Age: 10-year

Proof: 120 proof

Mash bill: 60% Corn, 36% Rye and 4% Malted barley

Tasting Notes: The nose commands your time - softly perfumed but wonderfully elegant, giving off fragrant yet rich notes of wildflower honey, buttercream frosting, maple, leather, and mature oak. Nips of citrus oleo and crisp red apple continue. 
 
The palate is rounded and harmonious, perfumed and elegant. While definitely giving brighter nods to citrus and red apple like the nose, there is a continued buttery cream soda-like sweetness and effervescence to the palate but balanced with a bit of dark cherry, spice and wood tannin as it continues on.
 
The finish starts plump and creamy - first lingering creme brûlée-like with its sweetness of vanilla custard, fresh raspberry and blueberry (in both sweetness and acidity), and lasting antique oak before drier notes of leather and tobacco set the palate for another sip. 

About: My visit with Macaulay Minton began much like Blake's last year - a counter full of bottles and a table full of empty glasses waiting to be used. We started with two different groups of 36% MGP, one being a group of 11-years, and the second a higher proof group of 10-years. I asked Macauley what he thinks through going into the blending process:

“Imagine we are at the butcher shop and we are picking out a steak. I usually pick out the one that I like, and then go back and figure out what kind of seasoning I want to go in with it. Here’s a foundation, I’m in love with this, and then what direction can we pull this to enhance it.”

We first tasted through each of the 17 possible barrels to land on a few of those 'foundation' barrels, and then began to experiment with the 'seasoning' barrels. We started with the 11-years, and then moved to the 10-years. After finding a few promising blend combinations, I couldn't stop thinking about certain barrels from each group, wondering if we could dial in to the best of both worlds. After three or four rounds of blinds, we landed on this two barrel blend: one higher proof 10-year that drew out the punchy, sweet, cream soda like notes we've seen in some previous single barrels and blends, and one 11-year that gives a perfumed, mature, antique-like backbone to the whole sip. At 120 proof, this one drinks way too easy.