In the continuing war on the bottle of Knob Creek Smoked Maple that has been taking up space on my shelf since 2023, this 50/50 blend serves to kill the last bit of Dread River remaining after the creation of a rather excellent 75% Rebel Cask Strength Blend (the Cask ran out before the Dread). On their own, the Dread River suffers from extreme youth and lack of oak while it is charmingly sweet, and the Knob Creek is artificial candy sugar, a lot of maple and not much smoke. The hope is that the edges on the Dread River help balance out some of the sugar from the Knob Creek, though the result is still going to be very sweet. Not sure how optimistic I am going into this one. VΓ‘monos! π§ͺPreparation I mixed the two half and half until all the Dread was gone. No art or science this time. They mingled for five days and I shook the mix roughly before pouring. Sat out for a few minutes but didn't track the total. Rocks glass on deck tonight because I don't want as much o...
This edition of Whiskey Frankenstein ( home whiskey blending ) brings together two bottles that just didn't "Wow" me. Dread River's Birmingham Bourbon is lovely distillate, very well balanced, but really needed more time in the oak. Rebel Cask Strength , in this case a store pick single barrel, delivered thick flavor but no nuance and more heat than I'd prefer. Can these two misfits from my shelf be better together? Let's find out. VΓ‘monos! π§ͺPreparation I made three 45-50 ml samples for a total of just under two shots of each whiskey consumed. Samples & Ratios: A: 50/50 "Half and Half" - 105 proof - Average Age ~4.12 years B: 75/25 Majority Dread River Bourbo n - 97.5 proof - Average Age ~3.43 years C: 75/25 Majority Rebel Cask Strength - 112.5 proof - Average Age ~4.8 years Whiskies are measured using a 100ml lab-quality graduated cylinder wielded with questionable skill. Mechanical agitation (stirring/shaking) is applied at the time of...