The Toronto Whisky Society got together for a high proof bourbon tasting that’s been in the works for a few months. We finally found a day that worked for everyone and trekked up to Devoz‘s house for the event.

right up front, big thank you to texacer of the Whisky network on Reddit for helping us pick out the bourbons to try. all of us sent lists of bourbons we had that were 90 proof or higher, and Tex picked which ones we should bring. this kept it completely blind RE: what bourbons were in the mix. we brought them in sample bottles, and huge thanks to Devoz‘s wife who graciously helped us by pouring them in a random order, half oz pours each. we would then jot down some notes and make a 100% blind guess. once all bourbons were done, the list was revealed and we re-guessed, after which each person scored up their correct answers. going in, we all expected to do terribly, and put the over/under on total correct round 1 guesses at 4 out of 63. I personally assumed I’d get none right.

participants were boy86 devoz tomodera slackerdude lasidar jolarbear Bryan, and devoz‘s wife. AND special thanks to Kinohead who couldn’t make it last minute but sent a sample anyway, and neversafeforlife for sending a mystery sample in the mail to make the night even drunker!

here are the reviews… remember, i expected to get none right… spoiler… i won’t disappoint.

#1

Nose: fruity, banana, oak

fruity, banana, oak Taste: oaky, bitter, banana again, some sweetness

oaky, bitter, banana again, some sweetness Finish: sweet and bitter. Weird.

sweet and bitter. Weird. Score: 82

82 Overall: very straightforward, nothing too surprising here for dram #1.

very straightforward, nothing too surprising here for dram #1. Round 1 Guess: WT101

WT101 Round 2 Guess: WT101

WT101 Reveal: Smooth Ambler Old Scout

#2

Nose: floral, sweet, less oak

floral, sweet, less oak Taste: is this wheated? Higher rye than the first one. Banana again? Fruity

is this wheated? Higher rye than the first one. Banana again? Fruity Finish: bitter

bitter Score: 86

86 Overall: higher proof than #1 I think.

higher proof than #1 I think. Round 1 Guess: FRSB high rye mashbill, O yeast

FRSB high rye mashbill, O yeast Round 2 Guess: Woodford Double Oaked

Woodford Double Oaked Reveal: Fighting Cock

#3

Nose: hotter, oaky, some fruit

hotter, oaky, some fruit Taste: much hotter. Is this finished in something? Very sweet and fruity

much hotter. Is this finished in something? Very sweet and fruity Finish: banana after 30 seconds

banana after 30 seconds Score: 83

83 Overall: nice but quite hot. Nice flavour.

nice but quite hot. Nice flavour. Round 1 Guess: Blanton’s SFTB

Blanton’s SFTB Round 2 Guess: MMCS

MMCS Reveal: Baker’s

#4

Nose: hotter still, more caramel.

hotter still, more caramel. Taste: really hot! Sugary, weird. Oak. Spice. Feathers?

really hot! Sugary, weird. Oak. Spice. Feathers? Finish: strange… off note in there

strange… off note in there Score: 74

74 Round 1 Guess: something from Dickel

something from Dickel Round 2 Guess: Michter US*1

Michter US*1 Reveal: Makers Mark Cask Strength

#5

Nose: that is really different… tons of fruit. Sugar. Is this finished? Twizzlers was a comment made and it fits. Maple

that is really different… tons of fruit. Sugar. Is this finished? Twizzlers was a comment made and it fits. Maple Taste: Maple Syrup. Tons of fruit. Strange, not like a bourbon at all. Tastes finished

Maple Syrup. Tons of fruit. Strange, not like a bourbon at all. Tastes finished Finish: sweet, sugary. Finished for sure

sweet, sugary. Finished for sure Score: 79

79 Round 1 Guess: no idea… sample from /u/neversafeforlife?

no idea… sample from /u/neversafeforlife? Round 2 Guess: Smooth Ambler Old Scout?

Smooth Ambler Old Scout? Reveal: Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

#6

Nose: more standard. Oaky, caramel

more standard. Oaky, caramel Taste: mid rye, rich and fruity. Quite nice. Oak and vanilla

mid rye, rich and fruity. Quite nice. Oak and vanilla Finish: fruity and delicious

fruity and delicious Score: 85

85 Round 1 Guess: Baker’s

Baker’s Round 2 Guess: EC12

EC12 Reveal: Elijah Craig 12

#7

at this point my notes start becoming much more sparse.. You can tell we were a few in.

Nose: nice oak, vanilla, caramel

nice oak, vanilla, caramel Taste: “damnit, this cheese is f***ing up my palate.” Lots of oak. Nice.

“damnit, this cheese is f***ing up my palate.” Lots of oak. Nice. Finish: oaky and tasty

oaky and tasty Score: 83

83 Round 1 Guess: EC12 (guessed by 4 of us, blind… strange)

EC12 (guessed by 4 of us, blind… strange) Round 2 Guess: Baker’s

Baker’s Reveal: Michter’s US*1

#8

Nose: higher rye, spicy

higher rye, spicy Taste: really nice. Great balance of oak and fruit. Definitely high proof.

really nice. Great balance of oak and fruit. Definitely high proof. Finish: rich, spicy delicious

rich, spicy delicious Score: 87

87 Round 1 Guess: something from BTAC?

something from BTAC? Round 2 Guess: Fighting Cock

Fighting Cock Reveal: Wild Turkey Rare Breed

#9

last one I scored highest… who knows if that’s because I was drunk or not.

Nose: hot. Very oaky. Spicy

hot. Very oaky. Spicy Taste: hot spicy, weird sweet wine flavour. Fruit and oak. Sawdust. Popcorn

hot spicy, weird sweet wine flavour. Fruit and oak. Sawdust. Popcorn Finish: hot and heavy, spicy

hot and heavy, spicy Score: 88

88 Round 1 Guess: FR SmB

FR SmB Round 2 Guess: Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Reveal: Wild Turkey 101

so, as predicted, I got zero correct on the first round of blind guesses, and only 1 correct on the second round of semi-blind guesses. (but i did get the right distillery for #9… little victories i know). however, on round 1, one person got 2 right and 1 person got 1 correct… the rest of us all got zero. and a few of us added a single point on round 2. pretty terrible, but doesn’t matter, got drunk.

what blows my mind is that I scored WT101 the highest (which also happens to be the bottle i brought). I bought it for about $30 at duty free for 1L, and knew i liked it, but didn’t think it would out-perform the rest. i mean, it was #9 of 9, so i was probably pretty drunk and inflating scores. but still.. i rated it an 84 back in my third bourbon review, so it wasn’t inflated a ton. I also really liked the Rare Breed, so maybe I just really like their spirit. either way, i’ll be getting another bottle of WT101 now that mine is empty!

thanks guys for an awesome night, lots of fun. proved that my bourbon palate sucks as suspected, but that’s ok. till next time!