![]() I’d be giving this a 100 if it were for the nose alone. This nose is the quintessential confectionary shop - it literally hits every note you’d imagine while standing in one. You can’t not love this nose - even if you aren't a fan of wheated bourbons. I attribute this to BT’s corn strain specifically which may sound odd but it’s definitely here and works very well with the rest of the nose. The grape soda note I get from some of BT’s bourbon comes through, even more so than I find in a lot of bottles of Eagle Rare. Freshly buttered toast, melted milk chocolate, some orange spices, potpourri and a little cherry cough lozenge sitting on top of piles of big baking spices - all balanced by gorgeous notes of American oak and a squeeze of lemon. You can literally smell the butter melting on top of the pancakes. Warm, moist brown sugars, bubble gum, ginger, cinnamon, and very buttery. Few wheaters can touch this nose - the sweet, confectionary notes just melt and simmer throughout the glass and overflow into your nose. Nose: Rounded, rich and decadently nostalgic. Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s Wheated Mash Bill (undisclosed) But ultimately it’s the juice inside that counts. “10 summers old”, bottled at 107 proof and made from a wheated mash bill, with probably one of the coolest labels on the market next to equally eloquent Willett and the minimally modest BTAC. Now that that rant is out of the way (my apologies), a bourbon “Asleep Many Years In The Wood”.most everyone reading this knows what this is, the youngest of the Van Winkle brothers, the Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year. These are the hoarders, which one could strongly argue are greatly responsible for the state of bourbon today. Even worse is the “whiskey demographic” online, be it social media and even some bloggers, which has become so saturated with pic after pic and repost after repost of some dudes “collection”, consisting of these scarce wheaters that most people never will drink - and the few that do are either absurdly lucky at a Controlled States ABC lottery or are dropping 800% markup in a state like California and this doesn’t even include what some are paying for by the ounce in a bar - just because the name “Van Winkle” and/or the old dude with the cigar is emblazoned on the bottles front. A lot of bloggers I talk to won't even touch them in terms of reviewing and will scoff instantly even at the name whiskey bloggers and veteran bourbon drinkers have become so fatigued when a novice brings up the desire to try a Van Winkle, its honestly hilarious to witness the facial expressions. Shrewd product placement, celebrity chef douchebaggery and hype to the point of inept insanity has done enough damage (or one could argue the opposite) to the Van Winkle line of whiskeys. The world of bourbon certainly has changed which is why I honestly wasn’t planning on reviewing any Van Winkle bourbons, not because I dislike them, but simply because we don't need another review of an overhyped bourbon that nobody can acquire. I'm one of few my age that can still remember buying this on the shelf at MSRP.
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