate malt, cinnamon sugar, orange slice candy, and sweet, subtle oak. It’s mostly sweet, but there’s enough depth and complexity to keep things inviting. Ethanol extreme low. Palate offers some significant differences from the aroma. The cherry is large and in charge, but also brings red apple skin, date, tobacco, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Finish has tons of barrel char, smoke, maraschino cherry, fresh green oak, nutmeg, leather, chili pepper, and wood varnish. Extremely long. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and could really use more weight and silkiness as it’s just slightly harsh. Overall a nice offering. At $119 (Costco), this is luxurious enough to merit the price tag but at the same time not something i would seek out to rebuy. A lot of the same elements can be had for cheaper with Old Forester barrel strength. That said, I would probably buy other Woodford Batch Proof at this price just for the experience.

I am finding myself to be a huge brown Forman fan as of late and have been really excited to get into this bottle. Nose: It’s got a rich banana and nilla wafer aroma like the homemade banana pudding I look forward to every potluck at church. The ethanol is not coming through on the nose, but it provides the experience of sticking your whole face in the foil bag of nilla wafers and taking a deep breath. It has a deep richness that I can’t name, but leaves me hoping to find chocolate in the palate or finish. Palate: palate is much brighter than I expected. It hits with laffy taffy and banana runts. Brown sugar and vanilla custard (think cheap John filling) coats the whole mouth. Little black pepper and cinnamon helps balance out the sweet richness. Finish: buttery slickness ends up leaving some sweet vanilla and caramel notes that have an oaky background. This sure delivered for me! Highly recommend this bottle. 90/100

WOW! This stuff is outstanding. Very dark amber color, almost with a hint of orange to it, viscous with legs that stick to the glass and slowly run down like syrup. Dark chocolate, vanilla, oak spice, with a candied-cherry sweetness that lingers on the finish. Drinks surprisingly easy for 120 proof. Very close to a perfect 5 bourbon for me!

Nose: cherry, chocolate brownie, pie crust, fruit Taste: sweet and salty and very full bodied. Melted chocolate, cinnamon, pie crust, tart cherry. Experience: eating cherry pie with fancy rich hot chocolate. A really fine dram.

Fresh bottle crack. Neat. Nose is vanilla caramel with some oak spice. Taste for me is like that of the nose. Rich sweet caramel with a spicy dry finish. I get some fruity notes (apple to me) as well. I like it.