Honey Hooch (Round 3!) - Nelson Bros. Honey Cask 2023 Review
Background
Last month, I had the good fortune of reviewing the 2020 edition of the, now discounted, Belle Meade Honey Cask. That was an absolutely breathtaking whiskey, one of the few 10/10s I have given out, thanks to the way it marries the honey cask finish with the depth and richness of the old MGP stocks used in its creation. What made this Belle Meade so exciting was its departure from my first go around with honey cask finishes, where you desperately searched for notes that weren’t just honey, honey, and more honey.
And now we arrive at the Nelson Bros. iteration, which supplanted the Belle Meade line after Nelson’s Green Brier axed the Belle Meade brand. As honey cask expert and reviewer extraordinaire The Bourbon Culture points out, this transition also allowed for a semi-sneaky switch in sourcing. As posited in that write-up, it appears Nelson’s Green Brier is at least blending some much younger Bardstown Bourbon Company juice into the mix. This is seemingly confirmed by the fact that this bottle notes it’s a Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys, whereas the 2020 Belle Meade Honey Cask bottle just says Straight Bourbon Whiskey. So how does this new, mystery sourced bottling compare to the divine 2020 Belle Meade Cask Strength? Time to find out!
Nelson Bros. Honey Cask Finish (NAS, 107.2 Proof)
Nose: Honey nut cheerios, red licorice, and yeah, lots of honey!
Palate: Obviously honey, but it's also a little grassy and earthy. It's honey forward for sure with some hints of brown sugar and maybe a bit of muddled mint. It's actually not quite as syrupy as I expected coming in, and the flavors are interesting but lacking in the depth and richness the Belle Meade Honey had.
Finish: Cinnamon, honey again (shocker), brown sugar and some root beer. It dissipates fairly quickly, which is a little disappointing.
Good to Very Good (5.5/10)
Overall: While a nice whiskey generally speaking, at $199 MSRP a bottle this just ain’t it. For fun, my buddy and I tried this next to the Shortbarrel Bees Knees II and the Shortbarrel was a little brighter, and more candy forward. This is more dark sugar forward, and ultimately falls short of being a ton more interesting than a very honey forward whiskey.
