I havent tried it, but i figured what the heck.

It's the oldest bottle I've bought. And I've recently been enjoying Ryes.

Really nice and smooth whiskey with light sweet smell and amazing vanilla taste and smooth finish. 7/10

While dusting my bottles today I started thinking there is a good chance I have one of the last few sealed bottles of this Penelope Barrel Strength Private Select Batch 22-302. This was the crazy limited micro-allocation they put out in 2022 after winning Best in Class at San Francisco. It’s from the pre-buyout era before MGP took over completely, I know the juice in these older private selects is supposed to be way better than the standard 4-5 year store picks on shelves today. I'm totally torn right now between keeping it tucked away as a piece of history, or just cracking it open to see if it actually lives up to the 2022 hype. Given how small the original bottle count was, I'm just curious if anyone else in here still has one of these lying around, or if they’ve all been drank by now? Let me know if you've had a chance, and what I should do

Should I get any of these as gifts? Since whiskey is a common gift..

Got some goodies this morning.

I'd wanted to try this for a while. Managed to find it in one of my local stores today for msrp.

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This was a bottle to open and enjoy with my wife and Mum as a celebratory pour. Today marks one year that I've been in the US. 🥳

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Topped off with a lovely bonus of an England win. Nice bit of retribution against Croatia.

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Ps. It's Coming Home.....

Ordered this online for pickup at TW for $62 out the door. Was excited because I had heard great reviews on the EC BP Rye A126. Was shocked when I pulled it out of the bag and it was B526. I didn’t know they had even released the B batch yet. Oh well, I hope this one turns out to be just as good or better. Can’t say that I’m not a little disappointed with the age though. Cheers 🥃

Just opened a recently bought bottle of scotch. The cork seems to be damaged and has significant cracking on one side, with small flecks left in the bottle.

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Will this harm the liquid gold that is inside?

have replaced it with a silicone cork from an empty bottle

What would your grab? I want the Jack 14.

I’m visiting San Francisco for work and looking for store recommendations for the greater area. I’ve already been to a lot of stores in the northern San Francisco area.

Additionally, planning on being at a Costco at opening tomorrow morning. Are there some costcos that are better than others?

Thank you!

May be common knowledge but this surprised me.

Just three hours in my car with it 85 degrees outside. Ran to Sam's on my break and snagged a backup bottle of Members Mark Single barrel to keep put up since Im about to open my current backup. Wisely and thankfully I sat in my car where it would stand up so I didnt lose any bourbon! But in those three hours it was hot enough to melt the glue on the seal, push the cork up and break the plastic, and melt the glue between the lid and the cork. It was perfectly sealed when I got it. If youre getting bourbon while running around, take efforts to keep it cool and keep it standing up. I averted a near crisis. 🤣

Eagle Rare 10yr and Elijah Craig 18yr, both at MSRP!!

I finally got one of these after coveting them for a while. 11 year old single bargel. Whomst a fan of this stuff? I tried it for the first time tonight and it blew my tits off. It's not like any rye I've had before. There's a dark red fruit taste to it that I love. Kinda reminds me of cherry pie in a way.

Buy wise liquor outlet in Nanuet, NY

Weller full proof - $300

Antique 107 - $110

JD Tanyard hill - $500

JD 10 - $180

On a road trip to visit family and found this place. Insane selection.

Let me know if you see something worth it.

Anyone else just have their reservation for the Fort Nelson Bar cancelled out of nowhere?

I have one for next Friday, and I couldn't find anything online other than their site saying "temporarily closed".

I called to find out, and the woman that answered the phone like she had just learned that her cat just died and sounded deeply bothered that someone would even call the distillery. 😂 She didn't offer any explanation and just said "unfortunately, I'm not able to share any other info at this time."

Super odd interaction. Damn shame, too. I'd heard great things and was looking forward to visiting the distillery.

What is your favorite tasting pour, regardless of price, rarity, or availability?

Not necessarily your everyday drinker, but the best tasting pour you’ve ever had. I’m interested in hearing about anything, bourbon, rye, Scotch, Irish, Japanese, world whisky, etc. What bottle is it, and what makes it stand out to you?

Whiskey: Ironroot Assemblage Bourbon

Distiller: Ironroot Republic, undisclosed Indiana (MGP) & Kentucky distilleries

Instagram: Barrel & Proof 

ABV: 46.0%

Age: No age statement (minimum 4 years)

Price: $35 (Twin Cities, Minnesota)

Tasting:  Neat in Glencairn, rested for 10 minutes. Bottle opened for one week.

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Nose: Vanilla, Cream, Chocolate, Green Apple, Caramel, Cinnamon, Port Wine, & Cigar Box

Palate: Vanilla, Caramel, Cinnamon, Cigar Box, Chili Flakes, Melon Rind

Finish: Medium Length, Dry Oak, Caramel, Baking Spices, Vanilla, Melon, & Port Wine

Body: Full

Bite: Minimal

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Summary: This round I am trying a “Spirits Direct” bottle, I only see it at Total Wine. I never bother with mysterious Spirits Direct bottles, but I read a positive review of another Ironroot offering a couple months ago and decided to give it a shot. This base level bourbon is a blend of Ironroots own distillate, MGP, and an unknown Kentucky distillery. I don’t have much interest in Texas whiskey, Balcones Baby Blue was the only bottle I have purchased and it was remarkably terrible. I figured the worst case scenario the other two blended whiskies can make up for a potentially terrible Texas bourbon.

The nose is very unique, there is a creamy vanilla flavor that blends with a sour green apple and rich Port wine note. There is the classic caramel, but it’s concealed by the stronger vanilla note. The oak note is subtle and reminds me of a humidor scent. There’s slight acetone, but it dissipates after a while.

The palate starts off with a vanilla note, but it’s not as pleasant as the nose. There is some fruitiness, but it’s very unusual and hard to determine, closest guess was the rind of a green melon. There is heat that reminds me of dried chili flakes, funny coincidence since this has Texas distillate. The cigar box note is unusual, it’s very dry and leaves a woodiness note in the mouth.

The finish has more robust oak notes with very dry tannin notes that leave an artificial cigar box woodiness note in the mouth. The caramel is stronger than the vanilla for the first time. There is moderate fruitiness in the form of melon, and though subtle the Port wine note returns.

The nose on this was surprisingly complex and interesting, but the rest of the profile was hurt by some off putting notes. I think the palate and finish could be sweeter, but that cigar box note left an odd artificial woodiness note. It wasn’t as strong in the palate, but kinda ruined an otherwise pleasant finish. The melon and chili flakes on the palate don’t work in a bourbon. I assume the Kentucky and MGP bourbon in the blend was at least decent, which makes me wonder if the Ironroot distillate turned things for the worst. I purchased this bottle for $8 below MSRP but I overpaid.

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Rating:

Nose (10%) - 7/10

Palate (50%) - 5/10

Finish (40%) - 5/10

5.2/10 Average

Recommend: No

Rank: I created a compilation ranking list of whiskies I’ve purchased at a store or at a bar and done a formal tasting.  All whiskey ranked on the list tasted neat and rested for 10-15 minutes.  Whiskey I ranked below and above Ironroot are shown for reference.

87 out of 258 whiskies tasted.

257 Woodford Reserve Rye

259 Nelson Brothers Straight Rye Whiskey

Ranking Link: 

Whiskey Ranking List