Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Batch Proof 124.7

Nose is very “Brown-Forman” with a pungent blend of Maraschino cherry, wood varnish, Sasparilla, caramel drenched flan, leather, and a wood which always smells more like mahogany than oak to me. There is some light ethanol present but at nearly 125 proof, it’s forgivable. Palate is rich and deep and matches the nose quite well but add vanilla, allspice, citrus, cocoa powder, toffee, and tobacco. Flavors very much sit in the back of the throat which does lend a hint of harshness that feels like it doesn’t need to be there. Finish is nice and long with delightful morph into rum soaked Christmas fruit cake, cola, orange zest, cinnamon, leather, and pink peppercorn. Mouthfeel is full bodied. Slight effervescence tingles the tongue, and that in combination with the proof does become slightly fatiguing after repeated sips. I find these releases to be quite good, and this release to be very consistent with the last one I have tried. Are they better than say, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof despite being nearly twice the price? I would say no, but it is high quailty. I paid $155 for this and while I can’t say I regret it, it is slightly overpriced. Will I buy the next release anyway? Probably.

Almost no legs in the glass but definitely coats it and leaves many tear drops. The nose os fruit forward, cherries and prunes, and a hint of apple. Very little sweetness or spice, and no oak at all. Palate stays fruity, almost sour (in a very nice way), more prune than cherry. Pepper is right up front as well and deep dark bitter chocolate comes on with it. Pepper stays on the tip of my tongue for quite a while and as it finally fades, the chocolate dominates, but the sour fruit never leaves. Pepper on the sides of my tongue appears toward the end until all that is left is a light fruitiness. I wont say the flavors knock me out, but the intensity and duration of this whiskey sets it apart.

NEAT NOSE - Rich Brown Sugar, Caramel, Sweet Oak, and a slight hint of Maple PALATE - Sweet/Dark Oak, much more oak than the nose would suggest. The brown sugar is rich and chewy on the palate and the caramel is bold. FINISH - Much smoother than the proof would suggest. Finish is everything coming together with oak at the forefront. BUY? - Yes BUY AGAIN?? - Maybe not the same release, but this is my first Woodford Reserve Batch proof and I will likely pick up others if able.

Nose: cherry, raw cookie dough Body: medium Palate: first thought is one note, cookie dough, cherry Finish: pretty long with a significant kentucky hug. Finish is sweet with a little barrel char. Its nice. Hints of caramel later. Note: better at this tasting then i recall the first time i tasted this. A little oxygen helped open this up. Overall cherry, cookie dough, sweetness. Its not bad.

This tastes good. Drinks below its proof. Less flavor and punch than I expected. Dont get me wrong, its fantastic- but it lacks the sophistication to get a higher score. Flavor profile is there. It is round, but just shy of a banger. Comparing this to my last taste of Bookers Kentucky Tea, its just not as good. But is up there.

Can smell the deep chocolate carmel and cherry hints. With the traditional tastey oak finish of Woodford. Incredibly smooth for 124 proof and a fantastic sipper. Leave a little hug going down. One of my favorite bottles!