I haven’t written up any whiskey reviews lately, but wanted to throw this one up since, as you can see in the picture below, I’m about to polish this one off.

A1 Liquors and the Rusty Water Society did this single barrel selection a while back and I was lucky enough to get a bottle of the Brown Butter, as they call it. Brown Butter is a 9 1/2 year old, 120-proof bomb from Knob Creek. Nirav Patel, the godfather of Rusty Water, tends to lean toward the higher proof whiskeys for their selections. Not a damn thing wrong with that.

For a brown sugar whiskey, the sweetness did not hit me on the nose right off the bat. I swear I got a butterscotch on the nose.

The first few times drinking this, the heat was overpowering. I even did a few with the water dropper. But, the last half of this bottle, I went back to straight and really got to where I liked it. It still brings the heat, but the sweetness does come in on the mouth feel. I think the first few times I may have had too many sunflower seeds the day of drinkings. Still, at 120 proof, this is a sipper that deserves taking your time.

Brown Butter would not be a go-to over and over, but I’m certainly thanking I got some. This is the second A1 pick I have rated, and I put it just below the Remus pick I rated before. I still have a Driftless Glen from A1 I need to rate.

Pairs well with: Zach Bryan music. Trust me, I did the research on this.

Rating: 89.

Whiskey Ratings

93: Lagavulin 11 Offerman Edition
92: Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old
91–George Remus 2020 Cask Strength (A1 pick), Glenfiddich Fire & Cane
90: High West Campfire, Few Rye, Knob Creek Small Batch 100
89: Old Forester Rye, Knob Creek Brown Butter 120 (A1 Pick)
88: Buffalo Trace, Oban Night’s Watch
87: Breckenridge Bourbon
85: Wolfburn Aurora, Jameson Stout Edition
83: Buchanan’s Deluxe 12

Gin Ratings

88: Dogfish Head Compelling Gin