Excerpt: While I understand the costs associated with sourcing bourbon barrels and the costs of buying and transporting sherry/cognac finishing casks, I just do not find the final product worth the $100 MSRP.
Excerpt: The finish reprises much of the above, ending on notes of Cracker Jack and barbecued beef ribs. A significant red pepper note lends a surprising harshness to the proceedings.
Excerpt: What I did like was the nose, though, and the sherry and cognac components that existed and played very well with the bourbon notes, without becoming overbearing.
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House Review
Intro:
"Joseph Magnus Bourbon is a marriage of straight bourbon whiskey aged in white oak and finished in Oloroso sherry, Pedro Ximnez and Cognac casks. Rich and deep notes of vanilla, citrus, dark chocolate, brown sugar and dark stone fruits deliver with a lingering, warm finish." - Joseph Magnus Website
Nose:
Honey, figs, rich cocoa, vanilla cream. Earthy, rich tobacco, musty plums. Thick nose like a raisin bread with some spices and vanilla sweetness.
Taste:
Thin to medium mouth feel. Earthy, musty and sweet. Lots of cocoa, honey, vanilla, some rich syrupy fruits. Lots of plum, cherry and bready sweetness. The cognac and sherry finishes are very evident here. Sweet, but rich and savory. Lots of tobacco.
Finish:
Short to medium in length. No real heat here. Tobacco, pepper, earthy clove, followed by some plum and a bit of currant.
Overall:
Overall, I liked this but found both the palate and the finish to be thin and generally not super complex. What I did like was the nose, though, and the sherry and cognac components that existed and played very well with the bourbon notes, without becoming overbearing.
Score:
6
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources