91 points
James E. Pepper Old Pepper 10 year old Straight Bourbon (Barrel No. L18V), 56.9%
Sweet confectionary aromas delight the nose with peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, chocolate wafer cookies, peanut shells, and toasted oak. It’s bright and lively on the palate, with excellent texture and balance; roasted pecans, dark chocolate, brown sugar, and tobacco leaf. Expressive fruit—grapes, cherries, blueberries, and blackberries—comes to the fore with a few drops of water, and it finishes full and rich, with pepper and baking spices, nutty chocolate, and drying oak.
Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Fall 2019)