October 9, 2025 • 20 mins
Spooky season has arrived, and Clifton’s diving into bottles he’s been too scared to try… starting with Dough Ball Cookie Dough Flavored Whiskey. 🥶
In this week’s episode of the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, we’re tasting a whiskey that’s more dessert than dram — plus, we’ve got big whiskey news: 🥃 Knob Creek 21-Year Bourbon is here 🍯 Forward Slash Incantation Vol. 2 is a mead-finished bourbon with serious Halloween vibes ❄️ A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 13 returns 🎸 And… fans call the Rock Band 4 delisting “a crime against gaming!”
Clifton shares his honest take on Dough Ball’s melted chocolate and toasted cookie flavors. Does it actually deliver, or belong in a candy shop instead of your whiskey shelf?
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
On today's episode of the Bourbon Bytes podcast, we're looking at several new whiskey releases,
including Jim Beam's Knob Creek 21-year-old bourbon,
Forward Slash's Incantation Vol. 2 mead-finished bourbon,
and the latest release of a Midwinter's Night Dram from High West.
Plus, I'm kicking spooky season off with a very scary pour,
Dough Ball Cookie Dough Flavored Whiskey. Let's see how this goes.
(00:36):
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Bourbon Bytes podcast. I'm your host,
Clifton, and this is the week of October 9th, 2025.
As I mentioned last week, we're going to get into some spooky pours to celebrate this season,
and today's whiskey review is no exception.
But before we get into that, we have some whiskey news to talk about.
(00:56):
For the past week or so, I've been getting several emails from distilleries about their
new whiskey releases and new labels coming soon, so we're going to highlight a few of those before
getting into our review, but welcome to the show. Thank you for listening in. If it's your first
time here, welcome. This podcast is all about whiskey news and reviews with a gaming twist,
so we don't really have any gaming news this week, but I do want to mention something that
(01:20):
people are getting very up in arms about. Rock Band 4, and all the DLC associated with it,
is going to be delisted from the PlayStation and Xbox stores. It's been 10 years since this
game came out, and a lot of the music licenses are expiring, so fans are calling this a 'crime
against gaming'. I think that's one of those things that happens when you license real music
(01:41):
for a game like that is, you know, they don't have those rights forever. So while I never really
played those games growing up, mainly because, well if you don't know, I am an amputee. I am
missing my right arm, so I could never play any of those like guitar, like drumming games. It just
didn't really work for my setup. Now I'm sure there's some accessibility controls I could,
you know, adapt it to and try it now as an adult, but yeah, never really piqued my interest. But
(02:04):
yeah, fans are upset about that. And it makes you wonder, like, should they keep those games up with
just the other tracks that haven't, you know, had a license expire? Or are those even playable,
right? Like, it's like, could you continue to sell it and then remove most of the main features
that came with the game when it first came out? It's an interesting topic. I mean, I guess they
could always just replace it with, like, generic, like, library music, not recognizable songs, but
(02:29):
that's not any fun. So I'm curious to hear what you guys think. Are you guys upset about things
like that? Or would you rather them keep a version of it up in the store? Now I'm not saying there
aren't ways that you could probably get that game and a copy of it and save it locally. Not to
advocate against, you know, piracy, but if you own the game, you know, I think ROMs are legal. So
(02:50):
check that out. But before I get this podcast banned, let's go ahead and move into our whiskey
news for the week. Now the first of these isn't actually a new whiskey, but it's a new to me
whiskey, and it has a brand new label. So a couple years back, Barrell Craft Spirits released a Barrell
Foundation five-year bourbon, and it was pretty well received. And apparently they launched a
(03:10):
double barrel version of it for 2025. I wasn't aware, but they've changed up the label now to
make it a little bit more unique on the shelves. I think that's something that I've always kind of,
you know, felt about Barrell's products is a lot of the labels look pretty similar, but this new
label for the double barrel release has a textured background. So it's a similar color, but there's a
(03:32):
bit of like a, I guess, maybe a barrel looking texture to it. It's very light. It's bright orange,
so it's hard to really tell what they're going for here, but it's made to help it be a standout
against the regular release. I think maybe there was some confusion among fans of whether it was
the double barrel or the regular one, although the old label I was looking at, and it still says
double barrel. So I guess the coloring scheme may have been confusing because it was the same color.
(03:54):
I don't know, but this whiskey did win a 96 point score from Wine Enthusiast, a 91 point score from
Whiskey Advocate, and platinum in the LA Spirits Awards, as well as the American Spirits Council of
Tasters. So I'm going to keep an eye out for this bottle. I haven't had it. I was a big fan of the
regular Foundation. I thought it was a solid addition to their lineup, but double barrel
(04:17):
sounds really, really good. So I'll keep an eye out for this brand new label. Now, speaking of new
labels, I'm taking a look over at our friend Coming Whiskey over on Instagram. That is Jacob. If
you're not yet following him, he is a great resource for the whiskey community. And one
bottle label caught my eye, and mainly because it looks a little Halloween-y. It's called
Incantation Volume 2, and this is from Forward Slash is the brand. I'm not very familiar with
(04:42):
them, but this is a straight bourbon whiskey finished in a mead barrel, which is something
that I've never really heard done. I mean, I know people finish things in a honey barrel,
but I don't think I've ever seen a mead finished whiskey. Sounds very, very nice, though. It's 51.5%
ABV, so 103 proof, and they're actually based out of Winter Park, Florida. The back of the
(05:02):
bottle says, for the second release in our mead barrel maturation series, Incantation,
we set out to highlight one of the most distinctive aspects of Zimerium Meadery's
barrel-aged meads (05:11):
Treatments. This particular barrel once held a mead infused with over 200
vanilla beans, allowing its flavor to develop richness and depth. Now, here's where it gets
even more interesting. So that vanilla mead actually spent 10 months in apple brandy barrels,
and on the day that it was emptied, they filled it with their bourbon blend. So there's definitely,
(05:33):
I see what they're talking about layers, like we're talking about a apple brandy barrel that
was used to age mead that had vanilla beans, and now they're putting bourbon in it. So
I'm excited to see this. I would definitely keep an eye out. I have not, like I said,
heard of the brand before, but I see a couple of people in the comments excited for this release.
I'm excited, especially seeing that it's higher proof. You know, it's not like it's going to be a
(05:53):
flavored whiskey, which speaking of which, we'll get into one of those later today.
But yeah, I like all those impacts from those barrels. Bottling it high proof, you know,
103 proof is a pretty impressive move. Now, I wish we knew a little bit about the bourbon.
We do know that it is a straight bourbon whiskey, but that's about it. So I'd love to know more
about where this is from. If I had to guess, probably Indiana, but there's nothing wrong
(06:16):
with that. All right. Well, another email that ended up in my inbox this week was Beam's fall
bourbon lineup. They've just announced two new releases, the Hardin's Creek batch for 2025 and
the Knob Creek 21 year. Now I'd heard of the Knob Creek because our friend Fred actually ended up
with a bottle of the 21 year old release. It seems like quite a bit of folks got a chance to try it
(06:38):
at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. I'm seeing it pop up on a lot of YouTube channels. I know Cameron
from Drums and Drams did a review as well as Bourbon Junkies. So I am definitely keeping an
eye out for that. I am a huge Knob Creek fan. I really enjoyed the 18 year that I had. The first
15 year I had was a bit of a miss, but I've heard that previous or sorry, later batches have come
out quite a bit better. Now, the label for this release was posted on the TTB back in April,
(07:03):
actually. So that's all I really know about it. Like I said, 21 years old, 100 proof. So it's not
going to be cask strength. That's going to be the standard proof as their main core age data lineup.
Now, retail on this bottle is $250, which I think puts it in line with the other releases.
I think it's fair for a 21 year old bourbon. That's not something you see every day. Would I like it to
(07:24):
be maybe a higher proof release for that price? Absolutely. But I'm definitely going to keep an
eye out for this one. Now, unfortunately, I don't think I am on Jim Beam's PR list, but if anyone has
a contact out there that would be willing to send me a sample, let me know and maybe let Adriana from
Whiskey Mountains and Women of Whiskies know as well, because I'm sure she is dying to try this
bottle. Now, I don't know too much about the Hardin's Creek release. I know it's going to be
(07:47):
launched on October 17th. So as I learn more about that new one, I will share it here on the podcast.
So two really cool releases and one that I am very excited. The other I'll wait and see.
Now, one last note, Jim Beam is offering a Friendsgiving event on November 13th at the
Distillery. You get to join Fred and Freddie Noe for a bourbon and Thanksgiving feast featuring
pours like Little Book (08:11):
The Infinite Two, Bookers
just talked about, and Jim Beam Lineage Batch Two. This is happening on November 13th at the
Distillery from 6 to 9 p.m. Price is $150 per person, which sounds like a good time. I mean,
if I was there, I'd love to absolutely hang with those folks and have a wonderful Thanksgiving meal
(08:31):
and try some incredible bourbon. So if you are in the area and looking to attend, let me know how
it goes. All right. Well, last whiskey release to talk about today is the announcement of the
High West Distillery's A Midwinter Nights Dram Act 13. So the last one I actually had was Act 11.
So it's been a couple of years since I've had this one, but they just released the info on this
(08:53):
particular bottle. It's going to retail for $150. It's available to purchase actually on their
website now. They say it is a blend of straight rye whiskeys ranging in age from 4 to 10 years old,
finished in ruby and tawny port barrels. This has always been a favorite of mine. I think it's,
you know, just an exceptional pour coming in at 98.6 proof. I always think of it as the perfect
(09:14):
holiday whiskey. And, you know, now it's about the time to be buying those Thanksgiving and
Christmas pours before it's too late. So I'm going to keep an eye out for this new release. I'm a big
fan of Act 11 and I've always been a fan of this lineup. So I'm looking forward to getting a chance
to try it. I know people are kind of a little upset with the pricing going up to closer to $150.
I think I paid $120-ish, $130 for my last one, but that was straight from the distillery. I actually
(09:39):
had a chance to buy it after doing a tasting and tour of the distillery when I was there. So I had
to pull the trigger on it then. But this one, I might just wait to see if it pops up locally and
then just see how I'm feeling and if I'm willing to pull the trigger at the moment. But I have
traditionally really enjoyed these pours and I'm sure this year's release is no exception.
(09:59):
All right. Well, that does it for news this week. I realized last week's episode was a bit long,
so I'm going to keep this one a little bit shorter. But we do still have our Byte-Sized Review.
So like I teased earlier on, the month of October, I'm doing things that are either
(10:22):
bottles that I've had for a while, but I've been scared to try, or bottles that have been eyeing
me from the liquor store shelf. And I've not really had an occasion to buy them, but they
scare me a little bit. But we're going to try them for this spooky month this year. The first
of which is a sample bottle that has been sitting in my closet for well over a year and a half now.
(10:42):
I bought this for a live stream like a year and a half ago, and I just had too many flavored
whiskeys to do. So I set this aside. I was like, it didn't really fit the theme. But I figured
since it is almost holiday season, you could be cozying up with a bottle of A Midwinter's Night
Dram, or you could be having a shot of this while you're baking cookies with the family.
So if you don't know already, I'm talking about Dough Ball Cookie Dough Whiskey. This is a whiskey
(11:07):
with natural flavors and caramel color. Just want to get that out off the bat. And it's coming in
at 35% ABV or 70 proof. Now this is produced and bottled by Patco Brands out of Fairfield,
California. And I will say I've seen these Doughball bottles on the shelves for a couple
years now. And I think they have a pretty good fan base and a nice following. Now whether or
(11:29):
not these are the same people that are drinking A Midwinter's Night Dram, I highly doubt it.
But I've seen a few reviews where people are saying like, I don't want to like this,
but I really like it. And I kind of feel like that's how I am with some flavored whiskies.
You know, I am still a big fan of Fireball. You know, it's a joke, but I feel like on the right
occasion, a nice cold pour of that out of the freezer will get you going on any day. I also
(11:49):
liked, uh, what was it? Screwball. Screwball peanut butter whiskey that came out, um, probably
like five years ago now, but that was one of my favorite flavored whiskeys, I think, because it
still had a lot of the whiskey flavor and it wasn't, um, overwhelming with the sweetness.
Now, a couple of weeks back, I did a live stream where I tasted through three different new
flavored whiskeys, including the Jack Daniel's Blackberry, the Jim Beam Pineapple, and the Crown
(12:13):
Royal Chocolate. So if you missed that, check out the YouTube channel, youtube.com slash bourbon
bytes. I go live almost every Thursday night at 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern. Would love to have
you as a subscriber and a viewer over there if you're just here for the podcast. You can also
find me everywhere on the web, bourbonbytes.com, bytes with a y as it's spelled here on the
podcast. There's a link to my Instagram, my TikTok, my podcast, which you obviously have already found,
(12:38):
the YouTube channel, some really cool merch, and my favorite part, the Byte Club membership,
which is your way to support the channel for as little as two dollars a month. You can make a
huge impact, allowing me to buy crazy whiskeys like this one and also supporting the channel
in other ways. But do check that out. I notice we've been getting quite a few new free members
on Patreon, which is all great, but I would rather if you're going to be a free member,
(13:01):
I'd rather you join the bourbonbytes.com Byte Club. That way, it's just kind of more of a
my hub for place on the Internet, not that Patreon is going anywhere. I'll still be
posting on there as well. But I'd like to, you know, if you're going to join for free,
come on down to the Byte Club. Shout out to newest free members (13:13):
Chance, James, Rance, Jim, Dana,
and Devildog1. Like I said, bourbonbytes.com. There's also a link to our Discord server,
which includes tons of fun channels to share your interests and passions and what you've
been drinking lately. So check it out. Byte Club members get access to exclusive rooms depending
(13:34):
on their tier, including our monthly movie night where we watch a retro movie. It's October,
so we're definitely going to do a horror 80s horror movie this month. So I'll start thinking
about what we do. I think someone recommended The Fly. I haven't seen it, but someone mentioned that
as a good 80s horror movie to watch. So let me know if that's something you want me to watch
or if there's anything else that comes to mind. You also can get access to our monthly tasting
(13:55):
subscription box, where is where I send you samples every month. You can get that at the
BourbonTeraByte tier. It's a great group of guys who get together and drink whiskey. And if you
want to join us, all you got to do is join the Byte Club. So that's it with the plugs. Let's go
get into this Dough Ball Cookie Dough Whiskey. Now, perhaps you're supposed to be drinking this
(14:16):
as either a shot or a cocktail or over ice. I'm going to do it neat because I feel like
putting it over ice is probably going to bring down some of the flavors a bit. And I want to
give an honest first impression of this whiskey. So we're going to do it neat for today's review.
Let's go in and give this a nose. OK, not too much, honestly, I hope this is going to be like
(14:36):
crazy sweet on the nose. It's there. It's sweet, but it's almost like a chocolate, like a melted
chocolate chip note. It doesn't say chocolate chip cookie dough, which is kind of I'm surprised.
I thought it'd be more of just like a generic cookie dough note, but there's like a good
chocolate note there that kind of reminds me of the Crown Royal Chocolate. But this one's
a little bit more of like a melty kind of chocolate, like the chocolate that would be
(14:58):
in a chocolate chip cookie. There's also a good bit of vanilla there. And I think, you know,
unfortunately, it's probably mostly coming from the artificial flavor. I don't think that's really
coming from the whiskey itself. We don't know, by the way, if this is a bourbon, if this is a
Canadian whiskey. Most likely it's, you know, it's either American whiskey or Canadian whiskey.
A super young whiskey usually is what they go for. I know Fireball is, I think, Canadian whiskey,
(15:21):
if I remember correctly. But a lot of them just use, you know, barely aged whiskey. That's why
they don't have to call it like a straight bourbon or anything like that. They can use, you know,
as long as it touches wood and it's been aged in wood, they can call it a whiskey. But honestly,
I'm pretty impressed that this isn't as sweet on the nose. Now, I'm hoping the palate holds up
because I've said this before, but I'm not a fan of flavored whiskies that are overly sweet.
(15:41):
It's something that I find in almost all of them. Unfortunately, I feel like they try to compensate,
you know, the flavor with just like tons of sugar. And it's just so overwhelming,
especially if you want to use it in a cocktail. It's like you don't need to add any sugar to it
because it's so sweet already. I'd actually prefer things to be a little bit more natural.
That way you can, you know, like I said, mix into a cocktail, add some simple syrup,
maybe some vermouth. But, you know, making it so sweet, it makes it hard to do anything with,
(16:06):
in my opinion. But maybe that's just me. Maybe I'm not the target audience.
But let's go and give this Dough Ball Cookie Dough Whiskey a taste. Cheers.
OK, yeah, there's the there's the cookie dough flavor. I still get a little bit of
that chocolate chip note, like it's like a milk chocolate melty. But honestly, the flavor,
(16:27):
they kind of nailed it. Like it kind of does taste like a chewy kind of cookie,
like, you know, not necessarily like raw cookie dough, because I think that has a very specific.
I don't know. There's something about raw cookie dough that has a little bit slightly different
of a flavor. I think it's a little more vanilla, whereas a baked cookie has a bit more of those
toasty dessert quality elements to it. I think this has that. I think it has a little bit of
(16:47):
like a toasted pie crust kind of note that I think attributes really well to a baked cookie.
I'm gonna go for a second sip. I'm pleasantly surprised by that first one.
Yeah, unfortunately, it's sweet, right? I think I was hoping that it wasn't going to be that crazy
sweet, but I figured with a cookie dough flavored whiskey, you can't really expect it not to be.
It's viscous, but in a way that's just because it's the sugar sticking to your tongue.
(17:09):
And finish wise, it actually has quite a bit of a kick for a 70 proof.
You know, I prefer these to be at least 80 proof, which some whiskies have been that are flavored.
But this one, unfortunately, is 70. Now, I guess our target audience probably wants something
smooth, as I should say. But this is, you know, a pretty complex flavored whiskey. Like I said,
starts out with that melted chocolate. There's a little bit of like toasted marshmallow there as
(17:30):
well. But there is a baked good note, like a I said pie crust, but I mean, it probably is just
cookie. Let's be real. But it's a pretty they've nailed this flavor. You know, it does say made
with natural flavors. We don't really know what that means, but they at least taste it tastes
like a cookie. So if that's their goal, they nailed it. Is it made for someone like you and
(17:51):
me that just likes to drink a whiskey that tastes like whiskey? Probably not. I'm going to have to
give this whiskey a rating based on, you know, my feelings towards it. It is a flavored whiskey,
so I'm going to treat it as such. Fun fact, this one actually won a double gold at the San Francisco
International Spirits Competition, as well as the Proof Awards Unmasked, where it won double gold
(18:12):
and Proof Awards Masked, where it won gold. So it's doing really well. Forbes magazine actually
called it the best of class flavored whiskey when they reviewed it. So, you know, I think there is a
place where it just may not belong on my whiskey shelf. Now, pricing wise, I'm not sure if I
mentioned that. I don't think I did. This bottle goes for about twenty four, twenty five dollars,
(18:33):
which is relatively high. I got a mini bottle for about two dollars, 50 cent. But for a flavored
whiskey, that's, you know, pretty up there. And I think the way that this taste is justified. But
I know that something like Fireball, which is mass reduced, is, you know, not half the price,
but almost half the price. So I do think it's steep in its category, but that doesn't mean
it's bad by any means. Out of 10. Hmm. This is tough because I feel like I don't think I've ever
(18:58):
given a flavored whiskey a rating out of 10. I just feel like I say my ratings for like,
OK, this is going to be mean. I like serious whiskeys, which, you know, that's not an
insult. I don't think cookie dough flavored whiskey takes itself too seriously in terms of
being a well-reviewed whiskey in the bourbon influencer circle, you know. But I will say
it's it's a little sweet for me. It's a little pricey, but it's not bad by any means. So this
(19:22):
is going to get a five out of 10. It's not something I would buy again. It's something
that I would probably have, you know, as a fun shot with some friends, maybe make it into a
cocktail. But even that it's so sweet that I don't know if it would even hold up in a cocktail.
So this one might be better just enjoyed over ice as a way to wind down after a long day.
But it's definitely made for somebody that somebody just isn't me. So I'm glad I had a
(19:46):
chance to try it, though. Let me know if there's other crazy flavored whiskeys you want me to
review. Like I said, this month of October, I'm doing some bottles I've been scared to review
for various reasons. And I say that because I don't actually know what I'm reviewing next week,
but I'll figure it out before then. So let me know if you have any recommendations or
suggestions of what I should pick up to review. And I think that does it for this week's episode.
(20:06):
Thank you so much for listening. Like I said, it's a little shorter than usual, I think, but
doesn't mean it's not a good time. So make sure to follow me on your favorite podcast platform.
If you're watching this on somewhere like YouTube, hit the thumbs up button, leave a comment there
on the channel. But most of all, thank you so, so much for listening. I'll be back next week with
even more whiskey and video game news, plus another byte-sized review. All right, y'all,
(20:29):
cheers. Have a great rest of your week. And until then, this has been Bourbon Bytes,
a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist. Cheers, and I'll see you next episode.
On today's episode of the Bourbon Bytes podcast, we're looking at several new whiskey releases,
including Jim Beam's Knob Creek 21-year-old bourbon,
Forward Slash's Incantation Vol. 2 mead-finished bourbon,
and the latest release of a Midwinter's Night Dram from High West.
Plus, I'm kicking spooky season off with a very scary pour,
Dough Ball Cookie Dough Flavored Whiskey. Let's see how this goes.
(00:36):
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Bourbon Bytes podcast. I'm your host,
Clifton, and this is the week of October 9th, 2025.
As I mentioned last week, we're going to get into some spooky pours to celebrate this season,
and today's whiskey review is no exception.
But before we get into that, we have some whiskey news to talk about.
(00:56):
For the past week or so, I've been getting several emails from distilleries about their
new whiskey releases and new labels coming soon, so we're going to highlight a few of those before
getting into our review, but welcome to the show. Thank you for listening in. If it's your first
time here, welcome. This podcast is all about whiskey news and reviews with a gaming twist,
so we don't really have any gaming news this week, but I do want to mention something that
(01:20):
people are getting very up in arms about. Rock Band 4, and all the DLC associated with it,
is going to be delisted from the PlayStation and Xbox stores. It's been 10 years since this
game came out, and a lot of the music licenses are expiring, so fans are calling this a 'crime
against gaming'. I think that's one of those things that happens when you license real music
(01:41):
for a game like that is, you know, they don't have those rights forever. So while I never really
played those games growing up, mainly because, well if you don't know, I am an amputee. I am
missing my right arm, so I could never play any of those like guitar, like drumming games. It just
didn't really work for my setup. Now I'm sure there's some accessibility controls I could,
you know, adapt it to and try it now as an adult, but yeah, never really piqued my interest. But
(02:04):
yeah, fans are upset about that. And it makes you wonder, like, should they keep those games up with
just the other tracks that haven't, you know, had a license expire? Or are those even playable,
right? Like, it's like, could you continue to sell it and then remove most of the main features
that came with the game when it first came out? It's an interesting topic. I mean, I guess they
could always just replace it with, like, generic, like, library music, not recognizable songs, but
(02:29):
that's not any fun. So I'm curious to hear what you guys think. Are you guys upset about things
like that? Or would you rather them keep a version of it up in the store? Now I'm not saying there
aren't ways that you could probably get that game and a copy of it and save it locally. Not to
advocate against, you know, piracy, but if you own the game, you know, I think ROMs are legal. So
(02:50):
check that out. But before I get this podcast banned, let's go ahead and move into our whiskey
news for the week. Now the first of these isn't actually a new whiskey, but it's a new to me
whiskey, and it has a brand new label. So a couple years back, Barrell Craft Spirits released a Barrell
Foundation five-year bourbon, and it was pretty well received. And apparently they launched a
(03:10):
double barrel version of it for 2025. I wasn't aware, but they've changed up the label now to
make it a little bit more unique on the shelves. I think that's something that I've always kind of,
you know, felt about Barrell's products is a lot of the labels look pretty similar, but this new
label for the double barrel release has a textured background. So it's a similar color, but there's a
(03:32):
bit of like a, I guess, maybe a barrel looking texture to it. It's very light. It's bright orange,
so it's hard to really tell what they're going for here, but it's made to help it be a standout
against the regular release. I think maybe there was some confusion among fans of whether it was
the double barrel or the regular one, although the old label I was looking at, and it still says
double barrel. So I guess the coloring scheme may have been confusing because it was the same color.
(03:54):
I don't know, but this whiskey did win a 96 point score from Wine Enthusiast, a 91 point score from
Whiskey Advocate, and platinum in the LA Spirits Awards, as well as the American Spirits Council of
Tasters. So I'm going to keep an eye out for this bottle. I haven't had it. I was a big fan of the
regular Foundation. I thought it was a solid addition to their lineup, but double barrel
(04:17):
sounds really, really good. So I'll keep an eye out for this brand new label. Now, speaking of new
labels, I'm taking a look over at our friend Coming Whiskey over on Instagram. That is Jacob. If
you're not yet following him, he is a great resource for the whiskey community. And one
bottle label caught my eye, and mainly because it looks a little Halloween-y. It's called
Incantation Volume 2, and this is from Forward Slash is the brand. I'm not very familiar with
(04:42):
them, but this is a straight bourbon whiskey finished in a mead barrel, which is something
that I've never really heard done. I mean, I know people finish things in a honey barrel,
but I don't think I've ever seen a mead finished whiskey. Sounds very, very nice, though. It's 51.5%
ABV, so 103 proof, and they're actually based out of Winter Park, Florida. The back of the
(05:02):
bottle says, for the second release in our mead barrel maturation series, Incantation,
we set out to highlight one of the most distinctive aspects of Zimerium Meadery's
barrel-aged meads (05:11):
Treatments. This particular barrel once held a mead infused with over 200
vanilla beans, allowing its flavor to develop richness and depth. Now, here's where it gets
even more interesting. So that vanilla mead actually spent 10 months in apple brandy barrels,
and on the day that it was emptied, they filled it with their bourbon blend. So there's definitely,
(05:33):
I see what they're talking about layers, like we're talking about a apple brandy barrel that
was used to age mead that had vanilla beans, and now they're putting bourbon in it. So
I'm excited to see this. I would definitely keep an eye out. I have not, like I said,
heard of the brand before, but I see a couple of people in the comments excited for this release.
I'm excited, especially seeing that it's higher proof. You know, it's not like it's going to be a
(05:53):
flavored whiskey, which speaking of which, we'll get into one of those later today.
But yeah, I like all those impacts from those barrels. Bottling it high proof, you know,
103 proof is a pretty impressive move. Now, I wish we knew a little bit about the bourbon.
We do know that it is a straight bourbon whiskey, but that's about it. So I'd love to know more
about where this is from. If I had to guess, probably Indiana, but there's nothing wrong
(06:16):
with that. All right. Well, another email that ended up in my inbox this week was Beam's fall
bourbon lineup. They've just announced two new releases, the Hardin's Creek batch for 2025 and
the Knob Creek 21 year. Now I'd heard of the Knob Creek because our friend Fred actually ended up
with a bottle of the 21 year old release. It seems like quite a bit of folks got a chance to try it
(06:38):
at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. I'm seeing it pop up on a lot of YouTube channels. I know Cameron
from Drums and Drams did a review as well as Bourbon Junkies. So I am definitely keeping an
eye out for that. I am a huge Knob Creek fan. I really enjoyed the 18 year that I had. The first
15 year I had was a bit of a miss, but I've heard that previous or sorry, later batches have come
out quite a bit better. Now, the label for this release was posted on the TTB back in April,
(07:03):
actually. So that's all I really know about it. Like I said, 21 years old, 100 proof. So it's not
going to be cask strength. That's going to be the standard proof as their main core age data lineup.
Now, retail on this bottle is $250, which I think puts it in line with the other releases.
I think it's fair for a 21 year old bourbon. That's not something you see every day. Would I like it to
(07:24):
be maybe a higher proof release for that price? Absolutely. But I'm definitely going to keep an
eye out for this one. Now, unfortunately, I don't think I am on Jim Beam's PR list, but if anyone has
a contact out there that would be willing to send me a sample, let me know and maybe let Adriana from
Whiskey Mountains and Women of Whiskies know as well, because I'm sure she is dying to try this
bottle. Now, I don't know too much about the Hardin's Creek release. I know it's going to be
(07:47):
launched on October 17th. So as I learn more about that new one, I will share it here on the podcast.
So two really cool releases and one that I am very excited. The other I'll wait and see.
Now, one last note, Jim Beam is offering a Friendsgiving event on November 13th at the
Distillery. You get to join Fred and Freddie Noe for a bourbon and Thanksgiving feast featuring
pours like Little Book (08:11):
The Infinite Two, Bookers
just talked about, and Jim Beam Lineage Batch Two. This is happening on November 13th at the
Distillery from 6 to 9 p.m. Price is $150 per person, which sounds like a good time. I mean,
if I was there, I'd love to absolutely hang with those folks and have a wonderful Thanksgiving meal
(08:31):
and try some incredible bourbon. So if you are in the area and looking to attend, let me know how
it goes. All right. Well, last whiskey release to talk about today is the announcement of the
High West Distillery's A Midwinter Nights Dram Act 13. So the last one I actually had was Act 11.
So it's been a couple of years since I've had this one, but they just released the info on this
(08:53):
particular bottle. It's going to retail for $150. It's available to purchase actually on their
website now. They say it is a blend of straight rye whiskeys ranging in age from 4 to 10 years old,
finished in ruby and tawny port barrels. This has always been a favorite of mine. I think it's,
you know, just an exceptional pour coming in at 98.6 proof. I always think of it as the perfect
(09:14):
holiday whiskey. And, you know, now it's about the time to be buying those Thanksgiving and
Christmas pours before it's too late. So I'm going to keep an eye out for this new release. I'm a big
fan of Act 11 and I've always been a fan of this lineup. So I'm looking forward to getting a chance
to try it. I know people are kind of a little upset with the pricing going up to closer to $150.
I think I paid $120-ish, $130 for my last one, but that was straight from the distillery. I actually
(09:39):
had a chance to buy it after doing a tasting and tour of the distillery when I was there. So I had
to pull the trigger on it then. But this one, I might just wait to see if it pops up locally and
then just see how I'm feeling and if I'm willing to pull the trigger at the moment. But I have
traditionally really enjoyed these pours and I'm sure this year's release is no exception.
(09:59):
All right. Well, that does it for news this week. I realized last week's episode was a bit long,
so I'm going to keep this one a little bit shorter. But we do still have our Byte-Sized Review.
So like I teased earlier on, the month of October, I'm doing things that are either
(10:22):
bottles that I've had for a while, but I've been scared to try, or bottles that have been eyeing
me from the liquor store shelf. And I've not really had an occasion to buy them, but they
scare me a little bit. But we're going to try them for this spooky month this year. The first
of which is a sample bottle that has been sitting in my closet for well over a year and a half now.
(10:42):
I bought this for a live stream like a year and a half ago, and I just had too many flavored
whiskeys to do. So I set this aside. I was like, it didn't really fit the theme. But I figured
since it is almost holiday season, you could be cozying up with a bottle of A Midwinter's Night
Dram, or you could be having a shot of this while you're baking cookies with the family.
So if you don't know already, I'm talking about Dough Ball Cookie Dough Whiskey. This is a whiskey
(11:07):
with natural flavors and caramel color. Just want to get that out off the bat. And it's coming in
at 35% ABV or 70 proof. Now this is produced and bottled by Patco Brands out of Fairfield,
California. And I will say I've seen these Doughball bottles on the shelves for a couple
years now. And I think they have a pretty good fan base and a nice following. Now whether or
(11:29):
not these are the same people that are drinking A Midwinter's Night Dram, I highly doubt it.
But I've seen a few reviews where people are saying like, I don't want to like this,
but I really like it. And I kind of feel like that's how I am with some flavored whiskies.
You know, I am still a big fan of Fireball. You know, it's a joke, but I feel like on the right
occasion, a nice cold pour of that out of the freezer will get you going on any day. I also
(11:49):
liked, uh, what was it? Screwball. Screwball peanut butter whiskey that came out, um, probably
like five years ago now, but that was one of my favorite flavored whiskeys, I think, because it
still had a lot of the whiskey flavor and it wasn't, um, overwhelming with the sweetness.
Now, a couple of weeks back, I did a live stream where I tasted through three different new
flavored whiskeys, including the Jack Daniel's Blackberry, the Jim Beam Pineapple, and the Crown
(12:13):
Royal Chocolate. So if you missed that, check out the YouTube channel, youtube.com slash bourbon
bytes. I go live almost every Thursday night at 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern. Would love to have
you as a subscriber and a viewer over there if you're just here for the podcast. You can also
find me everywhere on the web, bourbonbytes.com, bytes with a y as it's spelled here on the
podcast. There's a link to my Instagram, my TikTok, my podcast, which you obviously have already found,
(12:38):
the YouTube channel, some really cool merch, and my favorite part, the Byte Club membership,
which is your way to support the channel for as little as two dollars a month. You can make a
huge impact, allowing me to buy crazy whiskeys like this one and also supporting the channel
in other ways. But do check that out. I notice we've been getting quite a few new free members
on Patreon, which is all great, but I would rather if you're going to be a free member,
(13:01):
I'd rather you join the bourbonbytes.com Byte Club. That way, it's just kind of more of a
my hub for place on the Internet, not that Patreon is going anywhere. I'll still be
posting on there as well. But I'd like to, you know, if you're going to join for free,
come on down to the Byte Club. Shout out to newest free members (13:13):
Chance, James, Rance, Jim, Dana,
and Devildog1. Like I said, bourbonbytes.com. There's also a link to our Discord server,
which includes tons of fun channels to share your interests and passions and what you've
been drinking lately. So check it out. Byte Club members get access to exclusive rooms depending
(13:34):
on their tier, including our monthly movie night where we watch a retro movie. It's October,
so we're definitely going to do a horror 80s horror movie this month. So I'll start thinking
about what we do. I think someone recommended The Fly. I haven't seen it, but someone mentioned that
as a good 80s horror movie to watch. So let me know if that's something you want me to watch
or if there's anything else that comes to mind. You also can get access to our monthly tasting
(13:55):
subscription box, where is where I send you samples every month. You can get that at the
BourbonTeraByte tier. It's a great group of guys who get together and drink whiskey. And if you
want to join us, all you got to do is join the Byte Club. So that's it with the plugs. Let's go
get into this Dough Ball Cookie Dough Whiskey. Now, perhaps you're supposed to be drinking this
(14:16):
as either a shot or a cocktail or over ice. I'm going to do it neat because I feel like
putting it over ice is probably going to bring down some of the flavors a bit. And I want to
give an honest first impression of this whiskey. So we're going to do it neat for today's review.
Let's go in and give this a nose. OK, not too much, honestly, I hope this is going to be like
(14:36):
crazy sweet on the nose. It's there. It's sweet, but it's almost like a chocolate, like a melted
chocolate chip note. It doesn't say chocolate chip cookie dough, which is kind of I'm surprised.
I thought it'd be more of just like a generic cookie dough note, but there's like a good
chocolate note there that kind of reminds me of the Crown Royal Chocolate. But this one's
a little bit more of like a melty kind of chocolate, like the chocolate that would be
(14:58):
in a chocolate chip cookie. There's also a good bit of vanilla there. And I think, you know,
unfortunately, it's probably mostly coming from the artificial flavor. I don't think that's really
coming from the whiskey itself. We don't know, by the way, if this is a bourbon, if this is a
Canadian whiskey. Most likely it's, you know, it's either American whiskey or Canadian whiskey.
A super young whiskey usually is what they go for. I know Fireball is, I think, Canadian whiskey,
(15:21):
if I remember correctly. But a lot of them just use, you know, barely aged whiskey. That's why
they don't have to call it like a straight bourbon or anything like that. They can use, you know,
as long as it touches wood and it's been aged in wood, they can call it a whiskey. But honestly,
I'm pretty impressed that this isn't as sweet on the nose. Now, I'm hoping the palate holds up
because I've said this before, but I'm not a fan of flavored whiskies that are overly sweet.
(15:41):
It's something that I find in almost all of them. Unfortunately, I feel like they try to compensate,
you know, the flavor with just like tons of sugar. And it's just so overwhelming,
especially if you want to use it in a cocktail. It's like you don't need to add any sugar to it
because it's so sweet already. I'd actually prefer things to be a little bit more natural.
That way you can, you know, like I said, mix into a cocktail, add some simple syrup,
maybe some vermouth. But, you know, making it so sweet, it makes it hard to do anything with,
(16:06):
in my opinion. But maybe that's just me. Maybe I'm not the target audience.
But let's go and give this Dough Ball Cookie Dough Whiskey a taste. Cheers.
OK, yeah, there's the there's the cookie dough flavor. I still get a little bit of
that chocolate chip note, like it's like a milk chocolate melty. But honestly, the flavor,
(16:27):
they kind of nailed it. Like it kind of does taste like a chewy kind of cookie,
like, you know, not necessarily like raw cookie dough, because I think that has a very specific.
I don't know. There's something about raw cookie dough that has a little bit slightly different
of a flavor. I think it's a little more vanilla, whereas a baked cookie has a bit more of those
toasty dessert quality elements to it. I think this has that. I think it has a little bit of
(16:47):
like a toasted pie crust kind of note that I think attributes really well to a baked cookie.
I'm gonna go for a second sip. I'm pleasantly surprised by that first one.
Yeah, unfortunately, it's sweet, right? I think I was hoping that it wasn't going to be that crazy
sweet, but I figured with a cookie dough flavored whiskey, you can't really expect it not to be.
It's viscous, but in a way that's just because it's the sugar sticking to your tongue.
(17:09):
And finish wise, it actually has quite a bit of a kick for a 70 proof.
You know, I prefer these to be at least 80 proof, which some whiskies have been that are flavored.
But this one, unfortunately, is 70. Now, I guess our target audience probably wants something
smooth, as I should say. But this is, you know, a pretty complex flavored whiskey. Like I said,
starts out with that melted chocolate. There's a little bit of like toasted marshmallow there as
(17:30):
well. But there is a baked good note, like a I said pie crust, but I mean, it probably is just
cookie. Let's be real. But it's a pretty they've nailed this flavor. You know, it does say made
with natural flavors. We don't really know what that means, but they at least taste it tastes
like a cookie. So if that's their goal, they nailed it. Is it made for someone like you and
(17:51):
me that just likes to drink a whiskey that tastes like whiskey? Probably not. I'm going to have to
give this whiskey a rating based on, you know, my feelings towards it. It is a flavored whiskey,
so I'm going to treat it as such. Fun fact, this one actually won a double gold at the San Francisco
International Spirits Competition, as well as the Proof Awards Unmasked, where it won double gold
(18:12):
and Proof Awards Masked, where it won gold. So it's doing really well. Forbes magazine actually
called it the best of class flavored whiskey when they reviewed it. So, you know, I think there is a
place where it just may not belong on my whiskey shelf. Now, pricing wise, I'm not sure if I
mentioned that. I don't think I did. This bottle goes for about twenty four, twenty five dollars,
(18:33):
which is relatively high. I got a mini bottle for about two dollars, 50 cent. But for a flavored
whiskey, that's, you know, pretty up there. And I think the way that this taste is justified. But
I know that something like Fireball, which is mass reduced, is, you know, not half the price,
but almost half the price. So I do think it's steep in its category, but that doesn't mean
it's bad by any means. Out of 10. Hmm. This is tough because I feel like I don't think I've ever
(18:58):
given a flavored whiskey a rating out of 10. I just feel like I say my ratings for like,
OK, this is going to be mean. I like serious whiskeys, which, you know, that's not an
insult. I don't think cookie dough flavored whiskey takes itself too seriously in terms of
being a well-reviewed whiskey in the bourbon influencer circle, you know. But I will say
it's it's a little sweet for me. It's a little pricey, but it's not bad by any means. So this
(19:22):
is going to get a five out of 10. It's not something I would buy again. It's something
that I would probably have, you know, as a fun shot with some friends, maybe make it into a
cocktail. But even that it's so sweet that I don't know if it would even hold up in a cocktail.
So this one might be better just enjoyed over ice as a way to wind down after a long day.
But it's definitely made for somebody that somebody just isn't me. So I'm glad I had a
(19:46):
chance to try it, though. Let me know if there's other crazy flavored whiskeys you want me to
review. Like I said, this month of October, I'm doing some bottles I've been scared to review
for various reasons. And I say that because I don't actually know what I'm reviewing next week,
but I'll figure it out before then. So let me know if you have any recommendations or
suggestions of what I should pick up to review. And I think that does it for this week's episode.
(20:06):
Thank you so much for listening. Like I said, it's a little shorter than usual, I think, but
doesn't mean it's not a good time. So make sure to follow me on your favorite podcast platform.
If you're watching this on somewhere like YouTube, hit the thumbs up button, leave a comment there
on the channel. But most of all, thank you so, so much for listening. I'll be back next week with
even more whiskey and video game news, plus another byte-sized review. All right, y'all,
(20:29):
cheers. Have a great rest of your week. And until then, this has been Bourbon Bytes,
a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist. Cheers, and I'll see you next episode.
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