Berentzen Bushel & Barrel Review

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The majority of posts here have been bourbon reviews.  As much as I love bourbon, I thought it was time to branch out a little bit and try a “flavored whiskey”.  This one sounds perfect for the holiday season:   Berentzen’s Bushel & Barrel.  It’s a mix of straight bourbon whiskey and Berentzen’s apple liqueur.  This “flavored whiskey” category is new territory for me.  I poured myself a little glass and drank some. (Berentzen provided a review sample for this post)

My first impression was it tasted like an apple Jolly Rancher without some of the artificial flavoring of that candy.  I had a few more sips.  This is some sweet stuff.  Although bourbon is listed on the label first, I struggled to find bourbon flavors anywhere.  Adding some ice mellowed the sweetness a bit, and brought out a little more bourbon flavor (key word there is “little”).

Fans of apple or sweet fruit cocktails would probably like this a lot.  I admit I liked it better with some ice.  It was like a dessert drink of sorts.  A bottle of 60 proof Bushel & Barrel will run you just north of $20.  Now don’t go looking for bourbon here in this bottle.  The star of the show is the apple liqueur.   Not a huge fan of it by itself, but it could make for a great mixer in cocktails that call for an apple liqueur, or an interesting way to spike your Thanksgiving Apple Cider.

5/10

Lost Prophet Bourbon Whiskey Review

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Orphan Barrel’s fourth release, Lost Prophet, is the newest bourbon in their line of highly aged bourbon.  This one follows 20 YO Barterhouse, 26 YO Old Blowhard and 20 YO Rhetoric.  Lost Prophet is a 22 year old straight bourbon whiskey.  Unlike its siblings which were distilled at the Old Bernheim or New Bernheim distilleries, Lost Prophet was distilled in 1991 at the George T. Stagg Distillery (now the Buffalo Trace Distillery).  The mash bill for Lost Prophet Whiskey is 75-78% corn, 7-10% barley and 15% rye.  So, how’s it taste? (Diageo provided a sample of Lost Prophet for this review)

Wow!  For a 22 year old whiskey, I expected tons of oak.  Instead I got some slightly burnt caramel, some oak (it IS 22 years old after all), leather, honey and butterscotch.  There’s a soft entry on the palate.  That means pretty easy sipping at 90.1 proof.  There’s some caramel, followed immediately by some cinnamon and nutmeg spice.  Oak is there, but kept in check for the age.  There’s a slightly creamy character with this one too.  Last but not least, there’s some vanilla on the back end.  The finish is long, spicy and sweet, with a honey note left over.

Bottom line:  Lost Prophet has made me a believer.  This whiskey far surpasses Barterhouse, Old Blowhard & Rhetoric as leader of the pack.  There’s much more balance in this than Old Blowhard and Barterhouse – not too sweet and not too spicy.  A bottle of this should run about $120.  If you’ve got the cash, pick this one up.

9/10

DiResta Dickel Box

Last week I received my bottle of 9 year bottle of George Dickel as part of my membership in the Dickel Dozen.  It came in a great looking wooden presentation box.  Great first impression.  Thankfully, the whisky inside the bottle was outstanding.  It was made by Jimmy DiResta, who’s appeared on a number of shows including A&E’s Dirty Money, as well as various HGTV and DIY Network shows.  Now, you can see how the really cool looking box was made.  Watching this video took my appreciation to a whole new level.

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