E.J. Curley & Co. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey - Single Barrel

Received as a birthday present, I'm always a fan of a good single barrel selection, and that place generally doesn't pick poor quality items, most of the time. This seems to be one of those brands that keeps to themselves and doesn't put out any details on their spirits, which is either a big miss or ends up being quite good. The history of the actual brand seemed intriguing on their website, but with only two products, both of which are bourbon that seem to come from the same mash bill, it puts a lot of pressure on the brand to make sure they taste excellent. Normally when distilleries have such a limited range, they price them far too high, but at the price point this is at, it makes me think it may be sourced. Regardless, this is likely also fairly young (the price also supports this), but the proof on this particular barrel is definitely appealing to me. The color is a decent chestnut/muscat wine with a light edge, and the legs are surprisingly thin for this proof. The nose has initial notes of chocolate and sweet orange, but they never quite combine, instead being two distinct notes. There are much lighter notes of red berries, specifically strawberry, as well as a floral profile, with a focus on honeysuckle. The oak comes through as "chewy," but the fruity and floral notes from above put the flavor of toasted or French oak in my mind. Initial sips are simultaneously fairly dry but very hot, and start with a lot of the floral/citrusy/fruity/toasted/French oak notes that I picked up from the nose. These flavors intensify as the body opens up, continuing to focus on the drier notes while the burn moves across the tongue and to the back of the mouth. The red berries come back as well, but in a dehydrated flavor form. The finish remains hot and fairly bright, with little to no sweetness tasted at all. I really appreciate how the proof hits hard with this one; it's certainly pretty high to start with, but I've had spirits with 130+ proof that just fell flat compared to this. This particular barrel and bourbon is unique in that there is a lot of focus on the dry, floral, and citrus notes, but without any of the more traditional sweetness you get just by default from the corn or barrel aging. The burn is heavy enough that it helps to open the body up and concentrate the flavors, but there's a distinct lack of young grain flavor here that was my biggest worry overall. This causes this to end up on that pretty impressive side, and excites me to drink and use it in further, be that in cocktails, over ice, and beyond. Without knowing anything further about the actual whiskey within, though (unknown mash bill, age statement, confirmation of sourced or not), I'm not likely to buy another single barrel on a whim, but I'd be happy to try the small batch (provided it is cheaper, as is pretty standard), and would even eye other single barrels if found at bars.

122.26 proof, single barrel number 38. This is a solid pour from a relatively unknown distillery. It's hard to find information about the product on their website. I'm assuming it's a standard 4-year-old straight product. It has nice notes of soft vanilla and lemongrass. Hints of brown sugar were a pleasant surprise at this price point. The higher proof contributes some oily notes and length to the finish, with flavors of light brown sugar and cinnamon. At $65 for a 4-year product, it might be tough to justify, but the liquid inside is worth it.

A pal suggested this and I really like it.