Bourbon HTX

Solid selection at Hayden Block Smoke & Whiskey (Calgary). This Old Forester SBBP was as good as they come. It’s your classic Brown-Forman oak set up with pops of brown sugar and spiced blackberry. For CAD $18, I’ll grab this every time!

Don’t leave without trying the spare ribs and the fatty cut brisket.

Let me know where else to eat and drink in Calgary!

Race ready!

Balcones 8 Row Flint Pick = Honey-Raisin Tanned Leather

OVERALL: If I could buy this for my home bar, I absolutely would. Easily one of the best Balcones I’ve tasted and gets even better as it opens up in the bottle. Do not come into this pour with preconceived notions of what Balcones is / isn’t. This one is unique. I’ll certainly be hunting more Balcones single barrels after this one.

BACKGROUND: This is an American single malt that was aged in new American oak, finished in a Madeira cask, then transferred to a used bourbon barrel. For those unfamiliar, Madiera is a type of fortified wine popular in the colonial days (and today) that is made in the eponymous Portuguese island off the coast of Morocco. Grapes are harvested from the rocky outcrop, pressed, fermented, then fortified with brandy for aging in the hot upper floors of the port houses. It’s powerful, textured, and a wonderful post-dinner sip in it’s own right. Common tasting notes for Madeira wine include: caramel, walnut, hazelnut, raisin, and peach.

NOSE: The pour opens with savory barley grains and a smoky, briny minerality but settles into a lush overripe grape that you can only get from Madeira. In truth, the Madeira notes steal the show and are somewhat similar to a Port finish but with more caramelized sugar and raisin. One you work through the Madeira notes, you will pick up some fresh tanned leather and sweet pipe to***co.

PALATE: A proofy, tannic bite hits the palate first, but settles into a ultra-lush Madeira/raisin with an undertone of clean minerality. Sweet baking spices appear if you give it a drop of water.

FINISH: The Madeira notes really cling to the back of the roof of the mouth with a little tannic tingle on the tip of the tongue. A pretty impressive finish.

Full review with score up on r/bourbon, link in my bio

DISCLAIMER: I’m a normal guy that buys his own whiskey and reviews based on what’s in the glass.

Old Elk Double Wheat = Applejack bread pudding

The mouthfeel and baked sweetness really stands out with this pour. It’s a wheater (double wheater, actually) so the range of flavors is fairly compact, but this juice has enough character to keep you coming back for more (and quite often at that). This is one of those bottles that absolutely evaporated off the shelf - I kept reaching for it again and again. This has me really excited about the bottles coming out of Olk Elk.

NOSE: Wet leather, brown sugar, sugar cane, fresh hay, almond and cracked black pepper.

PALATE: Beautiful mouthfeel with a sweetness builds at the top of the palate as you get into the pour. This is two parts bread pudding with amaretto and a drizzle of caramel sauce and one part Applejack cereal. On occasion you get hints of berry fruit snack and a cagey edginess (fresh cut oak) that bring the sugar bliss back to this world and reminds you of the proof. I caught a hint of peanut butter a few times, but nothing consistent enough to call a nutty note.

FINISH: Like the last power chord ringing in an amplifier to close out the show, an echo of the sweetness from the palate holds on for quite a while reminding you of what you just experienced.

WHY TO BUY: If you are a fan of wheaters, this is one you should definitely pick up (if you can find it). It has all the hallmarks people love in a wheated mashbill with that little bit extra to elevate this above a porch pounder to rip while the ribs are going.

WHY TO PASS: Save for some confectionary notes, there isn’t much spice with this. If you are looking for something to prickle the tastebuds this probably isn’t your Huckleberry.

Full review with score up on r/bourbon, link in my bio.