The Basics: 

Sourced from MGP - High Rye Bourbon

108.3 proof

NAS

$60 MSRP

Nose:

Fruit tart, plum pudding, clove, cinnamon toast crunch, brown sugar, and nutmeg. 

Palate: 

Cinnamon roll with icing, prunes, oily, baking spices, and brown sugar. 

Finish:

Big hit of cinnamon spice that quickly fades into an oaky, sweet raspberry jam.  

Final Thoughts:

During 2020, Belle Meade switched their Reserve line from individual batches at varying cask strengths to a singular batch strength of 108.3 for all future releases. At first I was admittedly skeptical that the final product would not be as interesting as the original cask strength batches because there is a certain level of water that must be added to achieve the desired proof level. However, I am happy to say that it was not the case at all! This whiskey is still very rich and oak forward with strong notes of plum pudding, dates, and spicy cinnamon on the finish. The reserve line still lives up to what I remember from the original bottles, except now I won’t be as tempted to buy more bottles like when I used to find different batch proofs that I didn’t own.