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This week on Bourbon Bytes, Clifton dives into some of the hottest headlines in the whiskey world—from Buffalo Trace’s surprising new 100-proof Sazerac Rye to their bold move into sustainable distilling. Plus, Hidden Barn adds a new Master Taster to their team. But the star of the show? Clifton’s first-ever sip of TINCUP 6-Year American Whiskey—a bold, oak-forward blend of bourbon and Colorado single malt that left a lasting impression. 0:00 Welcome Back! Summer Vibes & Whiskey Plans 1:20 News #1: Buffalo Trace Drops 100-Proof Sazerac Rye 5:44 News #2: Buffalo Trace & Meridian Tackle Sustainability Together 7:49 News #3: Hidden Barn Hires Molly Wellmann as Master Taster 10:34 Byte-Sized Review: TINCUP 6-Year American Whiskey 16:00 Final Thoughts & TINCUP vs. The Competition 17:38 YouTube Tease: Stranahan’s Tasting Coming Soon! 17:51 Join Byte Club & Stay Connected
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0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites podcast, Buffalo Trace dials it up to 100 with Sazerac Rye
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and they partner with Meridian to turn stillage into protein. Hidden Barn Whiskey hires a new master taster
0:12
and I review the new six-year release from 10-cup American Whiskey. hello everyone and welcome back to the bourbon bites podcast i'm your host clifton and this is
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the week of thursday july 24th 2025 hope you all are having a wonderful end to your july i feel like
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the past couple of months have flown by, at least to me, this summer is just going so quickly. And I
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always look forward to the summer, especially living here in Southern California. I love going
0:50
to the beach every other weekend. But man, it sure is flying by this year. Hopefully we have some warm
0:56
weather later in the year through August and September. Because man, I would hate to end
1:01
summer now. I'm enjoying it so, so much. But today we are going to talk about some really cool news
1:07
in the world of bourbon and whiskey, as well as a review of whiskey that I've never had before
1:13
And I'm not talking about this release. I've actually never had a single whiskey from this
1:17
brand. So very, very excited to get into that. But first, we want to talk about the latest
1:21
breaking news from across the whiskey industry. And what actually came in the day that I'm
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recording this is from Buffalo Trace. They just announced that they are releasing a Sazerac
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rye 100 proof whiskey so i've been a big fan of sazerac rye for a really long time i think that
1:39
and wild turkey 101 rye are kind of my go-tos with making um rye forward cocktails occasionally i'll
1:46
have um written house uh rye in there as well from heaven hill uh but yes sazerac and uh wild
1:52
turkey 101 rye i use them for anything from manhattans to sazeracs believe it or not um to
1:58
just other rye whiskey forward cocktails. So I'm excited to see that they're releasing a specific
2:03
release of Sazerac rye that is specifically crafted for cocktails, which is what they say
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on the press release here for this Sazerac rye 100 proof. It says it was developed in response
2:14
to demand from bartenders and whiskey enthusiasts. It's designed to offer enhanced flavor, versatility
2:19
and control in cocktail creation while maintaining the smooth approachable profile that defines
2:25
Sazerac Rye. So I had to double check my bottle of Sazerac Rye because I was thinking it was 94
2:29
proof, but it's actually just 90. Regular Sazerac Rye is 90 proof. So we are jumping up 10 proof
2:34
points here. And this is starting to remind me of how I felt about the Eagle Rare 12 year
2:40
that Buffalo Trace recently announced on a previous episode of the podcast. It's like
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it's such a subtle difference from their regular release. I'm almost wondering
2:48
why don't they just update the proof of the regular one? I don't know. Like, I mean
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know I feel like Sazerac Rye people have always associated with being a cocktail rye I mean it
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shares the name with one of the most famous rye cocktails in all of American history so why are we
3:02
taking a 90 proof rye and releasing a 100 proof version when it's supposedly the same thing as far
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as I can tell I'm not saying that there's a different age statement here I'm assuming it's the same mash bill um but they're they're releasing it as of July 1st this is going to be now on the
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market and you know I'm not complaining again it's just like the Eagle Rare 12 year I'm not
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complaining but I'm like what is their strategy here because like you're releasing two of the same
3:26
product slightly higher proof which is great I mean this isn't the case of like look the thing
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I can immediately want to compare it to is like a you know there's Rittenhouse Rye and there's
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Pikesville Rittenhouse Rye is a bottled in bond 100 proof rye whiskey from Heaven Hill they have
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Pikesville Rye which is I think is a seven year um I think it's 114 proof so you're jumping up 14
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proof points you're also adding an age statement to me that makes sense um but to me this is kind
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of a weird uh direction i mean like same with the eagle rare it's like you're taking a 10-year
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whiskey and you're making it 12 years old which is you know great i love seeing older age statements
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but i'm also like shouldn't you just update the existing product i don't know i mean i'm not
4:07
going to judge this because i do love sazerak rye and i think i i prefer to put a higher proof rye
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into my rye cocktails. Usually my go-to is right around the 100 to 110 proof is my sweet spot for
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a spirit forward cocktail. So I'm really excited to try the Sazerac 100 proof. I just it's just
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again brand strategy here. I would love to know what the thought process was behind releasing this
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as a separate release to join the regular Sazerac lineup. We're not necessarily saying it's a
4:34
smaller batch We not adding an age statement The price is going to be about per one liter bottle which makes me think that they obviously targeting that bar community but they do say that this release is joining their Sazerac barrel select program as its newest
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single barrel offering so it sounds like maybe future picks are going to be at this 100 proof
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versus the 90 proof which is exciting to see but yeah I do want to try it I'm excited for it but
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it's just to me it's it's such a weird move let me know what you guys think have you guys been
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using Sazerac rye in cocktails. I just said when I'm craving a Sazerac, my default bottle I grabbed
5:09
is my Sazerac rye. So it's like there's 90 proof option. Is it going to kind of slowly, you know
5:14
die out? No one's going to be buying it? Or are the true Sazerac fans going to stick with that
5:19
And only us that are really interested in making it into a cocktail are going to move to the 100
5:24
proof. I don't know. I'm curious to see how this plays out. But, you know, as with Buffalo Trace
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I mean, they got a lot of money to spend. So if this is how they're spending it, I'm here to
5:32
support it. I just have a lot more questions than answers at this point. But yeah, that's going to
5:37
be available starting this month. Let me know if you guys find it and how it compares to the
5:41
regular Sazerac rye. And speaking of Buffalo Trace, there's actually another story coming
5:47
from the distillery that actually is a big deal. So they are partnering with Meridian Biotech in a
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$40 million plant to convert distillery stillage into sustainable animal and fish protein, reducing
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waste and generating jobs. So they're actually going to take the byproducts from the distillery
6:05
and make it into multifunctional protein ingredients for aquaculture, pet food, and
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organic fertilizer. I always think it's great to see companies finding ways to reduce waste and
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kind of give back to the environment because we know it takes a lot to make whiskey, whether it's
6:23
you know, talking about the wood from the barrels to the stills to the fumes, all that. A lot goes
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into whiskey making and it's nice to see a brand willing to give back and with a 40 million dollar
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investment i have a feeling it's going to be a big impact so they are going to build a state-of-the-art
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conversion facility in franklin county creating up to 35 high-tech high-paying local jobs and
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positioning the commonwealth at the forefront of sustainable food and innovation now that's from
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breaking bourbon.com is how they describe this venture and i'm just reading through the story
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It seems like just like Buffalo Trace, Meridian says they are committed to making a long-term positive economic impact on their community
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We believe that our technology will play a pivotal role in enhancing Buffalo Trace's commitment to innovation, as well as setting a new standard for the spirits industry
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Big shout out to this. I hope to see more positive news from this collaboration
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You know, I hope it does, you know, go through. I hope it doesn't feel like just, you know, a PR stunt
7:20
There's always the chance of that. But if they are truly going to dedicate themselves to this, and I think $40 million is a pretty strong commitment to this, I'm just excited to see it come to fruition
7:32
Now, I'm not a local, but just from the vibes I'm reading based on this news story and this press release, it seems like a really good thing
7:38
So I'm excited to see what comes of it. I hope they stick by their word. I'd love to see more uses
7:43
Reducing waste in any industry is a huge, huge accomplishment. So well done, Buffalo Trace and Meridian
7:48
Now we have an update from a distillery that has been getting some attention lately
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Hidden Barn Distillery is one that I have not personally tried myself, but I know they are
7:58
building a name for themselves. They're actually inviting a new person to the distillery to serve
8:03
as their master taster, and that person is Molly Wellman. Now Hidden Barn Whiskey is a relatively
8:10
new brand, but they are no newbies to the industry. Their master blender is Jackie Zykan, so I think
8:17
she's no longer serving in that role but she helped found this distillery. Jackie Zykan has
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been a name synonymous with great whiskey in industry over the past decade or so so I'm really
8:27
excited to see something from her distillery. She's really built a name for herself in the industry
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and I don't know why I haven't yet picked up a bottle of Hidden Barn Whiskey. I've heard mixed
8:37
things about it but I'd love to try it for myself. I'm a huge fan of what Jackie does but now that we
8:42
see that Molly Wellman is joining she's going to be helping out with the batching and the single
8:47
Barrel selections at Hidden Barn Whiskey, and she plans to build on this tasting profile and
8:52
batching style developed by none other than Jackie Zykan. So Royce Neely, who is the president and
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master distiller of the Neely family distillery that makes Hidden Barn, says that Jackie got us
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into a great place with the creation of a style and a profile that myself, Becca Neely, and the
9:07
team at Neely Family Distillery will continue to replicate and build upon. And with Molly taking on
9:13
this role, Jackie's actually moving into more of a master blender emeritus role where she's going to
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be kind of advising from the background versus being a forefront for the brand She is still one of the three co but she is taking a step back to let Molly take a more prominent place as the master taster of
9:30
Hidden Barn. Now, normally this would worry me quite a bit, but it seems that Molly Wellman
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actually has been very familiar with both the Neely family and Jackie Zykan for years
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So just a little info about her. She is the former owner of the old Kentucky bourbon bar
9:45
Myrtle's Punch House, The Annex, Neons, Melt, and Japs. She's currently working in consulting
9:52
She is a regular speaker at the Moonshine University in Louisville. She has been a
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spirits judge for the American Distilling Institute, the Ascot Awards, and the New Orleans
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Spirit Competition. She's also an executive bourbon steward through Stave and Thief. So
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it's not like you're getting someone new to the brand that's also new to whiskey. She seems to know her stuff and I can't wait to see what she brings to Hidden Barn. So
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let me know if you guys have tried stuff from Hidden Barn or if you've had experience with Molly
10:17
would absolutely love to have a stream with her and Jackie Zykan I think that would just be the
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ultimate dream team of an interview so if you guys if you guys know them tell them to listen
10:26
in and reach out contact at bourbonbites.com all right well I think that does it for the bourbon
10:31
news for this week's segment but don't go anywhere we are about to start our bite-sized review
10:43
All right, well this week I am reviewing a brand new to me whiskey brand. It's one I've heard a lot
10:50
about, but I've never had the opportunity to try. So I want to give a shout out to the folks at
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10 Cup Whiskey. They actually sent me this bottle for review today. And of course, I'm talking about
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one of their new releases from February of this year. This is the 10 Cup six-year-old original
11:04
American whiskey. And this one's really fun. I didn't know much about it before I received the
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bottle, but I'm looking at it and it says it is a marriage of Colorado single malt and straight
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bourbon whiskey, each aged for a minimum of six years in new charred oak barrels and cut with
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Rocky Mountain water. I'm really excited because this week I'm also going to be reviewing Stranahan's
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and I have a good feeling Stranahan's is the American single malt that's blended into this
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They're owned by the same, I guess, conglomerate in the world of whiskey. So I have a good feeling
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that the American single malt in here is Stranahan's, which I'll dive into a bit more on my
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live stream this Thursday. By the way, if you guys are not yet subscribed to the YouTube channel
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check it out. I go live every Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern for about an hour
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We do a lot of flights, reviews, interviews, lots of fun things every Thursday night. It's kind of
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what I've been doing for a while here on YouTube. Definitely check that out. Give me a subscribe
11:55
hit the thumbs up button when you're watching the stream, and let people know you came from the podcast because I know some of you guys prefer to listen to the podcast, which totally
12:02
makes sense but if you're excited for my review of 10 cup sig sheer definitely stick around for
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the strana hand stream i have four different expressions from them and i'm so excited to try
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it but for now we're gonna go ahead do my first taste of 10 cup whiskey now this one's iconic
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because they had of course the literal 10 cup on top of the bottle it's a really nice um little
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shot glass kind of thing now i'm gonna be drinking out of a glen cairn because i feel like to give it
12:25
a fair review i need to give it in a standard drinking mechanism that i use across my channel
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But it is a really cool, it's a cool thing and it has little measurement lines in it as well
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So I do commend them for that, especially for this being a whiskey that you're supposed to kind of take out and enjoy in the great outdoors
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But for now, we're going to drink it in a Glen. Let's go ahead and give it a cork pop
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Nice, nice. All right. So like I said, I've not had 10 cup before
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I know they have a standard American whiskey. I don't think it's age dated, but this one definitely is
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And I know that some of the higher age dated products get raving reviews from the 10 year to the 14 year
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Not even just from YouTubers, but I'm just seeing on my Discord community when I announced that I'd be reviewing this today
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someone said they just had the 14-year and they were absolutely amazed by it
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So I'm excited to try something from the brand. Like I said, this is a blend. Now, it does say that this was distilled in both Colorado and Indiana, so I have a feeling the bourbon is from MGP
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But it's at least six years old, so we know it's got some good age on it. I'm so excited to see something for $34.99 that's not just an American whiskey, because that can mean a lot of things
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but they're very clear with this being a blend of single malt and bourbon at six years old
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And it comes in at 42% ABV, so 84 proof. I can't wait to see what this is all about. Let's give it
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a nose. Oh, already I can tell I'm going to like this. It's so sweet up front, and it's the classic
13:45
bourbon notes you know and love. That caramel, that vanilla, a little bit of toffee, a little
13:49
bit of nuttiness even. Just really delightful on the nose. There is some oak there for sure
13:54
You can tell that this is a well-aged whiskey almost in a bourbon, but there is well aged bourbon in this whiskey
14:01
We know the minimum age is six years old but there a good chance there some older distillate in here as well and Not gonna ignore the fact that there quite a bit of maltiness on the nose as well it kind of has a little bit of that cereal grain that I get a lot on a malt whiskey especially like a single
14:16
malt American single malt or even some Highland Scotch single malts but it has a nice oak backbone
14:21
that I think is going to support that and work really well when when figuring out the palette
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of this so let's go to give it a taste cheers y'all and thank you so much for listening to this
14:29
episode. Let's dive in. Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean, again, it's only 84 proof, so it's not going to
14:36
blow your palate or anything, but the flavors here work so well together. This really doesn't
14:42
feel like, to me, like two separate whiskeys competing with each other. It feels more like
14:46
a comprehensive blend. If you wouldn't have told me that there was an American single malt in here
14:51
I probably wouldn't have ever guessed that. I would have thought that this is definitely some
14:55
sort of a blend. It does feel like not quite a consistent mash bill, but I don't think I would
15:00
have ever guessed this is anything more than just a bourbon. Such an oak forward palette. Still very
15:06
very sweet. The finish is what's really shining to me here. It does linger and it has a very like
15:12
I would say long, but definitely a medium finish. It kind of lingers on the tongue
15:16
kind of sits on the back palette, but it doesn't burn because that proof is, like I said, only 84
15:20
waterproof but that flavor is all-encompassing oh wow i have to have another sip of that let's try
15:26
it again oh yeah and they say that the bourbon is a high rye bourbon mashville there are some of
15:31
those bourbon spices in there um that i would typically associate with a high rye bourbon
15:35
but i think the craziest thing is how i hate to say this word this is a word that a lot of people
15:41
are going to look down upon but i want to say how smooth this whiskey is and i'm speaking specifically
15:45
for the mouthfeel, the finish, and just the overall palate experience. It doesn't hit you like with a
15:51
strong upfront taste. You get that oak, which is great, the oak and the sweetness, but it kind of
15:55
sticks around that same, you know, flavor profile and goes down really, really easily. I think this
16:01
is one of the easiest drinking products that I've had that's involved in American single malt than
16:05
I've ever had. Of course, most of the time when I'm drinking American single malt, it's a cast
16:10
strength, which isn't meant to be easy drinking, but the point still stands. I mean, this is so
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drinkable someone that feels like they might not be into single malt should at least give this a
16:19
try because the way it presents itself in combination with that bourbon is is really
16:24
delightful and i could see this being a crowd pleaser for sure yeah i'm really excited for this
16:29
being my first time trying a 10 cup i can't wait to try the other expressions i mean this is so
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so unique i mean and okay it's hard not to compare it to another like 35 ish dollar american whiskey
16:40
that came out in recent years that kind of blew up in popularity um if you're a traveler you'll
16:45
know what I'm talking about but this to me blows blows that release from Buffalo Trace away I mean
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I I would drink this any day of the week I mean it's so approachable it's definitely one that you
16:55
would want to bring and share because the flavor profiles here are not offensive they're sweet
16:59
they are oaky they're everything you expect from an American whiskey but just really well blended
17:06
and at the six-year age statement for for 34 35 dollars I think that's a winner for sure I mean
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This one definitely would make my list of one of my top releases I've tried this year for the price
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So I'm excited to hear what you guys think of this if you see it on the shelves. Like I said, it was just announced in February of this year
17:21
So it's slowly making its way on the market. But yeah, as a first impression, I'm really, really impressed
17:27
So I'll have to revisit it with this tin tasting cup later
17:30
But in a Glencairn, it's quite nice for sure. So thank you again to the folks at Tin Cup for sending me this bottle for review
17:37
like I said I'm going to do a full strain of hens tasting this week this Thursday so make sure to
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tune in whether you're listening to it live or you're watching the replay um you can check it
17:46
out at youtube.com slash bourbon bites I'm really excited to get into those but that about does it
17:51
for this week's episode thank you all so much for listening I feel like I kind of talked really fast
17:56
through this episode but there's just so much I was excited to share with you all so if I should
17:59
slow it down in the future let me know leave a comment but um I don't know I just was excited to
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record this week so hopefully you guys are in a good mood too by listening if you want to leave
18:08
a review visit your favorite podcast platform leave me a five star or less if you feel I deserve
18:13
it but your comments of course always help out the channel and make sure to follow me on all
18:17
social medias at bourbon bites you can support the channel for as little as two dollars a month
18:21
at bourbon bites.com and become a member of the bite club if you know you know otherwise I hope
18:27
you have a great rest of your week this has been bourbon bites whiskey reviews with the gaming twist
18:31
Cheers, and I'll talk to you next episode
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