2023 17yr Altschuler & Co. “Seepin’ Beauty” (Q Pick | 219 Bottles) 106.56°

 

2023 17yr Altschuler & Co. “Seepin’ Beauty” (Q Pick | 219 Bottles) 106.56°

• 15yr in American Oak | 2yr in French Oak
• Barrel Strength | Non-Chilled Filter
• 78.5% Corn Mashbill

Nose:  A subtle, luxurious, candied nose that seems like the magma in a volcano; it glows and emits an ember, but you know deep in the core lies a potent element.  The wood follows, placing me on an autumn day next to an oak tree with the multicolored leaves beginning to ever so slowly descend from the vines.  The warm brown sugar of a chess pie follows with a slight bit of airiness.  The intoxicatingly pleasant aroma seems to have its own finish... lingering in the mind as no long nose.   

 

Palate:  A subtle front-in oak that immediately swirls like a motorcyclist weaving between car traffic.  Sweetness combined with a spike of spiciness intermingles to dazzle the back of the throat.  More oak comes with a layer of sweetness that lingers on and on… creating an excessively long finish as it acts like a scent that intrigues the mind.  The flavor morphs into a refined espresso and dark chocolate – placing me in a banquet hall with a grand stairway descending from the second floor.  For an item that is 106.56 proof, it offers a soft coating of all the crevices of the mouth, offering a gentle Kentucky hug - not the really tight one, but more from a young daughter.  The flavor stays on the tongue long, long after the last sip, leaving me slightly whimsical.

 

Verdict:  I had said to a friend, “If Seepin’ Beauty was a girl, I’d marry her!”  She has everything I would look for in a bourbon - soft and approachable, yet immensely complex and multifaceted.  She possesses an approachable intro without needing to proof-up, a diversity of depths in the mid-palate, and a long lingering finish while seemingly morphs and changes from sip to sip, as if you are watching a play with Act I, Act II, Act III.   A sign of quality bourbon, of the highest degree, is a dynamic and multifaceted profile that leaves you intrigued, leaving you unable to fully grasp, comprehensively, the extent of the element in one sip.