This is the first out of a set of secondhand bottles I’m calling Troy’s Treasure Trove. Thanks, Troy, for giving me a good deal on some good whiskey. According to the Total Wine website, this retails at present for $99.99.

As you can see from the label, this is a single barrel, cask strength, straight bourbon aged 14 years and bottled at cask strength, coming in at just shy of 110 proof. This bourbon is distilled in Tennessee and bottled in Louisville, Kentucky. Barrel number is E552, selected by Total Wine Texas.

This whiskey is a deep copper color. It has some sweet fruit on the nose, apple perhaps, but it is not very fragrant.

The pallet is very fruity, golden raisins, sweet cherries, oak, black pepper, a little bit of sugarcane and red grape skins, with just a tiny overtone of bitter and a slightly oily feel. The finish is red currant and hot cinnamon candy. Like any cask strength bourbon, it is a little “hot” taken neat. A splash of filtered water takes the heat off the back end, but it also brings out a bit of a bitter note & the wood influence becomes a little too prominent. I actually recommend you take this one neat.

Alternatively, I tried it with a tiny splash of a slightly saline mineral water (Topo Chico), and that gave a more balanced experience than the still water, and brought out some floral notes.

I like a fruity bourbon, but I prefer darker or stone fruits over the brighter/sweeter fruit and floral notes in this one. Still, this is a really interesting bourbon all around, even if it is not quite as balanced as I would like. I’d say A-.