Q's Quest to Nothing

  2025 William Heavenhill 19yr 138.2°     Nose:   An intoxicating aroma of sweetness captivates you – immediately putting you back into a rickhouse.   I was immediately taken back to the Haunted on the Hill tour done a few years back where we walked through the barrels of Heaven Hill at night. A deep sweetness lurks in the back, as if there is celebration or feast of the solstice.   A little bit of dankness lingers in the pour with that oakiness in the backdrop of it all.   This is what bourbon ought to smell like.        Palate:   A touch of spiky heat like a needle pierce you but in a very pleasant way.   Followed by a wave of warmth of that coveted Kentucky Hug.   The palate lingers of sweetness that makes you want to chap the lips to get more flavor.   It offers the oakiness in the backdrop with the explosive bomb of a Laure.   Lingering finish that had a fresh lime-like characteristic to initiate ...

  Nose:  Sweetness that resonates of nectar with mild back spice that swirls around the centered sweetness.  The heat is tempered yet full-bodied, like a gust of wind, with a slight leafiness towards the back.  As one noses into it deeper, the oak slowly shows itself with a subtle touch of funk towards the end.     Palate:  An immediate sweetness that is more reminiscent in William Larue Weller than commonly seen in Russell’s – that bomb of dense brown sugar and caramel.  Some oak and age complement the sweetness immensely well, making for a full-bodied, dense mid-palate.  The heat accompanies it towards the back of the mouth – causing a tingling of the back jaw.  Elements of slight grassiness come with a long finish as the sweetness returns to remind us that it is still there.  A slight element of bitterness comes but a welcoming complement to it versus that of something undesirable.  It has so much body that it makes yo...

  Nose: Sweet with a soft powdered spice with a slight hint of funk.  Really inviting, like a misty morning that leaves you intrigued.  A slight bit of delicateness like a soft sunray in the morning light.  More soft sweetness follows the back like that of honey. A bit of light green grassiness follows that reminds me of some of the Willett Ryes.    Mid-palate:  Front in sweetness with a spice kick.  A touch of that funk comes along.  The body feels matures, with many characteristics encapsulated by a soft heat backdrop that leaves you warm.  The midpalate is much richer than most four roses, with a denser layer of sweetness that reminds you of the traditional brown sugar.  The funkiness comes back – a damp cellar felling, but not as overwhelming as your dusties of the world.  That flavor profile is so inviting and complex that it leaves you coming back to understand it all.  With each sip, the warmth builds a little....

  2023 Eagle Rare 17yr (19yr) 101°   Nose:   Sweet, inviting nose that radiates a light brightness – my mind seems to see a small banquet with a sense of refinedness and eloquence. The back offers some more decadent flavors of brown sugar with some cinnamon.   The nose seems endless – a long tunnel of sweet, darker flavor that goes on.       Palate:   A front-end richness intermingled with oak and a slight bit of complimentary bitterness to intrigue the palate.   Sweetness follows with more bitterness that feels intoxicating to the tastebuds. A slight note of grassiness comes – making me think of looking up on an Autumn day into a single green leaf that remains while the others all seem to have changed to the time.   The heat profile is a little more subdued compared to other past ER17 expressions – which surprised me...   but what it lacked in heat, it offered in balance and depth of an ER17 that I don’t recall las...