Review #151 Good Times Barrel Strength Chocolate Cherry Rye: Rye

Score: 9.0 / 10

Distillery: Whiskey Thief Distilling Company

Type: Rye

Good Times is a fresh new brand on the market that is ruffling some feathers. The experimental finishes and blending during bottling are very much skirting the rules on whiskey. Some would say it's not even a Bourbon or Rye, though it can put it on the bottle.

Regardless, do you really care? It's completely fine if you do. To each their own. Many of the expressions are actually pretty good in our opinion, but there are some misses. If you've ever been curious on these that's what we are here for.

Whiskey Review:

Nose: Right after pouring there's an explosion of boozy cherry brandy notes. Rich chocolate and spiked cherries shine as other notes like chewy caramel, nougat, toffee, and faint smoky grasses linger in the background. There's some butterscotch upon agitating the whiskey. Overall this smells like an alcoholic Three Musketeers or Butterfinger candy bar.

Palate: There's so much rich chocolate and nougat with toffee that just thoroughly coats the palate - it's almost like drinking a barrel proof milkshake at first. The second part of the drinking experience showcases a light spice that plays peekaboo with other boozy fruit notes. The cherry brandy comes through strongly at this part as notes of bringing grape, apple cider, orange, sour cherry, and raisin pop up.

Finish: The finish is moderate, but tends to linger. It's also juicy and leathery. There's a nice oak, lightly astringent, but it's greatly overshadowed by rich dark chocolate, more cherry. As other notes fade there's a nice caramel that continues to hand around and eventually transform into faint grassiness with a touch of dill.

Score: 9.0

Scale:

S+ Sensational - The Pinnacle (9.5+)

A - AXEceptional (astounding) (9-9.5)

B - bravo (step aBove average) (8-8.9)

C - competent (7-7.9)

D - disappointing (6-6.9)

F - flush it down the toilet (fail) (5.9 below)

Notes: Availability? Uncommon - These don't com up everywhere, but they do tend to sit on the shelves. A bit hard to find an exact one as there are many different finishes.