MGP
Nelsons Green Brier
47.5%
NAS
This is the 3rd release of Belle Meade Black Belle, a bourbon whiskey distilled by MGP for Nelsons Green Brier that is finished in imperial stout casks and bottled at cask strength, low as it may be. Last time I had this was at the tail end of a tasting when my palate was bonkers shot, so I'm looking forward to giving this a proper review. Let's dive in.
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Sweet and malty, rich and cocoa-y. Toffee, butter, caramel. More sweet savory - no fruit and hardly any oak to be found.
Whew, interesting on the palate. The stout is definitely there. Malty, roasty and toasty. Sweet brown butter, toffee, vanilla and s’mores note. The beer note is inescapable - but it works here.
Short to medium in length, again it is very stout forward. This is all good things, as I quite like stouts, but the Belle Meade character is sort of lost. Marshmallow, waffle cone, strong malt backbone all see this one out to pasture.
Alright, so I like this, but I also really like stouts. If you do not like stouts, I expect that this may not be for you. It is really well done, though, and I will call it very good because it has quite an array of great notes - especially on the nose. If you wish that your Belle Meade gave up some fruity character and took on a maltier, faintly lactic, marshmallow forward character, this will check all your boxes.
85
