Old Carter American Whiskey 2020 Batch 03

A little background

Old Carter Whiskey Co. is owned by Mark and Sherri Carter. Together, these two have hand-selected incredible barrels of whiskey and either released them as single barrels or blended them to their liking. So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed their whiskey and have bought a few of the releases myself. This expression is their 2020 release of American Whiskey Batch 03. This is a 12 year whiskey sourced from Indiana. Batch 03 American Whiskey is a monster of a pour, sitting at 138.1 proof. This whiskey has a suggested retail price of around $175.

(Tasted neat from a Halo Glass)

Color

Amber

Nose

The nose is hot and full of notes of high-octane caramel, rye spice, light florals, burnt orange rind, and caramel buttercream icing. I would definitely recommend letting this sit in the glass for a while before nosing this, as to allow the ethanol to come off. After letting it sit, I got notes of black pepper and pomegranate seeds.

Palate

The palate is medium-thick and an explosion of flavor. I immediately have the entire palate coated by that amazing caramel buttercream icing note, focusing primarily on the mid-palate. Notes of stewed strawberries rest on the sides of the mid palate, as well as the back palate. Black pepper and oak spice rest on the back palate as well, paired with pomegranate seeds on the front palate.

Finish

The finish is long, and carries many of the flavors from the palate over. Caramel buttercream has been the main flavor in this experience, and it does not stop until the very end of the finish. A hint of black pepper and oak spice remain on the back palate, along with something reminiscent of toast on the mid palate.

In closing

Old Carter American Whiskey 2020 Batch 03 is nothing short of delicious! I love the deep caramel flavors that are pushed through by the proof. This does not drink at its proof, it drinks much lower. The proof just aids in pushing all of the flavors through, which is also due to the age of the whiskey. I think this is an incredible release, and very on-profile with what I expect from Old Carter Whiskey Co. The price is pretty steep, but I subjectively think in this case it’s worth it.