Copper & Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey Toasted Barrel Finish

Liquor City Uncorked's pick, "Gallenstein's Selection #1." Barrel No. DC-484. From Latitude Beverage Company, sourced from MGP. Mash bill: 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley. Barrel filled November 2016, bottled December 2022. Aged 6 years, with an unknown finishing age. 56.6% abv; 113.2 proof. Opened 4 weeks. Nose: A caramel overload, roasted corn, vanilla, mint, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, moderate oak, and noticeable ethanol. Palate: Caramel, honey oats, smooth vanilla, black pepper, warm coffee cake, anise, and tobacco leaf. The finish is long with lingering caramel, a fresh burst of oak tannins, black pepper, clove, herbal mint, and moderate ethanol. I'm usually wary of toasted or double-oaked products from craft independent bottlers. I've encountered some truly awful ones; it's easy to over-oak a bourbon or rye and ruin it. Plus, they typically cost $20-30 more than the standard cask strength version. However, I was convinced to try this by one of the store employees who selects the barrels. He also dislikes over-oaked whiskey and guaranteed they achieved the correct toast level. I must say, I am impressed with this selection; the toasted oak flavors rival the best Maker's Mark wood finishing series. It was very close to a perfect score, but some strong rye spice and oak notes on the mid and back palate detract from the creamy caramel dessert flavors. If it were slightly less tannic, or perhaps a lower rye MGP bourbon, I would buy several bottles as backups. As it stands, for $70, this is considerably better than many sourced bourbons I've tasted recently. Whoever is sourcing and finishing at Latitude Beverage is doing it right.