The "Wife is Out of Town Blind Challenge" Samples F-J / Results and Debriefing

As you can read HERE, I recently did a 10-day/10-sample blind challenge.  After posting my results for the first five samples, this post will cover my results for the second set of samples and the final results with a debriefing.Moving on to Sample F. . .After a two ounce pour, I would rank Sample F in the 8.75 to 9.0 range.Sample F Scoresheet - PDFSample F Picture - InstagramMoving on to Sample G. . .After a two ounce pour, I would rank Sample G in the 8.0 to 8.5 range.Sample G Scoresheet - PDFSample G Picture - InstagramMoving on to Sample H. . .After a two ounce pour, I would rank Sample H in the 6.75 to 7.25 range.Sample H Scoresheet - PDFSample H Picture - InstagramMoving on to Sample I. . .After a two ounce pour, I would rank Sample I in the 6.5 to 7.0 range.Sample I Scoresheet - PDFSample I Picture - InstagramMoving on to Sample J. . .After a two ounce pour, I would rank Sample J in the 6.0 to 6.5 range.Sample J Scoresheet - PDFno picture of Sample J

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THE RESULTS ARE IN. . .

Sample A:

I guessed Fighting Cock 6yr as my primary guess and Wild Turkey 101 as my backup guess despite thinking that the nose was leading me to Knob Creek 120 (McScrooge's).

The actual result?  KNOB CREEK 120 (McSCROOGE'S)

Sample B:

I guessed Willett Family Estate Barrel #6430 (11yr, 12/15 gift shop release) as my primary guess and Smooth Ambler Old Scout (McScrooge's) despite thinking that the nose was all over Four Roses with all of the fruit I smelled.

The actual result?  VERY OLD BARTON 100 6YR

Sample C:

I guessed Maker's Mark Cask Strength as both my primary and backup guesses because of how strongly I picked up banana and esthers.

The actual result?  NOAH'S MILL 15-18

Sample D:

I guessed Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Release #7 (128.0 proof) as my primary guess and Willett Family Estate Barrel #200 (10yr, 4/15 gift shop release) as my backup guess. This pour screamed high proof Heaven Hill.

The actual result?  ELIJAH CRAIG BARREL PROOF RELEASE #7

Sample E:

I knew I was on to Four Roses.  I guessed an OESK ME (9yr9mo, 2/15 gift shop release) as my primary guess and the Bourbon Crusaders OESK EN (9yr7mo, 4/15 Joyal's Liquors release) as my backup guess.

The actual result?  FOUR ROSES 2013 LIMITED EDITION SINGLE BARREL (OBSK - BS 3-3L)

Sample F:

I knew I was on to Four Roses.  I guessed the 2015 Limited Edition Small Batch as my primary guess and the BoomTown! OESK EN (9yr10mo, 10/15 release) as my backup guess.  I thought the Four Roses was softer than OB mashbills and the proof was rather low, but the pour was more complex than usual.  I felt pretty confident in either of my two guesses.  This pour made me so happy I decided to do a little sketch.

The actual result?  FOUR ROSES 2014 LIMITED EDITION SMALL BATCH

Sample G:

I knew again I was on to Four Roses, and I was starting to get worried that my wife closed out all of the other pours with Four Roses as well.  I guessed the Bourbon Crusaders OBSV JE (9yr2mo, 9/15 Joyal's Liquors release) as my primary guess and the 2015 Limited Edition Small Batch as my backup guess.

The actual result?  BOURBON CRUSADERS OESK EN (9YR10MO, 9/15 JOYAL'S LIQUORS RELEASE)

Sample H:

I picked up early on Buffalo Trace type characteristics that had me thinking about Old Weller Antique and Elmer T. Lee.  Ultimately, I decided that the red fruit and higher proof was more wheater than Ancient Age mashbill so my primary guess was Old Weller Antique (standard) and my backup guess was Old Weller Antique (McScrooge's).  Although, being set on a wheater, I had some internal struggle about whether this was "Poor Man's Pappy" as I had in my last blind challenge poured by my wife.

The actual result?  OLD WELLER ANTIQUE 107 (STANDARD)

Sample I:

I thought I was back on to more Buffalo Trace juice, and I guess Poor Man's Pappy as my primary guess and Elmer T. Lee as my backup guess.

The actual result?  ELMER T. LEE

Sample J:

Just like the streak of Four Roses, I was sure I was on to Buffalo Trace again.  My primary guess was Elmer T. Lee because of the pepper.  However, there was something I was not that familiar with so I also thought of a PH Ambler Contravention vatting I received from @jesteva62755 that is a blend of Parker's Heritage 8 and Smooth Ambler Contravention.

The actual result?  BUFFALO TRACE

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THE DEBRIEFING

With the final results in, I scored slightly worse than I expected.  I got two pours exactly right, one backup guess right and all of the Four Roses origin pours correct.  I allowed my taste and gut to lead me astray on the first pick with the Knob Creek 120 (McScrooge's) that might have set the tone for the rest of the challenge.  I also whiffed rather hard on Samples B and C.

What I learned from this challenge is A) I drink Four Roses too much, but not enough, B) I need to put more attention to 10yr and younger Beam and Heaven Hill products and C) I [fortunately] have much more work to do.

What I was most surprised by in this challenge are the results from Sample C (Noah's Mill 15-18) and Sample E (Four Roses 2013 Limited Edition Single Barrel).  The Noah's Mill did not taste like my last imprint (read: better).  The 2013 Limited Edition Single Barrel was a letdown (relatively - with its 8.25 to 8.75 blind range score) considering it was an immovable feature in my Top 3 All Time list.  My one and only bottle is now 2.5 years old and on its last 2 or 3 pours so I am saddened to think this one has lost a bit of sheen.

The ten pours ranked from best to worst as follows:

1. Four Roses 2014 Limited Edition Small Batch;
2. (tie) Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Release 7 (128.0 Proof);
3. (tie) Four Roses 2013 Limited Edition Single Barrel;
4. Bourbon Crusaders Four Roses OESK EN 9yr10mo 9/15 Joyal's Liquors release;
5. Noah's Mill 15-18;
6. Very Old Barton 100 6yr;
7. Old Weller Antique 107 (standard);
8. Elmer T. Lee;
9. Buffalo Trace; and
10. Knob Creek 120 (McScrooge's).

In conclusion, it appears that I ranked my picks rather accurately along the lines of limited edition (1 and 3), higher-end regular releases (2 and 5) and great, recent batches (4 and 5) being better than standard releases (7 through 9), with the only outlier being the Knob Creek 120 "Hand Selected For" (not "By") McScrooge's, which in a prior Knob Creek 120 blind sample finished 4th of 5 different picks and got a C/C- rating.  Nevertheless, I cannot stop until I get a bowl a 300.