Nose: Bourbon vanilla and maple sawdust. It’s a specific note, but when a 60ft tall maple tree fell in my parents yard, we had it turned into rough boards and I spent the next decade building furniture for my home. A touch of stonefruit, leaning towards yellow plums. The nose is an odd pairing as it’s quite gentle oakiness on one side, and yet has some astringence which reminds me of a touch of celeriac.
Palate: Hello woody. This is like a classy surf car. Isn’t it crazy that those station wagons all our moms had in CA in the 70s and 80s are now vintage classics? Oak with gentle touches of nutmeg. Rootbeer barrels. Those candy by the way, are a score. When it was time to do the formal trading of the halloween candy, their trade value was garbage, so I could get dozens of them for a single bazooka joe gum. Must have been the comic. I was expecting to find fruit from the nose, but nope, it’s just a lovely bit of oak for me. And I can jive with that.
Rating: 6 / 10 – Solid – Super Glad I Drank It. The nose had hints of youth, but the palate delivered right where I’d want an XO to hit. I think the bourbon crew will quite enjoy this. I just got a sample of the 2023 XO, so I’m going to do a side by side.
