The Walking Dead Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Disclosure: normally I would have passed on an NAS, sourced bourbon with a cheesy media tie-in, but when a friend's local grocery store knocked this down to $14 and everywhere else in my area had it at $35, I decided to take the inexpensive plunge on this 94 proofer. Bright nose with standard vanilla/caramel, peach, and new leather. The palate brings the vanilla, caramel, and peach from the nose with minor notes of Spanish peanut skin, and maple. Very sharp bordering on "harsh" mint and oak bite in the mid-palate. Short finish ends with some cinnamon and that newly tanned leather previously noted in the aroma. Watery mouth feel for 94 proof. This bourbon doesn't have any deal breaking flaws, but nothing about it excels either; basically it's a fast train to Boringville. Hard to rate; do I give it a rating based on it's normal price of nearly $40 or my bargain basement price of $14? Let's start by saying it is nowhere NEAR worth $40 or even $30; if I paid that for it I'd be pissed so if anywhere near that I would avoid. At $14? Quite possibly a re-buy when funds are light. I'll kind of split the difference with the rating.

The palate has vanilla, honey, brown sugar, raisins and a light rye spice. Palate is slightly oily with sweet vanilla, rye. Conclusion is medium long with vanilla and a slight bitterness. Fairly easy to drink with a slight tingle on the edge of the tongue. I am pleasantly surprised by this one. I had very low expectations given the gimmicky-ness of the bottle. I found one for $9.99 so I opted in for it.

Surprisingly I really enjoyed this. A little sweet, a little spicy, you have your regular bourbon flavors with prominent rye lurking in the background. They actually did a good job on this one; it kind of reminds me of a store pick Elijah Craig with a tad bit more rye.

Sweet banana and chili pepper are present under the ethanol on the nose. The candied cherry and dried mango skins dominate the palate, but the alcohol is still noticeable. There's a lot to appreciate, but it's slightly too out of sync for me to desire more.

Color: Amber to deep gold Nose: Faint ethanol, floral notes, stone fruits, caramel Palate: Toffee/caramel, vanilla, peanuts, mint. Light mouthfeel, minimal ethanol burn Finish: Light oak, caramel. Short/doesn’t linger

As a fan of the show, I felt compelled to try it. I was expecting a weak, cheap taste, but it was quite pleasant. I've spent more on bourbons with a less enjoyable flavor profile. I'll certainly purchase more while it's available.