Buckner’s 10 Year SiB
By Augusta Distillery
Barrel #174 Bottle #3
122.5 Proof
Appearance – The pour has a nice rich reddish hue to it, it’s a wonderful looking pour. After a quick swirl in the glen you see that it coats the glen well and quickly develops thin legs that are well spaced out that just stream down the glen. As you sit and admire this pour, you see it beginning to develop a second set of legs yet they hold firm and only a few begin to crawl down the glen. This pour is great to look at and has you wanting to get into it!
Nose – Even at 122.5 proof, you can get your nose all the way into the glen with little issues. This is promising as it’s not burning you up and allows you to enjoy what it has to offer on the nose. One of the first things that hit the nose is this deep oak note that is accompanied by a semi sweet vanilla. That oak just keeps this light smokiness and toasted warmth on the nose and it’s rather enjoyable.
Palate – As you take that first sip you get two things that are strong players on this pour, an earthy note and corn. For a guy like me who grew up in a smaller town and had friends who were farmers, this reminds me of a corn field with that had recently been watered. Now this might not sound good, but it works and here is why. There is this sweetness that is chilling out just underneath these notes, almost like honey butter as it is sweet and creamy. Then this oak spice kicks in and heats up the backend of the palate while the front and mid palate still enjoy that delicate sweetness and now mild corn note. This is not what I was expecting, but then again I didn’t know what to expect. But this combination has it all; earthiness, sweetness, corn and oak spice that all just comes together to create a very solid palate. The corn taste reminds me a bit of the Bloody Butcher Corn notes I’ve gotten.
Finish – As you sit and allow this pour to stroll across the palate and what is left lingering is honey butter sweetness with spice that is a medium long finish and as it fades out leaves your palate almost numb and tingling from that oak spice. This pour definitely lets you know you’ve sipped something with a bit of age on it while not blowing out your palate. The finish is quite enjoyable and the lasting note kind of comes out of nowhere, it’s an Earl Grey tea note that just creeps in and settles on the mid palate. This is a wonderful finish in my opinion.
Overall – As I sit and continue to sip this I am not overwhelming blown away by the it, but this is such an enjoyable pour for me. I’m not sure if it’s purely nostalgia setting in, but I really enjoy this offering. I mean, honey butter sweetness and corn and a stout oak spice all comes together in a way that makes this pour a short ride and then the finish comes on and you just thought it was over and then it just gently lingers until you get this tea note that just sticks with you. All in all, this is very enjoyable and one I do enjoy and will have a hard time not enjoying.
Score 1-10: This is where things might seem out of sorts a bit, but this is where I will remove myself from the moment and keep the bigger picture in mind. This pour gets a solid 8.3 which is pretty good, just not in the realm of the top tier pours of the year category. Very solid, but not in the upper echelon for me.
Value – This is where things down turn a bit as this is just shy of $170 out the door(OTD). Would I buy another one, not at this price. This is a try it first and see for yourself before committing to a bottle at this price. I think this would be better around $125 OTD and at that price, I probably would.
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