Very Olde St. Nick Bourbons

Earlier this week I posted reviews of the Very Olde St. Nick Rye Whiskeys from the recent Southern California Whiskey Club tasting.  Today, I'll review the bourbons.


Very Olde St. Nick 8 year old, 45% abv

The nose is sweet and slightly soapy. The palate is much more complex then the nose with some savory notes and orange rind and the finish is mild and not too sweet.  This is a beefy bourbon which is nicely balanced and not overly sweet. Very nice.

Very Olde St. Nick Cask Lot No. 15, 53.5% abv

The nose on this one is sweet with banana candy. The banana continues on the palate with a very sweet, liquid candy type of taste.  The profile is in the Evan Williams family.  The finish has some cinnamon.  This one was fine but nothing special.

Very Olde St. Nick 19 year old, 47% abv

The nose has heavy rye notes and caramel.  The palate has some dark caramel notes without being too sweet, then some spice which continues into a peppery finish.  This one was great with a great balance of sweetness and spice.

Very Olde St. Nick 22 year old, 40.6% abv

The nose is spicy in an Armagnac like way with some wine notes.  The palate is sweet with milk chocolate and the finish is very sweet.  This one started with a very complex nose, but then got simpler and simpler. It's good but I was disappointed that the spice on the nose didn't show through more on the palate and finish to counter the sweetness.

Very Olde St. Nick 23 year old, 40.6% abv

The nose is sweet with some oak providing  nice balance. The palate has sweet iced tea with a slight spice infusion. The finish is mild.  This is one of those "smooth" bourbons; it's very easy to drink and fun.

Very Olde St. Nick 24 year old, 40.6% abv

This has a very light nose.  The palate is very straight forward with sweetness and baking spices.  There's a surprising lack of oak for its age.  The finish is vanilla ice cream.  This another easy drinker.

Conclusion

The 19 year old was easily my favorite of the bunch and that seemed to be the consensus of the tasting.  The 8 year old was my second favorite, though it wasn't as popular with the other tasters.  All of these were good and worth trying, though the Lot 15 was probably my least favorite.

Thanks to the Southern California Whiskey Club for holding these excellent tastings.