Belle Meade Sherry Finished Bourbon Lincoln Road Single Barrel Review

I've covered Nelson's Greenbier Distillery's Belle Meade a bit in a previous review but the TLDR is they are a startup that is selling MGP sourced bourbon while their own stock continues to age. I wasn't a huge fan of the cognac finished bourbon, mostly because it reminded me of their standard batched product which is slanted a bit too young and green in profile for my tastes. I did however enjoy the 90 proof 9 year sherry finished bourbon and I also really like the cask strength single barrel selections I've had from them. All of that led me to very interested in what we have here today which is a basically a higher proof version of their 9 year sherry finished and also bottled for the very reputable Lincoln Road package store out of Hattiesburg, MS. From what I have gathered, this version is rather limited with the only other single barrel I am aware of belonging to Jack Rose in Washington D.C.

Aged 9 years; Sherry finished 2 months 28 days; 55.1% ABV; $100; Single Barrel No. 2191, Bottle Number 186

Nose: Fruity and sweet. Smells like caramel and a light fruit glaze syrup. The spicy rye MGP bourbon mash is also evident with some prickly pine and menthol.

Taste: Very familiar spicy MGP bourbon notes but with a little added fruitiness. It's sweet, spicy, and slightly fruity the whole way through. I can tell the fruit sherry is in there as there are hints of grape jam but it's far from overbearing. The sweet wood notes have some darker chocolate and cocoa vibe to them in the finish which is showing off the age here. 

Thoughts: There are no surprises here, you are getting exactly that you paid for. It tastes like a middle aged spicy MGP bourbon at a respectable proof that's been smoothed over by some fortified wine finishing. What really shines with this one is how delicately the finishing process has been applied - it's far from sherry or port bomb that you can find in other finished products like Midwinters Night Dram. The finish here is a sideshow rather than the star which makes this a very well executed dram. I personally really like port and sherry finished fruit bombs though and I'd reach for Midwinters before this but it's a very nice change of pace in the finished bourbon category. 

Rating: B

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.