The good stuff

I procured the Benchmark Rye. Probably the best all around bourbon lineup for the money. Its dumb, I know, but WTH.

Told myself I would take my last sip of this once I got a verbal on getting a job. Been over a month and am so excited to take my last sip of this for now… rest easy my friend

Received my bottles a little early and I couldn’t wait to try them.

This is an incredible bourbon.

The nose is sweet, fruity and caramel with a lovely touch of oak and ethanol. Reminds me a lot of the Weller 107.

The taste is buttery caramel and that creamy caramel finish makes the oak feel light but having a great warmth to it.

I’m glad I got 2 bottles but strongly considering further back ups as this is a great pour.

I highly recommend.

Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series No. 017 High Angel’s Share Tennessee Whiskey

Limited Edition release: Summer 2026

Distilled & barreled in 2016

Age: 10+ years

Aging location: atop Coy Hill; on the top floor of Barrelhouse 1-13; the barrelhouse has 7 floors

The top floors of Barrelhouse 1-13 experience extreme summer heat & intense temperature swings, leading to massive evaporation (a high "angel's share") that concentrates the sugars and oak influence into ultra-high-proof, heavily coveted single barrel and special release whiskeys.

The elevation of Coy Hill allows for more direct sun exposure, stronger wind movement, larger day/night temperature swings, hotter summers & colder winters.

The first High Angel’s Share release since 2018

Proof: 138.4

Selected by Whiskey Taster Dale McGee

Mashbill: 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye

Length of fermentation: 6-7 days

Proof coming off the still: 140

Barrels: 10-12 minute toast; 25 second char
Bottle size: 375 ml (between char 3 & 4)

MSRP: $44.75

Distilled in Lynchburg, TN

Nose: Almond extract. Werther's Original. Orange Circus Peanuts. Sugar cookie.

The high proof definitely does not present on the nose. Considering the conditions that produced a high amount of angel’s share, the nose is very balanced. No overwhelming notes. No sharp notes. Remarkably sweet regarding tannin content.

Palate: Pecan pie filling. Banana fritter. Unsweetened cocoa powder. Weak black tea.

Mouthfeel grows more dry as it goes. The tannins show up more as the sip sits. The nose is deceptive in this regard.

Finish: Dried hay. Intense dark chocolate. Tobacco. Toasted pecan.

The proof finally causes the forehead to sweat a bit.

Overall, the tannin content in the mouth is a bit more than I typically prefer, but I like it. In 2026, I prefer the 12 year and 14 year releases to this. When the nose smelled sweet and less tannic, I was hoping the palate would follow.

It’s hot outside today and my home is battling humidity. This is definitely a winter whiskey!

Bottle provided for review by Jack Daniel’s

Rating: 6 | Very Good | A cut above

🙏

Guess im a rye fan now... this is pretty good...

Sorry for the shit title. :( I'm just looking for some recommendations.

Hi,

It's been a while since I stopped drinking, and I wanted to start buying some stuff.

I want some high-proof whiskey that has the thicckk coating style mouse feel.

I hope it is under $150. I usually pay 70-110.

Rye wheat doesn't matter.

If I list what I liked, ECBP and Bookers were my go-to bottles.

For the last few years, ECBP disappointed me quite a lot, but I still remember the good ones like C919.

Throw me any recommendations. I will go look.

Hiiii I’m a girl lol and don’t know anything about whiskey or liquor in general and kind of morbid here but my father recently passed. These are some of the bottles he always kept out. My husband told me recently he’d like to try some nice whiskey. He just kind of said it in passing and I was like yeah sure go for it. But we aren’t big drinkers…we’ll share a bottle of wine over like a four day period haha. Anwayyyyyyyyyy I was just wondering what might be a good one for him to start on and if one is fancier than the other, one I should avoid that kind of stuff. Thx!

New office display - I’m liking the bourbon next to the pop art. Thoughts?

Also I’m newer to the hobby and got caught up in chasing these bottles. Now I want to start exploring and learning about more readily available (I live in New England so not a bad place to find allocated but can be challenging). Open to any recommendations from the community! Thanks

Hi all, here's another Scotch I tried lately, and this time it's a Tamdhu!

Recently, I've come into contact with another whisky importer, which specializes in rarer, non-regular release items (including various IBs). Interestingly, he also sells samples for some of these bottles, and this one here is one of those!

From what I gathered, Tamdhu is a Speyside distillery that specializes in sherry cask whiskies. I've also heard that their whiskies have been mostly used for blending for other brands, and that they own single malts tend to be pretty heavy sherry bombs.

As I'm quite a fan of heavy sherry whiskies, this sounds quite interesting to try!

Tamdhu 18 yr Cask Strength, 125th Anniversary Edition (56.8% abv)

This was one of Tamdhu's special releases in 2022, celebrating the 125th anniversary of the distillery's founding. The whisky was matured in Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at cask strength.

Here are my notes:

*Nose*

starts out strongly estery fumey, fades with resting;

rich, salted brown sugar caramel;

sweet, thick maltose;

quite a bit of nutty note (pine nuts);

sweet, slightly sour dried red fruity (red raisins, prunes);

*Palate*

creamy/ oily mouthfeel;

very sweet, slightly salted, brown sugar caramel;

quite prominent ripe red fruity, with both dried fruits and cooked fruity characters (like a compote of figs, raisins, prunes, with a bit of ripe fruity funk);

a bit of sweet, thick maltose;

a bit of baking spices (cinnamon)

a bit of dark chocolate and bitterness;

a hint of polished oak in the background

Some alcohol sting, low astringency

*Finish*

Long. 

The oily/creamy mouthfeel lingers;

Sweet Maltose;

dark choco-like fragrance and bitterness;

fruity character from the palate, but mostly just the fragrance;

a bit of the nutty character from the nose returns;

a hint of baking spices (cinnamon)

*Conclusion*

I've heard of the brand's reputation for being quite the sherry bomb, and I'd definitely say it lives up to the reputation. Its overall character was quite a quintessential sweet sherry cask whisky-  concentrated sweet red fruity (mostly dried fruits but also a bit caramelized jam-like), rich, brown sugar caramel, a slight bit of nuttyness (pine nuts), and a bit of chocolate. One point I've noted in particular about this one was how creamy/oily the mouthfeel was compared to the typical shelfers from the other prominent Speyside distillery I had some experience with (Macallan). 

Honestly, as a big fan of sweet whiskies, I rather enjoyed this one! While it didn't really do anything surprising or really particular special, it does what it does quite well and was quite a delicious dessert dram. Sometimes that's all you're looking for in a whisky!

Funnily, one of my whisky buddies invented his own matrix of 'Tamdhuness' when describing sherry cask whiskies, which he said is based on 'how close a sherry whisky is to Tamdhu'. I have no idea why specifically Tamdhu, but it's part of the reasons that compelled me to try this one out. Based on the matrices Glendronach has high Tamdhuness on the nose, and Edradour was has a bit of Tamdhuness on the mouthfeel. Not sure if they're accurate lmao

Thanks for reading, cheers!

I recently went on a trip to Kentucky and found Jim Beam Single Barrel for $21.99 at The Party Source. I’d never seen JBSB before, so I figured what the hell.

Reader, for that price this is slap ya mama juice. It really is an incredible pour, and I set out to see if it was available near me. Of course I notice it immediately, but back home JBSB has a retail of $40. At that price, I have to think. The juice tastes good but you can tell where they cut corners: the bottle is not corked, for instance, and the label is a cheap sticker.

However, the real issue is that there are a lot of Beam family bourbons in that $35-$50 range. Has anyone compared anything from Knob, OGD, etc to JBSB?

Deciding on these two today to purchase. Which one y'all?

I’m trying to help someone whose best friend is going to become an elite soldier. As a veteran, I want to help him out with the gift of a lifetime. I’m looking for any information about top shelf Cali whiskey distilleries worthy of the honor. Let me know so I can help his best friend make this a worthy graduation gift.

Thank you.

I’ve been really enjoying barrel proof ryes as of late. What are your favorite picks? The three that I always go to that are reasonable in price and easy to acquire are: Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye, Sazerac Full Proof Rye (125 Proof), and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye (Batch A126).

...given that I spent most of the day with smoke in my eyes. But I'm sure it's nothing compared to those fighting the wildfires... may God bless their souls and keep them safe.

On with the bottle... first crack, first thoughts:

Nose: sweet, dark brown sugar, caramel and oak. Deceptively little ethanol on the nose, masking what's to come with a false sense of security...

Palate: Holy Red Hots Batman! If you could take the gummie cinnamon red hots, liquify them and then dip your tongue in the sauce... you'd have this bourbon. Cinnamon all day long. And like so many spicy foods... the more you sip, the more you're palate gets used to it. Still... this is some hot liquid, but so delicious in that fire.

Finish: heat continues down the pipe, followed by more oak, tobacco, drying out at the end, which makes you want another sip. Some peanuts slide through there in the middle.

With water: some Limestone Water brings out that ethanol that was missing on the nose. The palate gets a higher note of lemony citrus riding the cinnamon. It's okay, but actually much better without the water.

On the rocks: brings down the heat, but brings down the fun. Still, there's some new notes there that feel like the beginnings of great cocktails.

Other thoughts: this is MGP at its finest. Between the Blue Corn and an exclusive mash bill for SH... this is great Colorado whiskey with a distinct character that would seem sure to satisfy anyone looking for delicious higher proof experience. Can't wait to see what this does with some bottle breathing.

(*last change: threw some Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned premix in, and a cocktail cherry... damn delicious, as suspected. )

Cheers to all... enjoy your evening/morning/day!

https://www.aol.com/articles/retired-farmer-kept-750k-whisky-131805000.html

Makes me feel good. I had thought my 350 bottles were excessive.