New England Barrel Company is an awesome new start up rapidly gaining steam across the country; they This is a fresh off the truck release from the New Hampshire Liquor Outlet - it is a single barrel picked Percentages: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley Proof: 113.9° Age: 5 years Further identification: This is a single

Letting this rest a while reveals some really nice butterscotch which smells a lot like a Weller Single

The Irish itch struck me tonight! My good friends Gloria and PJ recently gifted me a bottle of this so it was fresh on my mind. I gave the website a quick search for Irish and amazingly I haven't given this bottle the spotlight it deserves... so we will rectify this tonight. This has traditionally ranked fairly high on my Irish scale when I've done head to heads, but we'll give it a 'reset button' and a fair shake in a fresh glencairn (I had to switch from the glass I took home from Ireland, as the nose felt distinctly muted compared to what I am used to on a glencairn glass). Let's dive in. Company on Label: Pernod Ricard (Distilled at Midleton Distillery) Whiskey Type: Irish Whiskey Mash Bill Percentages: 100% Malted and Unmalted Barley Proof: 80° Age: 12 Years Further identification: This is a readily available flagship release from the Redbreast line; it's a traditional Midleton triple distilled Irish whiskey 'matured in the finest oak casks' Nose: Up front there's a silky traditional sugar cookie on the nose. There's big confectioner's sugar alongside vanilla and flashes of fun, funky oak. Light cherry skins dance on the surface of the liquid below. There's a chocolate-laden crispy wafer aroma that I'm really loving. Soft hints of caramel and toffee elegantly lift up on deeper inhales. There's a sweet floral perfume aroma that really draws my attention in. The lightness that the low proof gives off here is actually a positive for me; it's a bit tantalizing and it reminds me of the uncertainty of young love. It really embodies one of the most perfect Irish aroma whiskey profiles I think anyone could craft. As much as I love my high proof bourbons, this nosing experience delivers the perfect medley of soft almond, jackfruit, and lemon forward Fresca (the old recipe). It takes me back to big family backyard barbecues in the Summers when I was a kid. I think it's time for a sip. Coming back to the nose after having a few sips I find that the oak aromas are much more prevalent as they give off a soft level of refinement you typically will get out of this age statement region. I find small flashes of leather, black pepper and level, earthy undertones. I can't ignore the sweet fruit medley and floral notes in the background but they're rather non-descript or secretive as I may have alluded to earlier. There's a faint bourbon characteristic to the oak I find late in the glass, but it's not trying too hard to be something it's not. There's hints of smoke, mossy earth and a faint metallic characteristic near the bottom of the glass. The empty glass smells of rose petals, grenadine and faint charcoal. Palate: Immediately on the palate I find a lovely creamy texture that hits my tongue. Those beautiful pot stills produce such lovely oily, rich, viscous mouth feels. It carries hints of grapefruit, caramel butter bars and chocolate puff pastries. Another sip unlocks big flashes of sherry, ripe dark cherry, and an enrichment of the chocolate pastry-style dessert flavors. The linger feels short but I think that's more of a deceiving artifact of the low proof as the caramel, minty grapefruit and confectioners sugar continue to dance around on the taste buds for quite some time without any of the sensation indicating that you may be consuming alcohol here. I continue to find the feeling of being around loved ones as I sip through this glass. Perhaps it's just me being a touch nostalgic with the style of whiskey that first captured my attention, but I'm certainly not looking to get rid of this glass any time soon. The linger is incredibly long as the mouth coating sticks with you allowing for a little sip to really go a long way. As I get lower in the glass the creamy caramel and sugar cookie notes really ramp up in intensity and some of the more nuanced fruit fall by the wayside. This feels like a great glass to savor and share one of, but might not draw you in for a 2nd or 3rd pour necessarily. My last taste is a larger sip and swish. With that I find troves of caramel, bits of molasses, a soft sizzle of lemon, and a pervasive wave of vanilla toffee cookies. Lovely, lovely all the way through - this is an exceptionally crafted Irish whiskey. Rating: 5/5 This is one of my all time favorite Irish whiskeys. It is also just an unbelievable value and exudes marvelous elegance every step of the way. I have a Redbreast 21 I have yet to crack open and it's very clear that that bottle is going to have some really big shoes to fill. I want to thank Gloria and PJ again for gifting me a bottle of this! You chose damn well!

Company on Label: Old Forester Whiskey Type: Bourbon Mash Bill Percentages: 70% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Barley Proof: 127.6° Age: NAS Further identification: Warehouse K, Floor 6, Barrel 6618. This is a collaboration pick that Mass Bourbon Alliance was invited to taste alongside the Liquor Junction team. I was joined by Derek Laverriere and Justin Fillip for this pick; it will be releasing at all the LJ stores in the coming months under the name of "LJ/MBA Strawberry Krunch" through the punch program Nose: Bubbly, bright, and fruit forward on first raising the glass to my nose. Definitely some heat as I went in a bit too overconfident. Lovely brown sugar, molasses and walnut. Roasted pecans. A decently large oak note comes through with a floral sweet back end. Wow... The creamy vanilla and toffee is suddenly quite potent and lovely. Really great nose-feel. This reminds me of everything that got me hooked on bourbon in the first place. Deeper inhales show off pepper, baking spice and a darker earthiness that feels so rich. Strands of oily leather are ever present. Time for a sip. Coming back to the nose, the strawberry fruit is very apparent. There's more floral tones and a rich honey note jumps out at me. The leather, oak and bright Spring bloom notes are really hitting the spot for me on this 80 degree New England day. Later in the glass you can be a little more brash with the depth of your nosing as I find lemon peel, shortbread cookie, and Nilla wafers. The empty glass smells of butter cream, pear and light florals. Palate: Whew! First sip of the day and it is a good one! Cherry and cinnamon hots lead the way on my first sip. The sizzle on the palate is not overpowering and it quickly evolves into a silky strawberry sweetness. There's a rice or cornflake cereal background note that ties this together nicely. I am reminded of why we landed on the name 'Strawberry Krunch' on this one almost immediately. Another sip shows off the honey sweetness as well as a supremely crushable, floral-laced caramel cream. The mouth feel is buttery with a touch of tart lemon effervescence that sticks in the gums. Nearing the bottom of the glass I swear this could be finished in a honey barrel; it's so sweet and enjoyable. Touches of grenadine, faint Aperol and fig really take the glass full circle if you are patient. My last sip is a larger sip and swish. It brings a potent lemon frosting forward while producing a slightly drying molasses pop on the center of my tongue. The linger is medium in length and carries lovely creamy vanilla notes all throughout. Rating: Two Thumbs Way Up I really didn't expect to like this as much as I did, as I haven't historically been a big Old Forester fan. It very well may become one of my favorites once the bottles come in, but I have to leave it at today's assessment. Yes, I had a hand in selecting it... but I'm giving this one a fair shake today. This is a re-review of the liquid several days after we selected the barrel already. I truly believe this is a special barrel that not many will get to experience. I am definitely going to want a few of these for myself, but I'm also glad to share it with all of you in the MA whiskey community. Cheers!

You really want these to feel familiar, but special enough to justify hunting down that particular single Eagle Rare Single Barrel Select Company on Label: Buffalo Trace Whiskey Type: Bourbon Mash Bill Percentages Blanton's Single Barrel Select Company on Label: Buffalo Trace Whiskey Type: Bourbon Mash Bill Percentages Weller Full Proof Single Barrel Select Company on Label: Buffalo Trace Whiskey Type: Wheated Bourbon

How do single barrel picks compare? together to make a cohesive and consistent flavor profile, single barrels are just single components If you want to read the full review of each single barrel, click the link at each title! Dion's Single Barrel #491 Where the flagship was consistent, this one was flashy. Kappy's Single Barrel #021 This is a great example of a single barrel that ended up falling short compared

This particular single barrel was the one that Robert Simonson preferred and selected to bear his name

Four Roses Single Barrel (not the barrel strength version)... Would you consider this a shelfer? It gets followed almost every time by a slightly tannic fruit profile that tingles the insides of my I've previously had 2 other bottles of a 100 proof single barrel and have always regarded it as a strong

, 18% Rye, 10% Barley Proof: 127.8° Age: NAS Further identification: This is a Warehouse H, Floor 4 single

Their dark-as-night and proofed-to-the-moon small barrel single barrel releases are garnering some awesome Single barrel reviews however, are a bit of a double edged sword... in existence, so take this snapshot with a grain of salt, or regard it in a way that attempts to distill traditional while defying convention, using Scottish copper pot stills, open fermentation, and local grains Plaza Package Single Barrel Review Nose: Creamy sweet tart aromas show up here.

A single barrel of whiskey and the journey that unfolds. The opportunity to dive deeply into a distillery by tasting a series of single barrels is often seen Or so is the hope of this single barrel, as this is a tier 6 (highest in the warehouse). I'm ready. hint of damp lavender and a gentle musty characteristic reminds me of potting soil after a summer's rain

The Knob Creek 25th Anniversary Single Barrel release commemorated the 2017 milestone of 25 years of special product that features Dad’s preferred ‘uncut and unfiltered’ style, combined with my passion for single Let's find out how this single barrel offering came out! Your mileage may vary given this is a single barrel product. Company on Label: James B. The mouth feel wisps around like a flame with some spice tingling from the middle of the tongue towards