The Scotchy Bourbon Boys
The Scotchy Bourbon Boys love Whiskey and every thing about the industry! Martin "Super Nash", Jeff "Tiny", Rachel "Roxy" Karl "Whisky" and Chris "CT" all make up The Scotchy Bourbon Boys! Join us in talking everything and anything Whiskey, with the innovators, and distillers around the globe. Go behind the scenes of making great whiskey and learn how some of the best in the whiskey industry make their product! Remember good whiskey means great friends and good times! Go out and Live Your Life Dangerously!
The Scotchy Bourbon Boys
Bourbon Time Capsule: Exploring Maker's Mark Cellar Age blind
The Scotchy Bourbon Boys conduct a blind tasting of three years of Maker's Mark Cellar Age releases to determine which vintage delivers the most exceptional flavor profile. Our expectations are completely overturned when the 2024 release unanimously wins with its stunning caramel, cherry, vanilla, and apple notes, scoring a perfect 19/18 on our rating scale.
• We discuss our recent barrel selection experience at Maker's Mark with Rob Samuels
• Rob Samuels explains how Maker's created their innovative limestone cellar for aging bourbon beyond 10 years without bitterness
• Each Cellar Age release features different compositions: 2023 (11 & 12-year), 2024 (12 & 13-year), and 2025 (11, 13 & 14-year)
• Tasting reveals the 2024 Cellar Age (119.3 proof) as our favorite with exceptional caramel, toffee, cherry, and apple notes
• We explore how wheat whiskey changes dramatically when bottles remain open, with flavors evolving and improving over time
• The newest 2025 release shows more oak influence, which divides opinions among tasters
• We compare our Cellar Age findings with a fresh Kentucky Bourbon Festival private select with a chocolatey stave profile
Check out WWW.ScotchyBourbonBoys.com for Glen Cairns, t-shirts, and all things Scotchy Bourbon Boys. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X, along with Apple, iHeart, Spotify, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts.
What happens when wheat whiskey ages for over a decade in a revolutionary limestone cellar? We found out in our most revealing blind tasting yet.
Tonight, we journey through time with all three releases of Maker's Mark Cellar Age – the limited edition series that challenged everything we thought we knew about aging wheated bourbon. After visiting Maker's Mark and spending time with Rob Samuels, we gained a deeper appreciation for how this historic distillery is pushing boundaries while honoring tradition.
The Cellar Age concept is fascinating – taking fully matured Maker's Mark and transferring it to a climate-controlled limestone cellar where it can develop complexity without acquiring bitterness. Each annual release features a unique blend of well-aged whiskeys: 2023 combines 11 and 12-year bourbon, 2024 features 12 and 13-year, while 2025 incorporates three different ages including their first-ever 14-year component.
Our blind tasting delivered shocking results that completely upended our expectations. The winner wasn't what any of us predicted, showcasing notes of burnt caramel, toffee, dark cherry, and what we can only describe as an "apple caramel extravaganza." One sample was so impressive it scored a perfect 19/18 on our rating scale – something that's never happened before.
We also discovered how dramatically these wheated expressions evolve once opened. As one host explains, "Wheat is a much finer, softer, more impressionable grain," making these bottles living entities that transform over months. The bottle that had been open longest revealed how these expressions hit their peak and then subtly shift toward oakier profiles.
Whether you're a devoted Maker's Mark fan or simply curious about how wheat whiskey develops with extended aging, this episode offers rare insights into one of bourbon's most innovative modern experiments. Subscribe now and join us next week when we explore Maker's Mark Star Hill Farm Wheat Whiskey!
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Tiny here to tell you about Whiskey Thief Distilling Company and their newly opened tasting room. Whether you are up for a farm-to-glass distilling experience on the Three Boys Farm in Frankfort, kentucky, or an out-of-this-world tasting experience in New Loo, you won't be disappointed At both locations. Their barrel picks all day, every day are like none other. Each location features stations with five barrels, each featuring their pot, distilled bourbons and ryes. Once the barrels have been thieved and tasted, you can make a selection and thieve your own bottle A day at Whiskey Thief, with their friendly staff and ownership, will ensure you many good times with good friends and family. Remember to always drink responsibly, never drink and drive, and live your life uncut and unfiltered. We'll be right back.
Speaker 2:Every fool's a man who talks on the street, but we're telling the truth. Yeah, we're the Scotch and Burden boys Racing to hell and making some noise. Yeah, we're the Scotch and Burden boys. We're here to have fun and we hope you enjoy. We're here to have fun. Yeah, enjoy, we'll hear you have fun, yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, give me my All right. Welcome back to another podcast of the Scotchy Bourbon Boys. Tiny here tonight along with Super Nash hey, super Nash, how's it going? How?
Speaker 3:about you, Tiny.
Speaker 1:It's going really well. I am doing the in between stuff now. Yep, got that up a little bit so we can hear you the music. Great day for the scotchy bourbon boys, that's for sure. Uh, tonight I'm looking forward to this uh, this blind, uh, I blinds are fantastic and I really really um, uh, I feel that they have been some of our best podcasts of all time.
Speaker 1:And so, and we blinded and maker's mark, I, I, we got to uh, before I get into all the little bit of promotion that we do but we got to do a barrel select at maker's mark and get about a half hour, about half hour, 20 minutes with Rob Samuels live. I actually have to go back before before that and record it. So I have that recording and I'll put it out more like a uh, I'll put it out as a youtube uh pot. You guys can see it on youtube also. It was on facebook and we did the live, but at that time the the, you know we just had too much going on for to do the youtube every single time and but we got to get to Maker's Mark and then realize that the power was out right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they had a lightning strike at the plant sometime during the 90s. So we get there. They had no power in the offices, the distillery, the gift shop or anything, and so, along with Rob Samuels, he agreed to go ahead we went into the main office. Along with Rob Samuels he agreed to go ahead we went into the main office.
Speaker 1:That has been originally Bill.
Speaker 3:Samuels Sr, and it's been the same.
Speaker 1:That's the same table they started and used to pick Maker's Mark.
Speaker 3:And yeah, it's just an amazing room. And the actual what was so cool too, he actually set that panel bucket that they actually burned the original recipe to Maker's Mark. He set that up there because it was in the office and set that up on the table for everybody to see, which is, I think, a pretty cool piece of history there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think so too. But what's great is he came in and this was our first time spending a decent amount of time with Rob. A couple times we met, one time at dinner and then another time last year. I talked to him for about three, four minutes at the Icons Dinner at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, but we sat down and really kind of got the feel for what Rob was trying to do. And then initially and he talked a lot about the weeded you know that weeded bourbon, right, that weeded one, if I'm not mistaken, the weeded, not bourbon, the weeded whisk, the wheat whiskey that they just released and then talked about what they're doing with, um, the farming. Yeah, he gave us a little bit of history.
Speaker 3:and then also to uh the regeneration farming you know, and how they're getting together with the farmers in the community and all that, and also the universities. Yeah, the sustainable farming. Yeah, sustainable farming.
Speaker 1:And he basically went into details and Makers Mark is like the main leader in this and that's really, you know, really a cool thing. And you know, I've got a couple bottles. Tracy was asking if I have a bottle signed by Rob Samuels and yes, I do have a bottle from, I believe, the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. I was able to get a bottle that was signed by Rob and Bill, if I'm not mistaken, so that was kind of cool, but, you know, we went over that with him, but then the whole place is closed because there's no power. You can't go in the gift shop. We were supposed to have lunch in the, in the, in their restaurant restaurant, which is a chef uh restaurant there which, but everything was closed. But they still wanted to do and let us do the barrel pick and we, instead of going into the cellar where we were going to do it, where there was no electricity so it would be dark, they took us to the lake house, right, yeah?
Speaker 3:and this was so cool because you're able. The lake house was built and rob had this place built to where they can open up all the glass doors. You're overlooking the lake and it was like he said. He said you actually it sort of invited nature in to be right there beside you while you're doing the pick and the blending, and that was so cool, such a unique experience.
Speaker 1:Right and you know the Star Hill Farms and everything we got to see that I mean, overall, it was really kind of a cool experience to do it in natural light. There was no electricity for charging devices, although we did Facebook Live it. We got that baby out there. That was a fun experience. But that brings us to the Cellar Age.
Speaker 1:Now my history of Cellar Age is we were in 2023 at the festival is we were in 2023 at the festival. It was a very what would you say unique festival. But if you remember, we were at the Rick House and Cellar Age was being released in a way that we weren't going to be able to get any and they popped and cracked open the Cellar Age there and poured me you bought me a pour of the cellar age right there and then and we both said, yeah, it wasn't that, it wasn't that great. So fast forward to walker, who missed our Christmas party. After that, I met up with him I think sometime in probably it might have been March to actually meet him and he had a bottle of Cellar Age that had been opened and, honestly, I tasted it and it was one of the best things I ever tasted this time.
Speaker 3:And Walker said well, that's when I got to taste it. A second time was at the Christmas party, when he had opened up that bottle.
Speaker 1:It was truly amazing Walker had like half a bottle, you know, and I'm sitting there and I had a couple pours and whatever, and he goes. You can take the other half home, tiny, just when you're done with the bottle, get it back to me. Well, little did he know. I was going to see him two weeks later and I had to finish that bottle off so I could bring that bottle back. It's probably the fastest I ever brought a bottle. But so then he had another bottle and he can. He promised it to me, but the only way I could start drinking it is if roxy's poor that he had she would get a poor first. Well, roxy took like six weeks to torture me and that's this bottle right here. Roxy has hers, but tonight.
Speaker 1:Last year we were really good. We went to the after the Christmas party we went to Maker's. Mark and Roxy and me both got a bottle each. So I've got this bottle of 2024, plus I got another bottle of 2024, not open. And then this year the festival was awesome and I was able to pull a bottle of that not open. And then this year the festival was awesome and I was able to pull a bottle of of that from the festival. Actually I think.
Speaker 3:I think I had also a bottle at the festival last year of 2024, so I this is this is my second bottle, and I have a third bottle unopened yeah, this is my second bottle of the 2023 that just was opened up a few weeks back, and this is my first bottle of the 24, and I still have one more cool bottle, but because of Roxy and this year's festival, I managed to get three bottles of the 2025.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, yeah, yeah, yeah, one is good for me, all right, yeah, so, uh, so what are we gonna do? How are we gonna do this?
Speaker 3:all right, so, first of, all, let me go ahead and read.
Speaker 1:This is this is in the pamphlet okay, wait, wait, hold on hold on wwwscotchiebourbonboyscom for all things Scotchie Bourbon Boys Glen Caron's t-shirts. Check it out. Make sure we will have the website updated this fall. So, once I do that, check out all the new pictures, check out all the new bios. Everything's going to happen. We are going to do this 100%. I've been saying it for so long and I better do it.
Speaker 1:I gotta, because we are really that we need to get one more, we need to get that update in. And then also we're on facebook, instagram, youtube and x, along with apple, I heart, spotify and anywhere else that you can listen or watch us. We're probably there, um, but either way, make sure you leave good feedback and subscribe Now on YouTube, you can subscribe further by becoming a member. So check out YouTube membership please, because that's something that we would definitely like y'all to do. When you become a member, there's little things that happen and you get special things. I only got two members right now. The more members I have, the more special things I'll do, all right, so make sure that you check that out Now. We got that out of the way. Let's hear from Rob Samuels.
Speaker 3:All right. Today we're blind tasting makers. Mark Celerage.
Speaker 3:For this release, we set out to do something new without forgetting who we are and what we stand for Bourbon that's always aged to taste, not time Bourbon without the bite, that's always smooth. Aging our whiskey for over 10 years wasn't something we never did, not because we didn't believe in it, but because we hadn't found our way of doing it. Outside, in our traditional warehouses, our barrels endure the extreme Kentucky climate, season after season, year on year. If left there for too long, the transfer of tannins makes the bourbon bitter. It doesn't stand up to our founder's vision for a soft, creamy whiskey. But what if, after whiskey becomes full and mature? But what if, after whiskey becomes full and mature, makers, we move the barrels into our first of its kind limestone whiskey cellar.
Speaker 3:In here, the bourbon spends its years consistently around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, discovering the one-of-a-kind conditions we needed for aging it to deeper, richer and more complex flavor, one with hidden depths but no bitterness. Our cellar's climate makes for a unique older bourbon, and the proprietary design makes little impact on the broader climate. The building is LEED certified, making it one of the only operating facilities at an American distillery to achieve such high sustainability credentials. In many ways, maker's Mark Cellar Age defines an older whiskey that's distinctly Maker's, one rooted in challenging convention, asking what if? And building on a a taste vision. This generations in the making. Each year, we bottle another special edition of this release. The approach will remain the same, but the unique blend of whiskeys will change based on which barrels are ready by taste, not time. We hope you will join us for the new, for this new yearly tradition. Of course, if you'd like to explore the cellar yourself, we'd love to show you around. There's always something big happening here at the Star Hill Farm, rob Samuels.
Speaker 1:All right. So the cool thing about this is the first year that they did it it was made up of I'll just tell you before we get to start is that the first year it was made up of um, I'll just tell you before we get the start is that the first year it was made up of 11, 13, 11 year, bourbon maker's mark and six, 87, 12 year, then last year 15% 12-year and 85% 13-year. And then this year, which is amazing, they went 74% 11, 10% 13, and 16% 14. So now we've got 14-year, but this seller age. To me now it's maker's mark, it's all maker's mark and which is really cool, and it's just aged and blended differently. But to me these three are such a representative. It's very similar to one of my favorite evan williams master blend, where they use 24 year. You, you know what I mean, but as we keep going, you know they're making these blends. This year is a three-year blend, where the other past two years it was a two-year blend.
Speaker 1:Now, the uniqueness of a weeded bourbon is that, as Ed Bly told us and taught us, as Ed Bly told us and taught us is that wheat is a much finer, softer, more impressionable grain. So he said, when you bottle this, you put it in there, you upset it, you put it under pressure, you put that cork in there and you push that distillate is much more fragile than the rye that's in some of the bourbon, you know, when you make it with rye. So you got the corn and the rye where this is corn and wheat. So Maker's Mark, in my opinion, always gets so much better as you keep that bottle open. And that is one of the reasons why when I there was a bottle of Maker's Mark and I always have a bottle of Maker's Mark, but sometimes it can be a year old that it's been open and as Maker's Mark goes, those weeded bourbons just start picking up those flavors in the bottle. So I don't know how this blind's gonna go, but that 2023 has been open for a good almost. You know we're talking almost two years, so we'll see what happens when we do this.
Speaker 1:Now that brings us to the Old Louisville Whiskey Company barrel bottle breakdown. You got to see a mean down at Old Louisville. One hundred percent Check it out. You know he's moving to a new location. I don't know when it's going to happen, but you've got to stop in and see what he's got in there and the barrels and all the whiskey. He sells nothing younger than seven years old. He's got 17-year-olds, he's got so many different things. It's kind of like a means of mad scientist. And all of the barrels are his experiments, so it's Old.
Speaker 3:Louisville Whiskey Company in Louisville moving to their Shively location real soon. Correct, correct, all right, and now for the barrel bottle breakdown rating system. We rate by the nose, body, taste and finish. On the nose and the body, you can give it a rating of up to four each, and on the taste and the finish, you can give it a rating of up to five each. But if one of those areas is an exceptional, you can actually give it an extra ba-dum-bum.
Speaker 1:What is that, roxy? What do we give it for an extra, an extra? Say it.
Speaker 4:Butt-up bump.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 3:Butt-up bump. Yeah, I like hearing her say it a whole lot better than I do.
Speaker 1:Well, she's the one who invented it. I mean, we were just sitting around. She invented the butt-up bump, anyways. So that's how the rating is gonna go. Well, it's gonna be unique because we're gonna rate by color, so you're gonna be writing down color we don't know what red is and actually, or actually, yellow yeah, I got yellow dot, green dot and red dot in the order.
Speaker 1:So the first butt up, the first one. We're going to rate them separately. So the first one is what we're going to go. I've got palate. I have not even tasted anything. I've got a palate shock going to happen here. Let me see. What do I want? I should stick with Makers, right.
Speaker 3:No, let's go straight into the tasting of this.
Speaker 1:Oh, I understand, but here I understand. But here I'm going to quick give myself a little. You can start tasting it, but I haven't tasted it. My palate hasn't had anything since pizza at noon today. Here we go Palate cleared oh God, that's delicious. I used the the.
Speaker 3:Oh my God it's so good, let's clear my palate.
Speaker 1:Did you bring water, roxy? I didn't, but I can get you. Can you get a couple of waters from your fridge? Don't go up, go in your fridge. You got the waters in your fridge, just a little one.
Speaker 4:They're all big ones now.
Speaker 1:Okay, I would have a big one. Yeah, hold on, folks, is it still going? It is still going. Everybody out there. We're getting ready to do the bottle breakdown of the first. You got a glass back there. No, just the bottle breakdown of the first. You got a glass back there? No, just yeah, I actually have a glass you can and you can have the rest. Perfect, look at that. We don't even See he's. You're going to do some false advertising there.
Speaker 3:I'm not yeah.
Speaker 1:I could see that. Well, all of a sudden, uh, all of a sudden, facebook or youtube be like. You can't do that, it can't be. You got that. It's not like it had spider-man in here, all right. So the first one we're doing is yellow. We don't know what yellow is, folks, and we got some water, all right, so I'm gonna, so I will get this, so I can drink.
Speaker 3:I can drink some water out of my scotchy bourbon boys crystal glen karen right you got one too.
Speaker 1:I got mine sitting right here too, right? Uh, all right, look like it. No, it doesn't. Yeah, I got mine right there too, but all right.
Speaker 3:Right, let's go to the news, baby.
Speaker 1:Tons of brown sugar, just tons of it. Candy, brown sugar, candy, brown sugar On this one, caramel and brown sugar. So the proofs on these, let's see. I'll give you the proofs on all three real quick. A slight bit of oak One 12.9 on the 2025. The 115.7 on the 2023. And 119.3 on the 2024.
Speaker 3:So actually this year is the 119.
Speaker 1:Yep so.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:That's a pretty. There's that. There's an aspect of ethanol and brown sugar and a little bit of chocolate on this one which one are you doing first? Yellow yellow yeah, yellow you can only drink half. Very smooth, very smooth. That brown sugar comes through on the taste and there's a little bit of this reminds me a little bit of old forester. I don't know why, but there's almost a little bit of banana on there. Uh, usually they're big caramel.
Speaker 3:I'm getting a little bit of fruit, but I can't quite put my finger on it right now.
Speaker 1:Now the finish is picking up.
Speaker 3:Get the brown sugar, a little bit of it, and the finish is picking up some of the caramel, maybe some dried fruit.
Speaker 1:For you know a, you know 110, 112. This thing is drinking. This one is drinking really easy a hug, not quite like what was happening with booker's hug, but it's a nice hug, very comfortable how do you know it's 110 or 112? Well, because they're all 119, 110, whatever that range, nothing's 120 and nothing's below 110.
Speaker 2:All right, all right.
Speaker 1:There's a little bit of complexity on this one.
Speaker 3:I'm liking the finish. Oh, I love the finish. The body on it Caramel.
Speaker 1:Caramel.
Speaker 3:All right, caramel sweetness, let's go ahead and start writing this one Yellow dot. You want to go first on the nose, sure.
Speaker 1:I am going to give the nose a three out of four.
Speaker 3:That's about what I was going to say, because it's not real complex. You're just mostly getting brown sugar and caramel, a little bit of ethanol and just a slight hint of oak Berry slime. Yep, there we go. I'm liking the body and the viscosity, so do you give it a three? Yeah, I gave it a three and you gave it a three? Yeah, I'm going. I'm moving on to the body now.
Speaker 1:All right, so on the body, I love to do this. The Glencairn allows you to see what it does in the glass.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can see it's really thick on the glass. Yeah, yeah, the very thick legs, yeah, wow the thing about it is like it's hitting across the roof of my mouth and across across my tongue, but it's not hitting the sides.
Speaker 1:It hits the sides, but not with taste. There's a little sting there. But yeah, I know what you're saying. What are you going to give it?
Speaker 3:I'm going to give it a three because it's not quite as good a body that I'd like it to have and I would agree with you there.
Speaker 1:It's also a three. All right taste. I have no idea which one this is. As I taste it, it just keeps getting better and better. It's like my palate's waking up out of five. Um, I'm just gonna say I love this. It's almost like a caramel If you poured a little bit. It's not caramel sauce, but there's a caramelly flavor and there's just a little. There's hints. It's hinty. It's not this blow out your caramel banana flavor, but the flavor's there and that I think and I enjoy. So I'm going to give the taste a four out of five. I'm liking it.
Speaker 3:To me it's almost tasting like a Milky Way, because I'm getting a little bit of that chocolate now I can see it's getting a little flavor and then that little bit of what do you call it? The fluffy nougat or whatever it is with the vanilla. Yeah, and then that brown sugar comes across, so I think I'm going to have to give it a four or two. It's got a great finish to it.
Speaker 1:Alright, we come up to you doing the finish.
Speaker 3:I think the finish on this this finishes really well. All the flavors are just popping as it finishes and goes down. It's got a nice medium hug to it. I don't think it's a five, so I'm going to give it a four.
Speaker 1:Well, I do not concur. I think this is a long finish. It is subtle but long it's still there after a whatever. I really think it's pleasant. I think it finishes better than it tastes like in the taste when it goes to the finish. There's flavors in there that are there, and so I am going to actually give the finish a five, all right.
Speaker 3:I think I'm waiting. You sure you're not going to throw that, but up up in there.
Speaker 1:There's no but up up. But even the burp I just had I was just checking it's still there. If I drank this and I went upstairs and this is the flavor that was in my mouth before I went to bed, I'm happy, and that's kind of what that is. I'm happy with that, so alright. So I gave this.
Speaker 3:You gave it 15, I gave it 14, so a total of 14 and a half okay, right, all right.
Speaker 1:So on to the next, which is all right. I'm gonna put that right up there. That was yellow, so this is blue that was yellow, blue, yellow. Blue or green Green? Is it green, rachel? It's green Green. What's it? All right, let me All right that nose. I love the nose on this. It's more caramelly and, granted, these have been poured for me since, I think, 6, 30, so this had some time to air and give us what's in the glass.
Speaker 3:Yeah, mine mine and we're poured up. I think she poured them up about a quarter of a.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, the caramel on this nose. This one lacks the ethanol I got to tell you.
Speaker 3:John just commented would you brush your teeth with that finish? I would. And Tiny replies he would do that. I mean this is a little bit weaker on the nose than the first one.
Speaker 1:Well, I just don't get the ethanol.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I think that's what I'm getting at, and I'm not getting the ethanol off of that.
Speaker 1:But I get much better. It's a bigger caramel vanilla for me.
Speaker 3:I'm going to make a little note on Gelidon Awesome what.
Speaker 4:Which one I picked is my favorite. Very excited about that.
Speaker 1:So she's just going ahead. Not even I didn't put that, so she's just going ahead.
Speaker 4:Not even I didn't put colors on mine, I put them in these glasses.
Speaker 1:Of course, of course.
Speaker 4:And then I scrambled them, so I don't know what's what. I had to go back to the picture. I had no idea, okay.
Speaker 3:I'm getting more caramel off of this than I am. The brown sugar, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:This is what I love. This one's here. I'm going nose first on this one and I will give this nose a four.
Speaker 4:Let's just say that what I expected the order to be was exactly the order. That's what I expected, and I've never tasted the 25, until whichever one of these is 25. It's the first time I ever tasted it.
Speaker 3:I think there's more flavors or more aromas coming off of this nose than there is the first one. You're right, rach, I guess because there's less ethanol there.
Speaker 1:I did open this bottle, rachel, last week when we got home. I know Just so it could air out with the rest, but it took months for me to like the 2023 so what did you?
Speaker 3:give it a little bit of brown sugar, a little bit of vanilla and almost almost a little bit of cherry.
Speaker 1:A little bit of dark cherry. So what you giving this nose?
Speaker 3:I'm gonna give it a four, two. I like this nose better than the first one.
Speaker 1:I do too. I absolutely do too. All right, you're on for body.
Speaker 3:This too is really thick in the glass. I mean thick. I think this one's thicker in the glass than what the first one was.
Speaker 1:That is weird. The first taste I got, this one's body isn't as big Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:When we get to the taste. The taste are there. I'm going to give this body a three.
Speaker 1:It doesn't reach my cheeks, so I'm going to give the body a two.
Speaker 3:A two Wow way down there on the body.
Speaker 1:What do you mean? Two of four, it's average. It's an average body.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. I don't like I like the smell of this. One more Mmm. I like the taste of this one, I think, the taste is the strongest.
Speaker 1:I don't know where all this chocolate's coming from. It's got a dark chocolate finish.
Speaker 3:A real dark chocolate. Where are you going? Almost like a bitter chocolate.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dark dark chocolate, no sugar. Yeah, but I don't mind that for a finish I'm getting the sweetness, the sweetness from the other flavors. Well, I get the sweetness up front on my tongue. Yeah, I get the sweetness up front on my tongue. A little bit of cherry, there's caramel, a little bit of cherry, and then it goes dark. Out of five, I will give the taste of four I think I'm gonna have to give it a five.
Speaker 3:I really like the taste of this one. I think it's probably the strong point of it.
Speaker 1:Well, you're gonna give the finish and I still got a little left because I gotta compare all three.
Speaker 3:And this is where I think this one is lacking on the finish.
Speaker 1:I don't think it's lacking, but it's a more of a dark chocolate and it's not as pleasant of a finish as the other one. I'm not. I can't rate this the same on the finish.
Speaker 3:I'm getting less flavors coming across. I'm getting more of that, that dark chocolate, yeah, that's what I'm that's a little bit of bitterness or love.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm left with. Yes, I agree.
Speaker 3:That's what I'm left with. Yes, I agree, that's what I'm left with, and the hug getting quite quite as there. So what are?
Speaker 1:you giving this finish, I'm gonna give the finish a three. I'm gonna give the finish a three also. So what do we got? I'm going to give the finish a three also.
Speaker 3:So what do we got? You gave it a 13, and I gave it a 15.
Speaker 1:So it is a 14 even, and the other one was a 14.5, right Yep.
Speaker 3:yep.5 right yep yep, all right on to the next oh my god, and I'm making me a little note at the bottom so that I can try to guess what's what. What year is what's?
Speaker 1:what. So this is red. No, we shouldn't guess. I don't care, we'll just do what it is and go. We don't have to guess what's what. That's like putting us on the spot of trying to know what's what, and we don't have to do that to ourselves, we just have to rate them. Okay, I will give this red. This is by far the best nose I'm going to give this. I haven't even tasted it and I shouldn't do this, but I'm going to give the nose a four and a but up up Whoa. Four and a butt up up the caramel on this the richness no ethanol.
Speaker 1:Beautiful everything I want. I could just sniff this forever. Oh wow, it is a rich, dark caramel toffee, like it's burnt caramel which goes to toffee, and I just love that smell.
Speaker 3:I love toffee.
Speaker 1:I want to eat toffee right now. I want one of those caramels they sell at the distilleries. God, that's beautiful, mmm, god that's beautiful.
Speaker 3:What are you going to give the nose? I'm still trying to climb in the glass. It's so thick. Oh my gosh, that nose is wonderful. That is a complex nose, it really is. I mean, there's a lot going on for there, more than the other two.
Speaker 1:This isn't even a comparison. I'm going to have to give it a four, with a ba-dum-bum too, because this is the best nose out of all three of them, ba-dum-bum up on two because this is the best nose out of all three of them.
Speaker 3:But up and now, like I said, yeah, I don't even think I want to torture myself with trying to figure out what's what, because I.
Speaker 1:whatever this is, it's the far superior one and I and based off of what I know, I could guess, but I I could be completely wrong. Actually, I hope this is the 2025, because that's what I have the most of, but I don't think it's that. That's probably what I have the least of, but who cares? All right, so you're on taste now.
Speaker 3:I have the most of.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, what's the body? The body's a four. I'm sorry I went ahead. It just fills your mouth with everything, everything, everything. It's so good.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:This is really thick too.
Speaker 1:Oh, it is yeah, but it hits everything. It goes to your cheeks, it goes to yeah, it's everything.
Speaker 3:This is the first one that really hit the sides of my mouth. Real good with the flavors. Yeah, I'm going to have to give it a four, four also, you're not going to cheat.
Speaker 1:No, I'm going to give it a 4 also. I already did, I wrote it down, but I had to hit it now taste. I don't have to taste this again. It gets a 5 red, and all I can say is this is what I love, oh my god caramel, cherry, vanilla and then yeah maybe a sweeter chocolate on the back of your throat and then finishes with, like an apple caramel extravaganza.
Speaker 3:That's what I was just getting ready to say a tart apple.
Speaker 1:It's like so stupid good. This is dumb good. So I gave the taste a five. What are you giving the taste?
Speaker 3:I'm giving it a five too, that's ridiculously good. All right, you're on for finish here's more flavors in this and probably the other two combined.
Speaker 1:I just think I wish they could duplicate this over and over. I'm gonna find out what it is. I this could be blind and we could be completely wrong, but who knows? I hope it's not what I think it is, because what I think it is is whatever. But I've been so duped by blind tastes of Maker's Mark in the past, so I'm not going to make any predictions of what it is. I just want to know.
Speaker 3:I think we should at least make one prediction.
Speaker 1:No as to what it is. What is this?
Speaker 3:What is this as far as finish? Let's finish the rating.
Speaker 1:Finish the rating. Finish the old Louisville barrel bottle breakdown of red. It's by far the best.
Speaker 3:All the flavors are finishing right across all the way through. I'm getting a better hug off of this one. I'm going to give it a five.
Speaker 1:I would agree wholeheartedly, although I liked the finish on the first one. The finish on this is just fantastic. It is Five. Everything I think you'd want in a micro-mark. I mean, that's a 19. We both just gave it 19 out of 18. Yeah, all right, so do we hurry up? Okay, you make a prediction of what you think it is. I'm not going on record because I I want you to yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I am not going on record because I have no idea what that really is. I think it's the 2023, but I'm not going to go on record. You just did. No, I did not. I said I think it, but no, I didn't.
Speaker 3:You said it was the 2023. What do you think it is? I'm going on record I think this is the 2025.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. So here comes the reveal.
Speaker 4:Can I do it?
Speaker 1:You do the reveal. So the first one Wait, wait, wait, wait. So yellow got a 14.5. What did I give it? What did you give it?
Speaker 3:Okay, it uh. Okay, you gave it a 15 and I gave it a 14 then.
Speaker 1:So I thought this was I gave a 15, you gave a 14, so what? So now we're at blue, right or green, green. So what did green? What did you give green and what did I give green? Okay, you gave it a 13 and I gave it a 15 on green so you think green is better than yellow and I thought yellow was better than green, but we both picked red.
Speaker 3:We both picked red.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we flipped on. Here she goes on the reveal what is the yellow dot.
Speaker 4:I'll just tell you my order because I won't do all the barrel bashing and everything.
Speaker 1:No, what is? My order was what did you think was the best?
Speaker 4:I thought I got to go back to the picture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but no, do the Wait, wait, wait, if you no, no, no, no, no, no. But if you do it, then we'll know what we picked. Okay, that's true. So you do the reveal.
Speaker 4:So what was your number three?
Speaker 1:Number three. For me, number three was the green dog, no number three.
Speaker 4:For Jeff.
Speaker 1:Wait, wait, wait, wait. Number three was 14 between us, but he gave it a 15, so it was his number 2. And yellow was my, Okay, so, but it was the third one. Green was number 3.
Speaker 4:Green is Maker's Mark seller age 2025.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, so 2025 was green.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:There's nothing on Okay. So 2025 was green and he made green. He liked 2025 better and I put it third and he put it second, okay.
Speaker 4:So now when I tell you what is yellow yes, yes, okay, so yellow, yellow, which is 14.5.
Speaker 1:Yes, was seller age 2023 2024 yes, that's awesome 2023 so. So I thought 2023 was.
Speaker 3:The red dot, the one we picked, 19. Is 2020.
Speaker 1:And we have a whole nother bottle. So what I will say about this Nash is 2024 has been sitting not, as that's crazy that 2024 has risen to the top when I always thought 2024 wasn't as good as 2023. Look, you see, mine's been open, so, Roxy. So here's Roxy's reveal.
Speaker 3:That's been open for about a year.
Speaker 4:Roxy's review is I still picked 2024, number three, because I don't care for it. Okay, but I didn't know which one it was.
Speaker 1:So Roxy picks what we picked.
Speaker 4:number one 2024 was still my number three, and I'll tell you why. It's too hot, okay For bakers, and the finish is bitter to me in my palate, so it is not as sweet as the others.
Speaker 3:So that is the reason, so that's why so 2024 is hold on it is a blend of 15% whiskey aged 12 years and 85% whiskey aged 13 years.
Speaker 1:Nash, it is the highest proof. It is 119.3. Yes.
Speaker 4:I usually like the higher proofs, but that one just blows out my whole palate. Okay, so then my number two was yellow 2023.
Speaker 1:Okay, we agreed on 2023.
Speaker 4:And my number one.
Speaker 3:I did not know was 2025.
Speaker 4:So Roxy 2025 has the most perfect balance of sweetness and a little bit of fruit and enough oak to satisfy me and the finish is outstanding and the nose blows me away. So it's the most caramel without the ethanol. The other two had a little ethanol. That one didn't have any.
Speaker 1:Well, do you have any of the 2025 left? That's yellow right.
Speaker 4:And I sniffed them and take the nose.
Speaker 1:Take a sip of the 2025 right now. Nash, after we did it, there's it.
Speaker 4:now it is a beautiful bouquet on the nose and but there's a little more oak in it. But you know how much I like a little bit more oak. It's the oakiest one of the three.
Speaker 1:So what's crazy is anybody?
Speaker 3:I was telling you that that had a little bit more open Yep it does, it does.
Speaker 4:But I will tell you this Not so much that it kills it.
Speaker 1:Being a.
Speaker 3:So the Scotchy Bourbon Boys, my 2025 has been open longer than what y'all's has. So mine had a little bit I guess a little bit less ethanol to it this time, and I actually wrote that down on the bottom of my page there Less ethanol.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm drinking the rest of the 2025. And it's fantastic. All of them are fantastic. Okay, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah they're all fantastic.
Speaker 4:The 2024 is what puts it at the bottom. For me, it's just not the finish I like.
Speaker 1:And me and him both of us we loved it. But that's the whole thing. This is right. Tracy says go on record. Then she says yes, you did. Anyways, I thought 2024 was 2023. Anyways, I thought 2024 was 2023. I'm as excited now about 2024 as I got on 2023, but I am excited for what 2025 will do in the bottom 2025 and 2023 were very similar to me on the nose.
Speaker 4:But I mean, for God's sakes, for God's sakes, they all taste like makers. But if I was going to choose like if you said come get a pour, I'm coming to get more 2020.
Speaker 1:Well, as I'm doing this blind, I'm just going by what I taste, and the flavors of the 2024 were just boom. Here comes Roxy for some 2025. You would like some more 2025? You should say yes, please. You would like some more 2025?.
Speaker 3:You should say yes, please, and a big shout out to Roxy for setting all this up.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, Roxy's getting a little bit buzzed right there. Look at Roxy's pour right there.
Speaker 4:No chance of going to work there, it is you saw it happen live.
Speaker 1:Now here's the 2023. I can't believe I got 2023 just sitting 2023 is delish actually, and I just think, 2023. Now, after it's two years later, it it peaked a year ago Probably. It peaked like six months ago and now there's a little bit more oaky aspect to it.
Speaker 4:So 2023 is what Walker gave me, correct. This is it right here, yeah, I called it the bathtub room, so I put it right on my bathtub that was bathtub room.
Speaker 3:And I was relaxing. And I opened it up before we went to the festival.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I picked mine up at the festival and opened it up when I got home. Oh, this nose.
Speaker 3:I had finished up my bathtub bottle.
Speaker 4:How can you guys not? Just think it's me my other bottle of 23.
Speaker 1:I mean, I think next Tuesday, since you have the Star Hill Farm Wheat Whiskey, we should hit the Wheat Whiskey next Tuesday there, super Nash Farm Wheat Whiskey. We should hit the Wheat Whiskey next Tuesday there, super Nash, because we could just do a Maker's Mark extravaganza and we'll talk about our barrel selection and keep it going. How about that Nice? I mean, I've got so much Signed by Rob Samuels. Oh, when did you do that? When did that happen?
Speaker 3:That's the bottle that I picked up at Revival. Oh, our buddy Brad Bonds, big shout out to him.
Speaker 1:What year is that? What year is that?
Speaker 3:It was actually signed December of 03. Oh my God, it was actually signed December of 03. Oh my god, this bottle is actually a 89 and if you look at the label right up under there, it says old style sour mash.
Speaker 1:Oh, god, that's that. I don't know if you could ever.
Speaker 3:That's one you don't open Right up under there it says Old Style, Sour Mash. Oh God, that's that I don't know if you could ever.
Speaker 1:That's one you don't open. Yeah, yeah, I probably won't ever open that one. Yeah, that's just something to keep. Maybe in 15 years yeah, me and you, when we're retiring and turning it over to Knob's, we'll drink that one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when we're handing the turning it over to knobs, we'll drink that way in the rain, and in the rain it's uh knobs I'll get my rocket scientist son yeah rock, yeah knobs, and and marty.
Speaker 1:And then also we'll get um, my, my, my, uh, grandson avery, and we'll all but uh john's excited for the Star Hill Farms. I opened this right away. I really think this one might be the I don't know. We might have to do a new category for Scotchy Bourbon Boys where it's the whiskey of the year, where we each pick a whiskey.
Speaker 3:It could be bourbon or whiskey.
Speaker 1:You know, I've always thought that, and then you have that bottle. You've got my bottle right. Yep, I'll let you have it. This is the one from Rob Samuels and you have the one from John yeah it's right there.
Speaker 1:Yep, right there. I still think it's one of the best things I've tasted this year. All right, so I also. Where are we at here? Are we at an hour? We've got a couple minutes. Roxy, bring over. We did pick up the festival. Bring over Randy's pick. Randy 57, the festival pick from it's right there on the. We got candy apple from.
Speaker 3:She struggled a little bit with uh stardew okay.
Speaker 1:so, tracy, you gotta leave it open. You gotta open it right away and it is very Okay. So here we go. Did you pick up the Kentucky Bourbon Festival pick for this year? For Randy's? Yeah, so let's finish this up with the cheers. Okay, let's open them. All Maker's Marks should be open. It's wheat. It's a fresh crack. Fresh cracks are nowhere near, but this is the pick from the festival. Roxy is on board. I love you, dear. Let's not break the cork. I'm good at breaking.
Speaker 3:oh, look at it and look at how saturated the cork is and look, look what I did as soon as I come home when I before I put it in the thing and we're talking randy's 57, right? Yep, you opened it.
Speaker 1:We should open all. All maker's marks need to be opened. Damn that 2024. It was just everything I needed it to be. I understand you. You too.
Speaker 4:Where's your glass? Just a wee bit.
Speaker 1:That's good. I know what a wee bit is your arm popped in the podcast. This pick was done for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, and you know.
Speaker 4:Ooh, nice.
Speaker 1:Now we're getting into a private select. So here is their stave profile Three baked American puree, five Makers 46. Wait, one Makers 46, five roasted French Mendiant and one toasted French spice. So they went the opposite of what we went they put the chocolate. It's so bizarre how it works. I can't wait to actually taste what we did.
Speaker 3:No, because it's going to be just a little bit different profile. We did the actual staves sitting in there for six months.
Speaker 1:Wait our staves are right here. This is very chocolatey, we did.
Speaker 4:Wait, our staves are right here. This is very chocolatey.
Speaker 1:I don't think they wrote the staves on there.
Speaker 4:What it's in my book, that little book that we did.
Speaker 3:It's in my book, that little book that we did. I will say, if I'm not mistaken, it was two, three.
Speaker 4:American puree. I'm getting chocolate and butterscotch, it's very chocolatey. It's buttery too. Yes, it is buttery, that is really good, randy Ford.
Speaker 1:Randy Ford, you would love this Mm-hmm For me personally.
Speaker 4:It's not enough caramel.
Speaker 1:Right and there's too much oak.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I Save him a bottle from our maker's pick.
Speaker 1:John, you can have up to 10. I can't wait. John was already talking about earlier Walker's like open the candy apple Walker. We will open the candy apple when we do the wheat whiskey, the Star Hill Farm wheat whiskey.
Speaker 4:We're overdosed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. No, we are pleasantly primed. Yes, we are. So all right, everybody, I still got more in my glasses, I got, but we're gonna throw this out to the groups once we finish up, so let me get ready well, let's do the cheers first. Okay, wait I will do the cheers. Okay, I will do Roxy's coming in, but let me get ready for the finish. You know when we get going I need to get the right screen up there it is yeah, baby, get this right there.
Speaker 4:Well, I can tell you, I don't regret buying that at all.
Speaker 1:No, you can leave it for me. Wait, it's no, I, I it's, it's oaky, but I don't who's I would. You don't want to know what this is? This is maker's mark cigar blend.
Speaker 4:oh my gosh it would be actually really good with a with a yellowstone, rocky Patel.
Speaker 3:Yeah, with a Yellowstone as smooth and light as it is.
Speaker 1:All right, everybody, let's cheers you too, super Nash, cheers to you. Remember good bourbon equals good times and good friends, and good friends tonight especially. Drink responsibly. Don't drink and drive. Make sure, and make sure you live your life. Take it away, Super Nash.
Speaker 3:Uncut and unfiltered.
Speaker 1:All right. And here we go, carolina, you.
Speaker 2:Yes, please, oh yeah. Now remember, it's got to be bourbon, bourbon.
