In this episode of the Spirits Blind Tasting podcast I'm doing a blind tasting of the E.H. Taylor Four Grain Bourbon 2018 & Michter's 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey 2018. Feel free to follow along with a dram of any of these or any other spirit you enjoy as I try to uncover the aromas and flavors of these 2 spirits.
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My tasting notes from this episode can also be found below:
Spirit A - E.H. Taylor Four Grain Bourbon 2018 (50% ABV)
Appearance
- Clarity: Clear
- Intensity: Medium
- Color: Amber
- Suggested texture: Medium > high
Nose
- Condition: Clean
- Intensity: Medium > pronounced
- Aroma characteristics: Butterscotch, Ginger bread, vanilla cream, caramelized apple, all spice, cloves, dried apricots, dried orange peel, pecan nuts, toasted/dry oak
- Other notes: Has a dusty/dry sensation to it. Like a toasted oak/sun dried oak type sensation. Very little char sensation on the palate but there was the burnt sugar note.
- ABV: ~55%
Palate
- Sweetness: Dry
- Texture: Warming, mouth filling, Medium > high viscosity
- Intensity: Pronounced
- Flavor characteristics: Oak, burnt toast, all spice, cloves, black pepper corn, licorice, leather, hints of vanilla and caramelized apples + some floral notes after water added
- Other notes: Lost a bit of the dried fruit notes, but gained the barrel aging notes much more clearly.
- Finish: Long and complex (Oak, cloves, licorice)
- ABV: ~55%
Conclusion
- Quality level: Outstanding
- Blind guess: Bourbon, ~10 years
Spirit B - Michter's 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey 2018 (46.4% ABV)
Appearance
- Clarity: Clear
- Intensity: Medium
- Color: Amber
- Suggested texture: Medium > high
Nose
- Condition: Clean
- Intensity: Medium
- Aroma characteristics: Oak, sweet corn, caramel, baked apples, pie crust, leather, ground cinnamon, crushed cloves, nail varnish
- Other notes: More oak, and has a sharp note at the end of the nosing like a high ethanol spike. Could mean a younger whiskey, but not sure.
- ABV: ~55%
Palate
- Sweetness: Dry
- Texture: Watery, low > medium viscosity
- Intensity: Medium
- Flavor characteristics: Oak, leather, cloves, black pepper corn, very little hint on those baked apples + sweetness grows with water
- Other notes: All the spice and burn sits on the tongue, doesn’t follow through. Feels like higher ABV but doesn’t carry the burn, just more tongue swelling.
- Finish: Medium with some complexity (Oak and black pepper corn)
- ABV: ~60%
Conclusion
- Quality level: Very good
- Blind guess: Bourbon, younger than spirit A
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