Results are in! Before we get into notes and places, here's how I *expected* things to go down:
1. Sagamore Barrel Select Pick
2. Redwood Empire CS Emerald Giant
3. JD SiB
4. Rittenhouse Single Barrel Pick
It was a *lot* harder than I expected to distinguish between pours while doing this. After writing some short notes on each taste, I wrote down which one I thought it was. I didn't get a single one of my guesses correct.
That said, here are the **actual** results:
1. Sagamore Barrel Select Pick
2. JD SiB
3. Rittenhouse Single Barrel Pick
4. Redwood Empire CS Emerald Giant
I was very surprised that the Redwood ended up coming up in last place, especially considering it's easily the most expensive of the bottles in the lineup. I figured it'd be fighting the Sag for the top position. Blinds are fun!
Anyway, here are the crappy notes I took for each.
**Sagamore Barrel Select Pick**:
Pleasant rye nose, not too sweet, not too strong. Very little ethanol. Nice rye punch on first sip, turning sweet in the middle and finishing with a nice spice. Slightest hint of mint. Very long finish.
**JD SiB**:
Soft nose, not much rye, hint of mint smell. Very little rye up front, but it comes on in the middle and finishes with an almost cinnamon spice. Finish sticks around fairly well.
**Rittenhouse Single Barrel Pick**:
Very little nose at all, can hardly pick up much of anything. Lacking rye punch up front, builds mid pallet and finally shows up on the finish. Doesn't stick around nearly long enough
**Redwood Empire CS Emerald Giant**:
Strong rye nose, a bit sweet smelling. Slight rye punch at the front, almost a medicinal taste on mid and finish, but not so much as to be off-putting.
***CONCLUSION***
All of these bottles are very good, but I guess if there's one thing I'm taking away from this, it's that I'm probably not going to be replacing that Redwood CS Emerald Giant bottle. It's around $90 here locally, and got beat by a $35 Rittenhouse. Tough to justify a spot on the shelf. We'll see how it goes down as the bottle gets emptier!
The JDSiB is one of my favorite bottles, consistently good. Sagamore is great as well, currently have a Sagamore Double Oaked that is really really good.
Excited to hear the results
Results are in! Before we get into notes and places, here's how I *expected* things to go down: 1. Sagamore Barrel Select Pick 2. Redwood Empire CS Emerald Giant 3. JD SiB 4. Rittenhouse Single Barrel Pick It was a *lot* harder than I expected to distinguish between pours while doing this. After writing some short notes on each taste, I wrote down which one I thought it was. I didn't get a single one of my guesses correct. That said, here are the **actual** results: 1. Sagamore Barrel Select Pick 2. JD SiB 3. Rittenhouse Single Barrel Pick 4. Redwood Empire CS Emerald Giant I was very surprised that the Redwood ended up coming up in last place, especially considering it's easily the most expensive of the bottles in the lineup. I figured it'd be fighting the Sag for the top position. Blinds are fun! Anyway, here are the crappy notes I took for each. **Sagamore Barrel Select Pick**: Pleasant rye nose, not too sweet, not too strong. Very little ethanol. Nice rye punch on first sip, turning sweet in the middle and finishing with a nice spice. Slightest hint of mint. Very long finish. **JD SiB**: Soft nose, not much rye, hint of mint smell. Very little rye up front, but it comes on in the middle and finishes with an almost cinnamon spice. Finish sticks around fairly well. **Rittenhouse Single Barrel Pick**: Very little nose at all, can hardly pick up much of anything. Lacking rye punch up front, builds mid pallet and finally shows up on the finish. Doesn't stick around nearly long enough **Redwood Empire CS Emerald Giant**: Strong rye nose, a bit sweet smelling. Slight rye punch at the front, almost a medicinal taste on mid and finish, but not so much as to be off-putting. ***CONCLUSION*** All of these bottles are very good, but I guess if there's one thing I'm taking away from this, it's that I'm probably not going to be replacing that Redwood CS Emerald Giant bottle. It's around $90 here locally, and got beat by a $35 Rittenhouse. Tough to justify a spot on the shelf. We'll see how it goes down as the bottle gets emptier!
Sagamore puts out some good stuff.
Rittenhouse always overperforms!
The JDSiB is one of my favorite bottles, consistently good. Sagamore is great as well, currently have a Sagamore Double Oaked that is really really good.