Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Special Release 2020: Barrel Proof Rye

I’d like to thank the folks at Jack Daniel’s for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

We are going to do something a little bit different tonight. Usually, my wife and I do our tasting notes on Sunday afternoon. It’s a nice relaxing weekend activity that allows us to have plenty of time to think about our notes before publishing. Then when I’m writing we enjoy a little of that night’s topic just to verify that we hadn’t gone completely crazy on Sunday. Well, tonight I called a last-minute audible. These notes are from tonight and I had never tasted this product before 1 pm this afternoon.

You might be asking why I was drinking at 1 pm on a Thursday afternoon. And that would be an understandable question. Well, today I had the opportunity to have my very first Zoom call. And it happened to be with the new Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Chris Fletcher.

Which is where the booze came in.

See this was a call with other writers to introduce the 2020 Jack Daniel’s Special Release. Being an opinion writer and not a reporter, I didn’t have many questions. But luckily for you, the other writers did. Here is what I learned about this particular release.

  • The whiskey in this release was distilled in January 2015, so it is in the 5-6 year range. That is typical for Jack Daniel’s single barrel releases.

  • The mashbill is 70% Rye, 12% Malted Barley and 18% Corn which is the same as their other rye releases.

  • Jack Daniel’s rye distillate is run through 3 feet of charcoal before barreling instead of the 10 feet that their “bourbon mashbill” is run through.

  • Their Master Distiller used the words “Bourbon Mashbill” to describe their non-rye whiskey.

  • The majority of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrels come from the top floors of about 30-40 of their warehouses that had been previously identified as producing good single barrels. This release came from those same areas.

  • There were 200 barrels in this release and they got about 130-150 bottles per barrel.

  • The sample release of 130.8° proof is about average for their whiskey barrels after 5-6 years.

  • This release was non-chill filtered, only being run through a single cellulose pad to keep the barrel chunks out of the bottles.

  • This began to roll out nationwide at the end of November and the suggested retail price is $64.99.

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Special Release 2020: Barrel Proof Rye

Purchase info: This sample was graciously provided by Jack Daniel’s for review purposes. Suggested retail price is $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50mL): $4.33

Details: 5-6 years old (unofficially as isn’t on the label). 65.4% ABV.

Nose: Cinnamon red hots, brown sugar, maple, vanilla, and chocolate.

Mouth: Spearmint, spicy cinnamon, dusty oak, barrel char, maple, vanilla, and dark chocolate.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering mint, cinnamon, and barrel stave.

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Thoughts: I will be specifically looking for this on every trip to the liquor store for the next while. It’s a delicious rye whiskey. I'm a fan of the single barrel rye that is on shelves year-round, but it really sings at barrel proof. I really like this one.

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Bib & Tucker 10-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

I’d like to thank R\West for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

I love the holidays. And I don’t mean that in a manner that will cause Fox News talking heads to lose their shit. I mean it literally. I love the Autumn Holidays. I love the time of year from October 1st until January 1st. I love Halloween, I love Thanksgiving, I love Christmas and I love New Years Eve. This is my favorite time of year. Between the spooky decorations of October to the food of November to the fun lights of December, I’m in heaven.

Well except for one thing. I hate winter. Even more so, I hate snow. And historically, well, let’s just say that snow is a big part of this time of year. But, among all the bad curveballs 2020 has thrown our way, one that I’ve really liked was the weather. We’ve had one weekend of heavy snow. And that disappeared almost immediately. It has been glorious. For me, that is. I’m sure that people who depend on snow for their winter recreation, or who make their living off of winter recreation, are less happy about it.

But one thing that we can all be happy about is bourbon. At least if you drink, and if you don’t why are you reading this? Anyway, tonight I’m going to take a look at the second sample of Bib & Tucker that I received. This one is 10 years old and bottled at 92° proof. Like the 6 year old version, it was also distilled in Tennessee and bottled by Bib & Tucker.

Let’s see how it tastes.

Bib & Tucker 10-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: This was graciously provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $74.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.00

Details: 46% ABV. Distilled in Tennessee. Batch 2. 10 years old.

Nose: Oak, cherry, and menthol.

Mouth: Spicy with cinnamon candies, cherry, and oak.

Finish: Sweet and oaky with cherry and cocoa

Thoughts: This is delicious. Spicy on the mouth and sweet on the finish. I'm really digging the cocoa notes that come with the finish. It's a bit out of my price range for a frequent purchase, but would make a lovely splurge or gift.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Bib & Tucker 6-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

I’d like to thank R\West for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

A couple of months ago the folks at R\West reached out to me to let me know that they were taking over the Bib & Tucker account and asked if I wanted some samples to review on the site. Now, I’d walked past Bib & Tucker numerous times. I figured that anything in a bottle that pretty must not be that good. I figured that kinda like the old joke about the guy with the jacked-up pickup (or the sports car for those of you who grew up in more urban settings), they must be overcompensating for something.

That said, I like decorating my house with pretty bottles so I always intended to buy a bottle someday.

So because of that vague future plan to purchase a bottle, I said yes. Not that I expected a full bottle, but I figured the sample would let me know (when I finally got around to buying a bottle) if I was buying expensive prop whiskey or something I’d actually want to drink.

Bib & Tucker 6-Year-Old Small Batch Bourbon

Purchase Info: This was graciously provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $45.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.07

Details:46% ABV. Aged in Tennessee. Batch 22. 6 years old.

Nose: Cherry, mint, and wet rock.

Mouth: Cinnamon, cocoa powder, caramel, and mint.

Finish: Medium finish in both length and heat. Lingering notes of cinnamon and wet rock.

Thoughts: This reminds me of a George Dickel whiskey. And since it is distilled and aged in Tennessee, it may very well have some Dickel in it. I like it, but it will depend on the cost as to whether I decide to pick up a bottle. I have a weird psychological hangup right around $45. $45.99 and I’m thinking $45 and have no problem paying for it on a whim. $48.99 (like I see it sell for locally) and I start mentally rounding up to $50 and $50 is where I start to scrutinize the cost a little more.

I said it was weird.

I’m really liking this as a sub $50 whiskey (so $45ish and below in practice) but I’m not 100% sold on if I’d lump it in with other $50+ whiskeys. Especially since I am really liking how it plays in cocktails and I usually don’t spend that much on whiskeys that I end up using as cocktail ingredients.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Parker's Heritage Collection 2020: Heavy Char Bourbon

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

So I got my COVID test back. Turns out I’m negative for COVID and am just sick with a helluva cold. Very happy about that. Especially since that means that I hopefully won’t be losing my sense of smell or taste. Both of which are super useful for tasting whiskey. Luckily I had a backlog of tasting notes that I’ve been working through posting that should, hopefully, cover me until I can get back to tasting whiskey in a critical manner.

For now, I guess I’ll just have to drink it in a medicinal manner. Did anyone get a prescription for me?

Tonight’s set of tasting notes is for the sample of Parker’s Heritage that Heaven Hill was nice enough to send me. It’s the 14th release in the series which is named for former Master Distiller Parker Beam, who sadly passed back in 2017. Like every release going back to 2013, some of the proceeds from this year’s bottling will be going toward ALS research.

This year’s release features Heaven Hill’s traditional bourbon mash bill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% Rye. It was aged for 10 years in “heavy char” barrels (Level 5 char) on the sixth floor of Warehouse Y. There were 102 barrels in the batch. The suggested retail price is $120.

Parker's Heritage Collection 2020: Heavy Char Bourbon

Purchase info: This was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $120.00.

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $8.00

Details: 60% ABV. Mash bill: 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% Rye. 10 years old. Level 5 char. Aged on the sixth floor of Warehouse Y. 102 barrel batch.

Nose: Vanilla, oak, caramel, and cocoa powder.

Mouth: Nice and spicy with cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, chocolate, and just a hint of mint.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. Lingering sweet notes of cinnamon, caramel, leather, and mint.

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Thoughts: This is just straight-up good bourbon. There are no gimmicks, just the flavors that made us all fall in love with bourbon. The flavors I would list if you asked me to describe bourbon to a novice: caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, spice, a nice burn, and some dark chocolate and leather for depth. I really like it.

With water: This is 120° proof so I should probably add some water to see how it reacts. Water really brings out the caramel on the nose. It reduces some of the richer notes in the mouth allowing the drier and spicier notes to shine. Personally, I'm thinking I prefer this neat.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

MB Roland Single Mash Whiskey: Mixed Grain

Paul and Merry Beth of MB Roland are my friends. Because I might be biased, I have decided to disclose that bias so that you can decide how much to trust the review. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, I am reviewing a bottle that they gave me as a gift. This was not intended by them as a review bottle, but I like it and wanted to share.

I had originally intended this to be Tuesday night’s post. But, then I went ahead and got sick. Not sure with what, but I’ve got a Covid test ordered just in case. After feeling great yesterday, I backslid today and feel pretty rough. So I’m going to keep this pretty short.

This was a gift from my friends at MB Roland. It wasn’t intended as a review bottle, they are just nice people. For ethical reasons, I only review things that friends make with a disclaimer stating it was made by my friends so that you can use that to weigh how biased I am. And I only do it when I really like something. That said, when this arrived on my doorstep a couple of months ago, I knew after the first sip that I wanted to let everyone else know how good it is. In fact, I walked right over to the edge of my yard with the bottle and two glasses and invited my neighbor to try it as well, knowing he has a sip of whiskey now and then.

He also enjoyed it, in case you were curious.

MB Roland Single Mash Whiskey: Mixed Grain

Purchase info: This was a gift from my friends at the distillery and was not intended as a review bottle. But I can’t help wanting to brag about my friends and how much I like this particular bottle that they made.

Details: Mash bill: 32% white corn, 32% wheat, 31% rye, 5% malted barley. 55.3% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, dried grain, wheat bread, coal fire smoke.

Mouth: Cinnamon, candy bar notes of caramel, nougat, and chocolate.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Follows the mouth with cinnamon and candy bar notes, as well as hints of the coal fire smoke without being "smoky."

Thoughts: This is such an easy drinking 110° proof that I almost never have it with ice. It's sweet, spicy, thick, and rich. It somehow has hints of coal fire smoke without actually being smoky. The grain shows through but it also has lovely caramel notes. I just really like it.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Larceny Barrel Proof C920

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Soooo…need a drink yet? Welcome to Election Day: Day Three and, at least as of the time of writing, we are no closer to knowing which fifty-ish percent of the population is going to get what they want. And if that isn’t reason enough to reach for a drink, realize that we might set a modern record for voter turnout as a percentage of the eligible population and still have about one-third of the eligible population not vote. That’s nuts to me, but then I live in a state with some of the highest voter turnout percentages in the last few elections.

Anyway, I hope your super-old white guy wins…unless you didn’t vote for my super-old white guy.

Tonight’s bourbon is the third batch of Larceny Barrel Proof, a cask strength version of Heaven Hill’s flagship wheated bourbon brand. The first two batches were extremely hot so much so that it prompted me to write the following for batch B520.

Wow! That's a hot one! This screams for water. And it doesn't suffer from even the addition of a fairly substantial splash. In fact, after trying a couple of different dilution levels, I think my favorite was 100° proof. Water brings out the sweet notes of caramel and brown sugar, tames the heat, transforms the individual spice notes on the mouth and finish into a more generic "baking spice" note, and allows the oak notes to move more to the forefront of the experience.

Let’s see if this trend continues.

Larceny Barrel Proof, Batch C920

Purchase info: This was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $49.99.

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: Batch number: C920. 61.2% ABV

Nose: This is like a caramel drenched sugar cookie on the nose. Strong notes of caramel and vanilla with light baking spices.

Mouth: Warm with caramel, cinnamon, oak, and a touch of apple.

Finish: Warm and long with lingering notes of cinnamon and caramel.

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Thoughts: Good news, this isn’t nearly as hot as the last two have been. In fact, I just realized that my, admittedly tiny, pour that I’ve been having while I wrote tonight didn’t have any water in it at all. Huh, at 122.4° proof, maybe it being that drinkable isn’t great news.

This typifies exactly what my wife wants in a bourbon: sweet and oaks with lots of caramel. She wants it on the record that if she sees this, and it is allowed, she wants to buy two bottles. I also really like it in case you were curious.

Comparison with the last batch: C920 is much sweeter and caramel forward on the nose. B520 is much more spice forward and nutty on the mouth whereas C920 is sweeter and rounder, showing a lot more caramel. And of course, there are the previously mentioned relative levels of mouth burning.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.