Bib & Tucker 6 Year The Classic Six Small Batch Bourbon

This is likely an older bottle, perhaps 7 or 8 years old. Drank neat. Visually it's clear and a deep copper color. The aroma is sweet and fruity. Ripe stone fruits like cherry, apricot, and plum, balanced with some herbal and grassy rye notes, plus some caramel and a touch of aged oak and leather. The taste is enjoyable. Abundant fruit flavors mirroring the aroma, with a hint of hot cinnamon, black pepper, some herbal notes of tarragon/mild anise, and touches of vanilla and oak. The finish is sweet, with notes of raisins and some spice. Overall, it presents a more appealing profile with its herbal and fruit-forward characteristics. A nice attempt for those who favor Four Roses, though I slightly prefer Four Roses and save twenty dollars.

The aroma is of dusty corn and sticky caramel, perhaps with a hint of grape candy and some barnyard funk at the end. The taste is also dusty. It has green and rye notes in the middle, with softer, golden tones around the edges. There's a bit of stewed pear and hay, maybe. Without the dust, the edges definitely feel smoothed out. It has a bit more bite than expected. It's more unique than other classic Bourbons. Not a game changer, but certainly something interesting to keep on hand for a change of pace.

A robust, Tennessee sour mash bourbon from 3 Badge Beverages in Kentucky, aged for six years by August Sebastiani. It opens with sweetness, featuring fruit, oak, chocolate, vanilla, and spice. The mid-palate offers yeast, cookie dough, dried apricot, ginger, cinnamon, charred oak, and malted barley. It concludes with a lengthy, complex finish hinting at corn and chestnuts. September 2018 / January / June / November 2019 / October / November 2020 / August 2022 / 2024

The nose presents great notes. Fudge. Sweet tarts candy. Maple syrup. Spice and oak are present and they harmonize well. The flavor profile is much less impressive. Dark caramel. Maple syrup. Oak. Spice is present and it impacts the finish a bit more intensely. Not necessarily a negative, but the dark caramel, oak, and spice feel somewhat one-dimensional. This is not a bad whiskey. The bottle is nice, but it's overpriced for the quality.

The initial sip has a light caramel flavor, followed by what seems like the end of a burn, then a surprising shift to an increasing heat, like a hot pepper. The flavor was good. It's very different from other bourbons, though. I'd say it's among those that are like a rollercoaster, but not quite, still unique.

It's definitely unique, and I perceive a distinctly herbal/grassy character from this bourbon. It feels a bit light with a brief finish, and perhaps my opinion will evolve. I'd opt for many other bourbons before this one, as I find the value proposition to be quite poor.