Nose: Banana, sandalwood, cherry, light hints of mint and caramel, nutella and a beautiful rich brown sugar. Taste: Hits hard, burned my ears a little. Pecan. Cola. Banana bread. After opening up, you can start to get some big flavors of vanilla and baking spice. Finish: SPICE. You get a deep Kentucky Hug, but some of those fruit elements from the nose show...the cherry and banana linger. Overall: Normally, I’m not a huge fan of the heavy-hitting proofs. I tend to stick in the 100-110 range. With that being said, this is a really nice high-proof bourbon that is as pretty as it is aggressive. Some incredibly deep flavors. And it’s extremely cohesive from start to finish. Makes me wonder what a BiB Woodford would taste like. Value: I got this from a friend. I’ve spent more than $130 or so on a bottle before, and I totally get why the high-proof fans would LOVE this. It’s not my personal preference, however. I’d rather spend half the price on an EH Taylor or a 1920 OF. But if high proofs are your thing, then I think you’d have a lot of fun with this. Happy I tried, but not a purchase for me.
Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Batch Proof 123.2
About this bottle
This release for 2019 is the second Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Batch Proof, a series within a series as it falls under the Master's Collection umbrella. That series selects one of five elements in whiskey production: water, grain, fermentation, distillation, and maturation. Batch Proof highlights maturation by evaluating the differences resulting in the change of the final proof of Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Expected to be released annually with a different batch and proof, the latter to be in the 121-126 range. Highly allocated. This second batch is bottled at 123.2 proof, far from the 90.4 proof which is traditional for Woodford Reserve.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 38 parsed reviews.
Miles ahead of it's lower proofed brethren, in my opinion. Great example that shows just how much proof matters. Nose: vanilla, maraschino cherry, oak, roasted peanuts. Navel orange off in the distance. The proof shows up big-time. Taste: oak, caramel, vanilla, tannin, barrel bite. Classic bourbon but turned up to 10. Peanuts on the finish. Alcohol burn. Oil and alcohol linger on the palate. Unroasted peanut on the finish. Almost some coffee and almond characteristics way at the end of the finish. Some drops of water brings out some brightness in the nose. Citrus punches through some more. Palate gets fruity - almost like grape, banana, with brown sugar along for the ride. Tamps down the burn a little. Coffee note now accompanied by dark chocolate. Really enjoyable. Fun to explore with water. Classic bourbon with some hidden tastes if you want to explore. Just as good if you don't.
Blind hp bourbon tasting. On the nose, pecan pie, apricot, apple, orange peel, marshmallow, toasted brown sugar. The high proof is evident on the nose and carries over to the palate, but it’s not overbearing. On the palate I get much of the same. There’s a nice balance between the caramel, fruit and wood. Really quite nice. I have no guess for this one, but it’s one of my faves from this series so far. 2nd taste: I saved half the sample and am comparing sbs with the Old Forester. The Woodford is easier drinking, the proof is lower, the flavors less intense. The wood is in nice balance with the other flavors. I think I’m changing my tune after trying them side by side. I’ve gone back and forth, but ultimately I’m giving a slight edge to the OF. Big thank you to @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for the sample! So many great bourbons you’ve given me to try.
Pulled this out tonight because it was conveniently located in my cupboard, hard to believe I’ve had it almost 3 years. This was purchased from a large chain before they became so difficult to find, so at SRP. Nose - vanilla and caramel with a decent amount of alcohol. I’d give it a 3 - average Palate - Vanilla and cherries, some barrel oak and tannins but not overdone, very little of the caramel here. For me the cherry really stands out. If you like the vanilla and cherry note this is for you. Finish - the higher proof leads to a decently long finish with the oak and vanilla taking center stage. Overall a solid pour, especially for SRP which is probably difficult to find in this market. 3.75 for me.
Color: Dark amber. Aroma: Toasted oak and nuttiness with hints of vanilla and caramel. Taste: Batch proof make itself known as soon as it hits your tongue. The charred oak carries over to the palate and gets hits of cinnamon and peppery spice. Finish: There is a good amount of warm cinnamon and toasted nuttiness on the back end. Not sweet, but not too powerful for a batch proof. Can be consumed neat. A little water opens up sweeter notes of honey and vanilla ice cream. There is a tiny amount of sweetness that carries over to the palate but that cinnamon spice is still prominent. The long finish is accentuated with water and becomes more complex.
A sample from dthom as part of the "whiskey transfer program". Nose: Quite a bit of ethanol punch, heavy vanilla, apple, and raisin. Some background oak and mint. Flavor: Very sweet but a lot of barrel bitter up front which I found a little off putting. Otherwise vanilla and brown sugar and nothing else seemed to come through the bitter notes. Finish: Heavy leather and tobacco with rye spice. A ton of barrel bitter that overwhelms everything else. I don't think that Woodford made a good choice making this such a high proof as some gnarly flavors are coming to the forefront. Kind of disappointing.
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