Barrel and Bloom

Don’t let the initial sweetness fool you—this pour finishes with a spicy kick, showing every bit of its 121.9 proof. From the start, you can clearly taste the influence of the sugar maple charcoal filtration, which gives it bold cinnamon, sweet nuttiness, and an unmistakably vanilla-forward profile. What’s missing, though, are the dried fruit notes I’ve come to enjoy in recent bourbons—a likely trade-off from the charcoal filtration process, which smooths the whiskey but can strip away some of those deeper fruit tones.

Taken neat, the Master Blend was simply too spicy and too strong for me to fully appreciate all it had to offer—yes, I know my readers will be shocked to hear me say that. Compared to the rest of the Uncle Nearest family of whiskeys and ryes, you can feel the sheer strength of this pour. It’s a big jump in proof—easily 20 points higher than its siblings—which can be overwhelming if you’re not used to high-proof whiskey.

Then came the game-changer. Just like Vanilla Ice in the 90s, this whiskey got a whole new vibe once the ice was dropped.

That single cube transformed the experience—taming the heat, smoothing the spice, and allowing the vanilla notes to shine.

This is a perfect example of how ice can completely shift the flavor wheel of a bourbon or whiskey. In this case, it was absolutely for the better, turning a fiery heavyweight into a smoother, more balanced sipper. If you love high-proof whiskey and aren’t afraid to tame it to your liking, the Uncle Nearest Master Blend might just be your next adventure.