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Happy first day of games! It’s time for the second part of our celebrity bourbon bracket, part one is here but to recap quick we put a bunch of vanity projects in a bracket, seeded them by IG followers, tasted two matchups and then poured Drake’s whiskey down the drain! Now onto the second half of our first round:

First Round - Brother’s Bond (2) vs. Sweetens Cove Kennessee Bourbon (7)

Pour 1:

Nose: Cider, some brown sugar. As my much more spirits savvy friend & tasting panelist said during the tasting “in wine they talk about how prominent the nose is… and this isn't.”

Palate: Molasses, brown sugar, mushed apple and some kind of off putting citrus funk. It’s also just a bit harsh, the alcohol is not very well integrated.

Finish: Oak, mushed apples and some brown sugar.

3/10

This pour turned out to be: Sweeten’s Cove

Pour 2:

Nose: Caramel apple, BIG sweet and sugar nose. Pear, cake frosting.

Palate: Orchard fruit, asian pear. Actually, a lot of Asian pear. Weird! Pretty fun. Super orchard fruity.

Finish: Pears, caramel apples. Sweet cream.

5/10
This pour turned out to be: Brother’s Bond

Notes from the Panel: “Blind I feel like Pour 2 MUST be Sweetens given the higher proof. The nose just pops so much more.” Pour two just won the panel with its uniqueness and consistency, a lot of flavor and a really fun sweet profile. It tasted like a coherent vision whereas Pour 1 just came across as kind of all over the place. This was a sweep in favor of…
 

Winner: Brother’s Bond!
 

Send off for Sweeten’s Cove: Wow we have our first shocker, I cant believe the 80 proof Vampire Diaries whiskey WON A ROUND, and honestly for good reason! Sweeten’s Cove is an NAS blend of Kentucky and Tennessee bourbon finished with toasted sugar maple wood clocking in at 110 proof. Sounds awesome! Just doesn't taste awesome. Lord knows Marianne Eaves has forgotten more about whiskey than many of us will ever know, the panel just unanimously did not like this pour.
 

First Round - Blackened (3) vs Heaven’s Door (6)

Pour 1:

Nose: Fruity, orange peels. Some vanilla.

Palate: Spices, cherries, rum cherries, cola and orange peels.

Finish: Cherry cough syrup. I’m just getting a bunch of cherries here.

5.5/10

This pour turned out to be: Heaven’s Door

Pour 2:

Nose: Mixed berries, apple, caramel

Palate: Blueberry, caramel again, strudel, a little thinner on the palate than A.

Finish: Kind of short, though pleasant, vanilla. Hints of citrus and berry jam.

5.5/10
This pour turned out to be: Blackened

Notes from the Panel: “Blasting music at the barrels reminds me of those parents who brag about playing Mozart for their baby in the womb.” Blackened releases playlists for each of their batches, because of course they do, so if you want to listen to the Batch 130 playlist like we did while doing this review, be our guest. This was neck and neck though, as our group really enjoyed both of these which led to-

Winner: With the votes tied 3-3 we have a SPLIT DECISION. After doing this, we all got bummed about trying to figure out how to tiebreaker it while staring down the prospect of drinking more Bradshaw… so we decided to eliminate Bradshaw and send Blackened over to the other side of the bracket. Is it cheating? Maybe, but you try to drink Bradshaw Bourbon more than once and tell me you wouldn’t have done the same.

Send off for Bradshaw: I have yet to meet a two year bourbon I like, and this sourced offering from Green River Distilling Company doesn’t fix that. If you are unfortunate enough to end up with a bottle, maybe use it for one of Terry’s Favorite Cocktails! I just recommend you go a little heavy on other components.

Stay tuned for round 2, which will matchup:

• Bradshaw Blackened (3) vs Longbranch (4)

• Brother’s Bond (2) vs Heaven’s Door (6)