At the price point, I expect more complexity out of a whiskey. The balance is fantastic, and it is very good even at high proof. Definitely worth a try if you come across it!
The taste is spicy and sweet with chili powder and cayenne balanced by honey and caramel, while the finish is medium-length and slightly dry with lingering spices.
This Belle Meade Reserve Cask Strength Bourbon is just fantastic; this is Kentucky Chew good — that’s the closest thing I can approximate it to in the level of depth and rich “bourboness” it holds inside.
The barrel adds a brief meatiness and also a slightly woody bite going into a long finish that fades to a dusting of cocoa powder, chewy caramels, and York peppermints. There’s a lot of great, classic bourbon flavor packed into this bottle. Seek this one out.
The nose on this is bonkers good but the palate and finish let it down. This sort of surprises me since I'm typically a fan of the barrels NGB has gotten for the Belle Meade bottlings, but this one is just a miss. Oh well.
Sweet oak, toffee, bit musty. Some heat, malty cardboard, vanilla bean. Not a fan of the malty note.
Finish:
Short to medium - hot and a bit oaky / musty.
Overall:
The nose on this is bonkers good but the palate and finish let it down. This sort of surprises me since I'm typically a fan of the barrels NGB has gotten for the Belle Meade bottlings, but this one is just a miss. Oh well.
Score:
80
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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