Winchester Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey

Nose: Maple syrup, butter, artificial vanilla and caramel, frosting, sawdust, fresh oak, charcoal, indistinct spices, significant ethanol burn. Taste: Sweet vanilla, caramel, sawdust, charcoal, more indistinct spice, maple syrup, a strong alcohol bite, finishing quickly with sawdust and hot, young alcohol flavors. Not great, though I do appreciate the heat. Many bottom-shelf bourbons I've tried are overwhelmingly sweet. This is close to being too sweet but doesn't quite cross the line. Nevertheless, at $20 a bottle, it's pricier (and at least three years younger) than EW BiB and nowhere near as good.

Mini bottle because this doesn’t look good, but what the hell. Very pale as expected after “a year and a day”. (P.s. I don’t think the extra day does anything. Nor does it seem an effective marketing gimmick when it comes to something for which quality actually takes time. But what do I know about marketing bottom shelf whiskey?) On the nose it’s weak; mostly ethanol, with toasted grain and hints of vanilla, pepper and apple. On the palate it’s thin, not far beyond a white, sweet and boozy, with alcohol, sugar, pepper and a touch of vanilla. Alcohol and sugar finish.

The bottle states it's aged for a year and a day, and that's definitely noticeable.

Awful Raw/unrefined Lingers with a sting

Pleasant taste but not smooth

Nice taste, decent