Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Historic Barrel Entry

Oh boy. Any time I walk in to a small mom and pop liquor store on a whim and spot a Woodford Master's Collection bottle I've yet to try.. you know it's going to be a good time. There's an interesting mash of different scents on the nose but it's just a tad hard to clearly distinguish as they seem to come all at once. I'm picking up some vanilla buttercream and baking spices such as cinnamon. The nose then tapers off to hazelnut and dark cocoa powder with just a bit of herbal mint at the end. The taste is as interesting and eclectic as the nose. Light, creamy caramel candy is accompanied by some banana pudding to open up sweet. The taste becomes much drier midway; with leather, baking spices and herbaceous mint taking center stage. The tannic taste carries through to the finish with charred oak, leather and just a tiny bit of a citrus twang. But because of the dryness of the accompanying notes, its a bit more like orange pith than freshly squeezed orange juice. Honestly, I think this makes a fine bourbon. Seems the average rating is quite a bit lower here than most of Woodford's Master's Collection but I think its unique and tasty enough to heartily recommend that you try it sometime.

Nose is excellent; vanilla creme, barley, old musty books, nutmeg, clove, sarsaparilla, and sweet oak. Way more ethanol than there should be for 90 proof, but the complexity and appeal make it a forgivable sin. Palate doesn’t match the nose well but is interesting in its own right. Tea leaf, tobacco, leather, cinnamon, apple, generic citrus zest, and rye spice. Tastes more like an American single malt than a bourbon. Flavors are so rich and bold you’d think this was 110+ proof. Nicely complex. Finish is wonderful bringing nice sweet notes to contrast and balance the tannic palate; vanilla extract, cake frosting, hazelnut, green peppercorn, and toasted oak. Mouthfeel is airy yet velvety and elevates everything to another level. Turns super dry after the flavors fade. Ok, this bourbon is bullshit, “Wait, it sounds like you liked it!” And there’s the rub; I DO like it. I paid well over MSRP at $199 for this (fomo) but even at $130 retail, there’s no reason this should cost as much as it does. In the $60-$80 range? Man, I’d be buying it all the time. North of $130? A one-time novelty. Sure is tasty, though.

Low and sweet caramel/molasses nose, with some higher wood coloration. Upon the palate, the wood is quite apparent, with a hefty dose of oak playing master to the level of char. Flavors are pojnted and in keeping with a traditional bourbon, no surprises here. Yet, a very deep flavor that seems as if this is at least bottled-in-bond proof, and yet it is barely above 45% ABV. The body is medium and the finish is medium-long with a hint of spice and cinnamon at the tail. A strong and focused whiskey.

What a nose and I actually get a little banana on the pallet. For 90 proof there is lots of oak and flavor. The finish does have some oak and bitterness or char which is interesting but a bit sour. Wish this had an age statement or a reference to how much longer it was aged to see if it was really the lower entry proof or more time in thr barrel. I only have a store pick for regular Woodford so it’s completely different.

This has a rich, funky nose. I was pleasantly surprised how good this is on the palate. The richness gives way to the sweetness and wood notes. I don’t get any heat from this(90.4 proof). Short to medium length finish. Overall: interesting, good whiskey. Not worth the money$$$

WoW what a disappointment , Taste so watered down a real let down especially for the price . Avoid at all cost if you really enjoy full flavor bourbon & whiskey this isn’t it !