Up next in 10
This week’s Bourbon Boos review might be the scariest pour yet… Clifton cracks open a $16 bottle of King’s Creek Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, a bottom-shelf mystery brand with no known distillery and a whole lot of red flags. Does it surprise him, or haunt his palate forever? But before the horrors begin, we’ve got MAJOR whiskey news: Flaviar’s $270 “FlaviAIR” Advent Calendar takes flight Kilchoman drops an 11-Year Sherry Cask Scotch New American whiskey releases from Copperworks, Sagamore, Milam & Greene, and Pinhook AND the full Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2025 lineup, featuring the first-ever E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond addition Then it’s time for a truly frightening pour in this week’s Bourbon Boos Byte-Sized Review.
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0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites podcast, Flaviar is releasing their air travel themed advent calendar
0:06
Kill Holman has a new 11-year-old sherry cast matured scotch. Plus we're looking at tons of new American whiskey releases including bottles from Copperworks, Sagamore, Milliman Green, and of course the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
0:19
Plus I'm continuing my Bourbon Boohoo series with a review of Kings Creek Sour Mash Whiskey
0:30
Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bites podcast. I'm your host Clifton and this is the
0:41
week of Thursday, October 16th, 2025. This week I am continuing my series Bourbon Booze
0:48
where I try whiskeys that have scared me off for far too long, but I gotta give them a try
0:53
This week is no exception because we are drinking a bottom shelf store brand
0:58
from one of the largest big box liquor stores out there. And the lack of information about this whiskey
1:06
and not just that, the color alone, make me frightened. But we're going to get to that in a bit
1:10
because we have some whiskey news to get to first. As with pretty much every podcast episode this month
1:17
there have been lots of new releases being announced from across the bourbon and spirits industry
1:23
I try to summarize as many as I can in one of these podcast episodes without making it too long
1:27
But we got a lot to get through today. So I'm going to go ahead and dive right into these. The first one isn't actually a whiskey, but it is a whiskey themed set
1:35
The Flaviar Advent Calendar has been announced for 2025. Now, if you're not familiar, Flaviar is a subscription based whiskey trial program
1:46
I've looked into it before. It's never really been something that I think I would enjoy
1:50
I enjoy exploring spirits on my own. but it is a good way for people who get into you know trying different spirits from around the
1:58
world personally I recommend my bourbon terabyte membership on bourbonbites.com where I send you
2:04
custom samples every month and I guide you through those tastings one you get to try
2:09
much better whiskeys than they're providing no offense but two it's just a great way to support
2:14
the channel so there's one to throw that plug out there if you are curious you can go to bourbonbites.com
2:18
check the bite club membership tiers and see if that's something you're interested in
2:22
But yes, they do an annual advent calendar, and this is their 8th year doing it
2:28
Inside this calendar are 24 curated 50ml DRAMs from 7 different countries, including the US, Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Finland, China, and France
2:38
Now they say some of these pours can cost upwards of $200 for a full-size bottle
2:42
We'll have to take them at their word for that. But these box sets, I will admit, are really cool looking
2:47
So it does come with a collectible custom Glencairn. Actually, you get two of them in this set
2:52
And you get what they call a tasting passport, which allows you to access video content like guided tastings for each of these pours in the set
3:00
Not only that, but it includes their black level membership for 12 months, which is a $40 value
3:06
And you can pick this up for $270 while supplies last. The cutoff date for orders is November 14th for a guaranteed delivery in December
3:15
They give you a few of the pours that are going to be available on this press release
3:20
It looks like there's a Bac to Golden Age blend, Sir Davis American Rye whiskey, which of course is the Beyonce whiskey
3:27
Loch Lomond 12-year, which is a good whiskey. I do like that one. And Chicken Cox small batch bourbons
3:32
Now, these are what they say are some of the highlights. That doesn't mean there's not going to be better whiskeys in there
3:37
Now, the theme this year is Flaviar Airlines or Flaviar as they're branding it
3:42
So it kind of takes you on a journey through whiskeys from around the world. So definitely check that out if you're interested in it
3:47
If you've done it, let me know what you think. I just feel like maybe there's other ways that I would recommend exploring whiskey
3:53
Even if you don't have a large friend group that's into whiskey, you may be better off just grabbing a bottle or two every now and then
4:00
But this is always a fun thing to do. I would love to do it on the channel just for fun
4:05
But yeah, 270 is a bit steep when I don't know what's really in it
4:09
And I have too much whiskey around here anyway. Alright, well on to some new releases
4:15
Just a few things to shout out here. I noticed that Kill Holman is coming out with an 11 year old Isla Sherry Cask Matured Scotch
4:23
This one is going to be released at 50% ABV. It's 100% Isla Sherry Cask Matured and was distilled from 2011, 2012, and 2013 Barley Harvest
4:34
Aged for a minimum of 11 years and ex Oloroso Sherry Casks. It is a limited edition that is available now in the UK and Europe, but it's going to reach beyond that eventually
4:43
As with other Kilholmans, this one is no added color or chill filtration. It is a combination of 16 individually selected first fill Oloroso Sherry Butts. So definitely a big fan of Kilholman and I don't think I've seen many age dated products from them, at least in their regular lineup. So definitely interested in checking this one out
5:02
Now, in the world of American whiskey, there are some new releases coming out soon, including a Pinhook collaboration series, Rye Whiskey
5:10
This is the fourth edition in their series. This was a collaboration with a New Orleans restaurateur named Neil Bodenheimer
5:18
He is the owner of the James Beard Award winning restaurant, Cure. And this was part of a tasting event called Tales of the Cocktail
5:25
It was a live blending session and comes in at six years old and cask strength
5:31
This one will retail for $79.99 and will be available at select retailers nationwide
5:38
I had a chance to try one of the collaboration series in the past. It was a Starward collaboration and really, really loved that one
5:45
I went to a pinhook tasting here in Southern California probably about a month or two ago
5:49
and had a chance to try that and other releases and just was really impressed with what they're putting out in these series
5:54
So this one sounds really great. I love a good rye whiskey It blended minimum six years old but there probably quite a bit of older rye whiskey in there as well So if you get a chance to try this let me know how it is Now here an interesting one coming out of Texas This is the brand Millam and Green
6:11
They have a new Guadalupe Bass Bourbon. This is a collector's edition crafted from three
6:17
seven-year-old barrel strength bourbons. It is part of the coveted Wildlife Collection
6:21
and each whiskey release explores how climate shapes whiskey character. Now the Guadalupe bass
6:27
is the official state fish of Texas and they say this release is a commitment to both innovation
6:33
in whiskey making and dedication to preserving the state's natural heritage. Now remember the
6:37
Guadalupe River is the one that flooded in Texas earlier this year, caused some devastation around
6:42
the area, not just for people but for wildlife and it's great to see that they are paying tribute
6:47
to that. A portion of the proceeds from this will benefit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation
6:52
which supports conservation across the state. But let's talk more about the whiskey. So this
6:57
one's actually was distilled in Kentucky with the mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted
7:03
barley, and was aged in both Kentucky and Texas. And it's going to be bottled at 125.1 proof, so
7:09
up there in proof. Now what's interesting is this mash bill is a MGP mash bill. It's their 36
7:15
rye mash bill. But according to this article on fredminnick.com, it is a Kentucky bourbon. So
7:21
don't know if that's just a typo or if this is just a Kentucky distillery that's doing
7:25
that MGP mash bill. But interesting note there. There's a quote from their director of distillery
7:29
operations, Rick Monroe, who says, with its high rye content, this bourbon offers both spice and
7:34
balance, thanks to the interplay of barrels aged under Texas's intense heat and those with the more
7:39
classic Kentucky profile. So again, I mentioned of Kentucky. That's really interesting to see that
7:43
mash bill in reference to Kentucky. I'm looking at the bottle here. It just says straight bourbon
7:47
whiskey. It doesn't say Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. So again, I don't know if this is just
7:52
a typo or if this is indeed a non-traditional mash bill for Kentucky. Now retail of this is
7:58
going to be $149.99. It's going to be available on the Milliman Green website as well as Distillery
8:04
Pickup. There will only be 454 bottles of this available. They say previous releases in this
8:10
series have sold out within minutes. So if you're interested, definitely look into getting that. I
8:14
don't see necessarily when this is going to go live, but make sure to follow them on their website
8:18
to see when that's going to be available. Sounds like a fantastic pour. Now to keep the whiskey
8:23
news rolling, there are two new announcements from Sagamore. They actually are introducing their
8:28
brand new master distiller, Ryan Norwood. He's been on the team since 2016, but he has since
8:33
risen to the role of master distiller. And with that, they're going to be rolling out a 10-year-old
8:39
straight rye whiskey. As far as I'm aware, this is the oldest spirit coming out of Sagamore
8:43
which is super exciting. It's going to be bottled at 55.4%. Ryan says that this release reflects not
8:50
only our deep commitment to the legacy of Maryland rye, but also the high standards our fans expect
8:55
It's a bottle not to be missed. This was going to come in at $79.99, which is a very fair price
9:02
for a rye whiskey, especially at that high of proof. They say it's going to be available at
9:06
the distillery in Baltimore, but a few select premium retailers nationwide. They say it is
9:11
limited edition release and it won't last long and I can imagine that. So I will be absolutely
9:15
seeking out a bottle of that. I love some older rye whiskeys. Some of my favorites come in around
9:20
the 10-year age statement, so that's one that I definitely want to seek out, especially for that
9:24
price. That's one of the better values in older rye whiskey. Now there's another distillery that
9:29
I've been talking a lot about, mainly because I just visited their distillery as well as featured
9:33
them on my channel. Copperworks Distilling out of Seattle has just announced an 11-year-old whiskey
9:39
coming from their special release series. This one's going to be drawn from a single cask
9:44
the second cask they ever filled back in 2014. There'll be less than 200 bottles of it available
9:51
but it's going to be their oldest whiskey ever released. This one's distilled from pale malted
9:55
barley sourced from Great Western Malting and matured for over 11 years in a Char No. 3
10:00
new American oak cask from Independent Stave Company. If you saw my live stream with them
10:05
you know they really care about these malts they're using for this American malt whiskey
10:10
They're really brewers become distillers. They have a fascination with the craft beer scene
10:15
and have since turned that into a fascination with malted American whiskey. So 11 years old
10:21
that's pretty crazy. I wish I would have had a chance to try this when I was at the distillery
10:25
but if I was in town, I would absolutely pay up for a pour of this. Like I said
10:29
less than 200 bottles it's going to be bottled at 52% ABV or 104 proof and available for $199.99
10:36
which compared to the pricing of their other products that's pretty much on par with that
10:41
especially with it being such a limited release. This is available now for pre-order and they
10:45
expect it to ship around November 14th so if you are interested go to their website and act fast
10:50
because like I said only 200 bottles available. All right not to bury the lead but there's one
10:56
other big whiskey announcement that we got to talk about because everyone's talking about it, right
11:00
The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has just announced their full lineup for 2025 and it's
11:06
going to be the first time ever that there's going to be a Colonel E.H. Taylor bottled and
11:10
Bond bourbon included. It looks like it has a yellow foil around the top of the bottle to make
11:15
it stand out compared to the others and the chances of seeing it are probably just as slim
11:20
as the rest of them, if not more because it's the first time it's coming out. So this one is going
11:24
to be aged 15 years and four months and bottled at 100 proof which of course is the bottled in bond
11:29
standard that's pretty crazy for a 15 year old bottled in bond product i don't think i've ever
11:34
seen anything that old that fits that requirement they say this is crafted from their sour mash
11:38
recipe and the bottle features e.h taylor's signature logo so it is different because you
11:44
know every bottle of e.h taylor kind of looks the same so this is the first time doing a bit of a
11:48
rebranding sort of thing with it i think it looks nice i think it fits in with the collection i don't
11:53
I don't think it looks that different than the other BTAC bottles, but it is something cool to see added this year
11:58
Now we also have the other bottles in the lineup which are just as exciting if not more exciting Eagle Rare 17 years old comes in at 101 proof This one was matured for 18 years and four months
12:10
so it's even older than the age statement leads on. I remember last year that Eagle Rare was a lot
12:15
of people's favorites, so definitely keeping my eye on that one this year. Now, of course
12:18
there's a new release of George T. Stagg. This one's coming in at 15 years and four months
12:23
Interestingly enough, the same age statement as the E.H. Taylor bottled in Bond Bourbon
12:27
not quite sure why they went with that I've seen some debate online like is this the same you know
12:32
whiskey that they're starting with as a source and then the stag is being released at cast strength
12:36
I don't know they haven't really commented on it as far as I'm aware but this one is going to be
12:40
one of the strongest releases ever because it's going to be bottled at 142.8 proof so yes we are
12:47
getting another hazmat george t stag which is very exciting I had an opportunity to try the last
12:52
hazmat release and was blown away by how delicious that was. Huge shout out to Chris and Lil from
12:57
Australia who allowed me a chance to try that. And of course we have our two rye whiskeys that are
13:02
included in the antique collection. Sazerac 18 year old which this year is a 18 year five month
13:07
rye whiskey bottled at 90 proof and Thomas H. Handy rye whiskey which is aged over six years
13:14
and bottled at 129.8 proof which is an increase in proof from last year's release. Honestly the
13:21
Sazerac 18 is the only Buffalo Trace antique collection bottle that I've never had a chance
13:25
to try. I love the Thomas H. Handy releases, but those are usually younger and higher proof. I think
13:30
I would like to try something older and lower proof just to kind of do the contrast there
13:35
So if anyone has a sample of any of the previous or this year's releases of Sazerac 18
13:39
I'd love to try it. I'm happy to swap a Thomas H. Handy sample with you so to see how those compare. And last but not least, one of my favorite parts of the antique collection
13:49
William Leroux Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon. And this one is going to be released at 129 proof
13:55
and aged for 14 years. That just sounds so amazing. Like I said this was one of my favorite. This is a
14:00
weeded bourbon but a very nicely aged high proof weeded bourbon. Always one of the standouts for
14:07
me as well. So I will be hunting for the antique collection this year as with all years. Will I get
14:12
a chance to try all of them? Most definitely not. Will I get a chance to try maybe one or two of
14:17
them. We'll see. I'm always on the lookout this time of year for lotteries and limited edition
14:21
drops in my area. And especially this year, because like I said, I'm dedicating this year
14:26
of the podcast and the YouTube channel to buying things that I wouldn't normally buy, but think
14:30
that are worth reviewing here on the platform. Speaking of which, we got to get into our bourbon
14:36
Boohoo Bite Size Review. Alright, well, unlike the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, I am not excited for this week's
14:53
Bite Size Review. As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be reviewing whiskeys that have scared me for
14:57
far too long, but I'm going to give them a shot and give them a fair chance at a legit
15:02
review here on the channel. Last week, of course, I did the Doughball Cookie Dough Whiskey, which is a little more of a joke
15:08
but this time I kind of wanted to try something that I didn't expect to like
15:13
but wanted to give it a fair shot, and it's a legit whiskey. Now, legit is, I hesitate to say legit because, well, there's a few things
15:21
but I'll get into that in a second. This is Kings Creek Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey
15:25
This is their Black Label product. It's aged for four years, bottled at 80 proof
15:30
and has been through the Lincoln County process where it's been charcoal mellowed
15:35
Now in terms of information, that's about where it ends. So what's funny is the site of this bottle says that it was
15:42
bottled by Universal Brands out of Princeton, Minnesota, which after doing some digging doesn't lead me to too much information
15:50
This was created as a white label whiskey product for store brands like Total Wine
15:54
at a place called the USDP, which is the United States Distilled Products Company
15:59
Now, like I said, not only do they create their own brands, but they also produce whiskeys like this for big box retailers
16:06
But what's interesting is this is labeled as a Tennessee whiskey. So my guess is this manufacturer of spirits sourced this non-disclosed Tennessee whiskey and bottled it themselves
16:19
We don't know where this is from. We can only just assume it's from one of the larger contract distillers out of Tennessee
16:25
Now, pricing wise, this is a bottom shelf pour. This is a $16.49 per 750ml bottle. You can also get a handle for $32 if that's more your jam
16:38
But let's see what this is all about. This week on my live stream I'm going to be trying a bunch of
16:42
other Total Wine branded whiskeys. So I thought why not also bring it over to the podcast here for
16:48
my bourbon booze series. Now there's a chance this could be from George Dickel which is not known to
16:55
be one of my favorite distilleries, but one that does produce a lot of Tennessee whiskey. There's
17:00
also a few producers that aren't, you know, making their house labels. I think one was literally
17:05
called Tennessee Distilling Company, if I remember correctly, but yeah, no idea where this is from
17:09
So not sure if I mentioned it, but this is a sour mash whiskey, which is just part of the process
17:13
of their fermentation. Not sure if that gives us any clues as to where it's made, but a lot of
17:18
Tennessee whiskey is sour mash, so it kind of aligns with that, you know, going for that Jack
17:23
Daniels-esque, you know, flavor profile, I guess. Speaking of which, it's pretty obvious this label
17:28
was inspired by Jack Daniels, although the bottle shape is not like a typical Jack ripoff. It's more
17:33
of a flask-shaped bottle. All right, let's give this Kings Creek Black label a nose. All right, well
17:42
very, very sweet. It kind of is a very heavily creamed corn sweetness for sure on the nose
17:48
Now, as with bourbons, Tennessee whiskeys need to be at least 51% corn. We don't know the mash
17:52
build this one but i'm guessing there's probably quite a bit more corn in that really really sweet
17:57
though almost um and i was almost gonna say banana but i feel like maybe i'm just being
18:01
influenced by the fact that it similar to a jack daniels if there is banana it very very slight it almost like a banana pudding but like a like not a homemade one like a store like vanilla wafer
18:13
like super sweet processed banana pudding, but very, very light with the banana notes
18:18
Definitely more vanilla, sweet corn. Honestly, not complex, but not bad. Let's go for a taste
18:25
cheers. Okay. Yeah, that's very different. Not what I expected. It has a like bit of a sour
18:38
thing going on here. It goes a very different direction than the nose, at least on first sip
18:44
It almost is like reminds me as if something has gone off here, which I know it hasn't because
18:49
you know, it's just whiskey. Whiskey doesn't really go bad. But that was a bit of an unpleasant
18:53
kind of um first impression here let me let me give it a second sip because that like
18:58
that caught me off guard let's go again yeah it's got like a little bit of like a melted plastic
19:05
kind of thing going on um and I was saying sour at first because it just it's so contrasting to
19:10
the sweetness that this thing gave me on the nose it goes back sweet on the end of the like the
19:15
palette but finish wise it disappears just as quickly as it arrived it really does not um stick
19:22
around at all. Probably one of the shortest finishes I've ever had on a whiskey that I've
19:25
reviewed on this channel. There's still a bit of banana and instead of like banana pudding it's a
19:29
little bit more of like a banana bread but again not like a really decadent banana bread just more
19:34
of like a banana Twinkie if that's a thing. Just like very overly processed you know. Yeah I mean
19:42
that's that's a tough tough palate to describe. I don't think I've ever given Twinkie as a note
19:47
before. And you know what? I don't mind Twinkies, but this one is not my jam. It's just a little bit
19:53
more of like a over-processed kind of like vanilla cake, just like way too sweet. That corn's still
19:58
there. And you know, as much as I would like to say that it's helping it, it's not. It's just
20:04
coming across more of like a generic sweetness at this point. I was hoping for maybe a little bit
20:08
of like a cornbread or something like that, but it really doesn't go that direction at all. It
20:12
doesn't really go any direction. I mean, even compared to like 100% corn whiskey, like mellow
20:16
corn. I mean, this lacks the character that something like that would have. It just really
20:21
falls flat. Best case scenario for a whiskey like this, I think, is maybe just to kind of
20:25
down a shot, you know, like a little bit of pre-gaming, because this one isn't one that I
20:29
want to sit on and enjoy pretty much ever. I know it sounds like I'm being harsh, but listen
20:36
I have no problem with bottom shelf whiskeys and bourbons. I drink a lot of them. One of my
20:41
favorites is Evan Williams, even just the Black Label. I think similar price to this, but a lot
20:46
more character. If I'm going to splurge a little bit, I'll get an Evan Williams white label or
20:51
single barrel. I'm also a huge fan of Wild Turkey 101, which is also another, you know, not quite
20:55
bottom shelf, but near bottom shelf pour. So I wanted to give this a shot and I really didn't go
21:00
into it expecting much. How much cheaper is it than Jack Daniels? That's what I want to know
21:06
So like I said, a 750 milliliter bottle of this is $16.49. At Total Wine, Jack Daniels black label
21:13
is $17.99. So for $1.50 more, you can get a well-known trusted household name, Tennessee
21:22
Sour Mash Whiskey. I'm not like someone that seeks out, you know, brand names by any means
21:28
But when it comes to whiskey, I think saving money isn't always better because the more you spend
21:33
likely the better whiskey you're going to get in some cases. Now, of course, that doesn't always
21:37
apply. But in this case of Kings Creek Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, yeah, it's definitely not good
21:46
I'll just say it outright. It's not good. It's nowhere near as good as Jack Daniels, even just
21:51
the Black Label. I was sipping on some of the Jack Daniels Bonded right before this, which is also a
21:55
four-year age-dated product. Of course, at 100 proof and a little bit more pricey, but the flavor
22:00
of that knocked this out of the park so, so much. So yeah, this Kings Creek, to give it a rating
22:06
which, you know, I have to do, um, out of 10, um, I would probably give this a two and a half out of
22:13
10. Like, that's really bad, but, like, there's nothing really going for it. Like, the nose was
22:17
the only thing that I thought was relatively decent, but even that was, you know, not great
22:22
I'll have one last sip of it just to maybe lock that in. You know what? I'll bump it up a bit. I'll
22:27
bump it up to a three only because it doesn't make me immediately want to spit it out. Like, you know, it's not bad necessarily. Um, it does have that kind of a weird sour kind of
22:36
plasticky note, but that's kind of what you expect with a lot of bottom shelf pours. So I'll give it
22:41
a three out of 10 just because I didn't immediately spit it out of my mouth. But this is an absolute
22:46
pass for me. I think, you know, even Jack Daniels Black Label, which is not one of my favorite
22:51
whiskeys ever, is far, far superior than Kings Creek, Tennessee whiskey. So thank you guys for
22:58
humoring me and letting me do this review. Listen, I love reviewing whiskeys in all categories. It's
23:03
not always about the limited editions or allocated releases sometimes it's about just your everyday
23:08
pours and you know a lot of you guys I know aren't going out seeking the the b-tacks or the pappies
23:13
although I'm sure a lot of you are you just want something good to sip on and uh have a great time
23:18
with and uh this king's creek is not that so that's about it for this week's episode thank you guys so
23:24
much for listening um if you have any suggestions for whiskey to do for next week bourbon booze
23:29
let me know. Like I said, this Thursday night, I'm doing a live stream on YouTube where I'm going to
23:33
be comparing other Total Winehouse brand bourbons and whiskeys. Should be a good time. If you're not
23:39
yet following me on YouTube, youtube.com slash bourbonbites. You can also follow me at bourbonbites.com
23:44
my home for everything on the web. But until next time, this has been the Bourbon Bites podcast
23:49
a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist. Cheers, and I'll talk to you guys next episode
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