Elijah Craig "Jackie Treehorn Presents" Niche Single Barrel Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:

- $30

- 94 Proof

- NAS

- Ser. No. 6023798

- Kentucky

I love bourbon! I also love Niche Restaurant in Geneva, Illinois! And I love The Big Lebowski! That is absolutely one of my all-time favorite movies, one of those that I've watched dozens of times. There are just so many great characters from that movie, including Jackie Treehorn.  The Dude said it best -- "Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women, man."

At the start of the pandemic, when Niche began selling bottles to go, I couldn't help but pick up this bottle, cleverly named after my favorite fictional pornographer (I know, there are so many to choose from!). In fact, I found myself buying multiples of this bottle, for gifts of friends who also appreciate the cinematic masterpiece that is The Big Lebowski, and for buddies that I knew wouldn't want to miss out on possessing such a treasure. And all that goes without saying that Niche's private picks tend to be some of the best I've had, including their previous Elijah Craig pick, so how could I go wrong?!?

The bourbon itself had a bit of a fruity nose. I got an almost red licorice note out of it, as well as some fresh strawberry. I even got a sweet cotton candy scent.  It also had a chocolate note, but it was more like a mocha, sweet with a slight edge of bitterness. At times I was also getting a sweet scent of freshly baked cinnamon bread, though that note seemed a bit more fleeting.  All in all, the nose was really delicious, albeit a bit light and soft.

The flavor profile, however, was sweet and nutty. I got a lot of caramel, as well as salted peanuts. I even got some soft milk chocolate flavors, and consistently throughout each pour that all culminated into a Snickers-like flavor that I absolutely loved. It even had the rich nougat flavor to really drive that Snickers note home.

There were other delicious flavors that came through as well, though. I also got a distinct pastry note, like a light and flaky coffee cake with vanilla icing.  Although the nutty note was consistent throughout, it seemed to take on other flavors similar to the salted peanuts, but a bit different. At one point I got a candied walnut note that I really liked. That flavor didn't seem as prominent, though.

The final pours of this bourbon were almost all nougat flavor and were fantastic! It made for a sweet but not overly sweet whiskey that had me savoring the last couple inches of my bottle. In fact, when I got to the last pour, I was torn between really wanting to drink it and not wanting to no longer have any more to drink -- quite the whiskey drinker's dilemma. In the end, I landed where most whiskey drinkers land, and I drank it, and I regret nothing! This was a fantastic whiskey and yet another great selection by Niche.

Grade: A-