Doc Holliday 10 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Ten years in new charred American oak, drawn from a single barrel and bottled at cask strength. That combination does a lot of work here: the whiskey is undiluted, full-weight, and carries the sweetness of long maturation without turning soft.

Caramel and vanilla lead, thick and unmistakably Kentucky. Dark cherry sits just beneath them, tart enough to keep the sweetness in check. Baking spice warms the mid-palate, and the finish turns drier, with tobacco and mature oak settling in for a long stay. Because this is one barrel rather than a batch, the character is specific rather than smoothed out.

Cask strength means it will take a few drops of water gracefully if you want to open it up, though it holds together neat. A 750 mL bottle of the sort you reach for on a good evening rather than a special one.