Week #9

Did manage to sneak in a tasting last week, but forgot to post about it. As noted, with the time crunch of the approaching wedding, things have gotten less scientific. This also has to do with the fact that the bourbon hasn't changed much, so there's not a ton to talk about.

This week, my wife-to-be and I each took a sample. Our conclusions: this bourbon is going to be dangerously easy to drink. I may actually bottle it early.

Week #8

Ok, so I knew this bourbon would finish up right around the wedding, and it looks like I will be bottling just about a week and a half before the big day. The good news is that we'll have some tasty bourbon on hand to deal with those crazy final ten days. The bad news is that I thought I was busy during that first bourbon, and everything has simply ramped up since then. I did manage to get my Week 8 tasting in, though I had to squeeze it in while cleaning the kitchen and throwing together dinner, and before getting back to work on the card box that really should have been easier than I'm making it.

As for the bourbon, it is tasty. We received a spirits decanter (as opposed to a wine decanter, which we also got), and I am excited to transfer this batch to it, and start enjoying glasses of this over ice with some lemon. It is going to be delicious.

Hopefully, I manage to get a little more time for a Week 9 tasting!

Week #7

...will be delayed until further notice.

Week #6

There is NO...week 6 tasting. Week 7 coming soon.

Week #5

The bourbon seemed to flow a little slowly from the spigot this week, and I wondered if it was thickening, but I think I just didn't open the tap far enough. The color is about the same, and the odor has grown quite faint. The flavor continues to improve.

Week #4

Ok, so I missed yet another Thursday tasting, but I did get in a good gym session, soaked in the hot tub for a while with the Wife-to-Be, and then went with her to Thursday night trivia with her, where we represented quite well, even though I'm still kicking myself for getting the Bruins question wrong.

At any rate, it's Saturday, and that's close enough. Let's drink!

The color is about the same.

The odor is nice and sweet, with a touch of smoke.

The bourbon has a nice body to it. The flavors have melded together, the bourbon mellowing a bit, and that intensely sweet aftertaste diminishing.

The changes week-to-week are minimal, which, I guess is to be expected. I could probably just leave it in there for 8 more weeks, and then bottle it, but why deprive myself of weekly tastings?

Third Tasting

May 29th, 2014

Hey, a Thursday tasting!

The color hasn't changed much since...well, at all, really. I don't mind this much, and I'm not worried, as I started from an aged bourbon to begin with, so I'm not sure how much farther that will go. It does have a lovely caramel color though, so I'm OK with that.

I have been battling a cold over the past few days. As a result, I am a little stuffed up, so the olfactory sense isn't what it might normally be. That said, I get less of the sweet odor from the unmodified Rebel Yell, which is odd, since the maple in the barrel batch should give it more sweetness. I do get a nice oak scent, though.

The taste is coming along nicely. In the mouth, there's a nice complexity of flavors, with the maple and the bourbon really starting to come together into something slightly different. The one downside is the finish - it finishes VERY mapley. Almost - dare I say it - too sweet. It has a nice, subtle burn going down, leading to that lingering warming sensation, but the aftertaste on the tongue is all maple.