Marshmallows | Light rye spice | Vanilla cream | Faint mixed berries | On the lighter side

Rye spice | Lightly toasted oak | Light vanilla | Kentucky Cream Pull candy | Touch of white peppercorns | Faint tobacco leaf | Leather | Baking chocolate | Equal parts sweet, spice & dry

Rye spice | Leather | Dry tobacco | Building heat | Lingering

High n’ Wicked describes itself as “an importer and specialty bottler of exceptional whiskies.” The company was founded by L. Lyons Brown, III and Kevin E. Sachs in 2019, both of whom were former Brown-Forman senior executives. The company is extremely transparent in the fact that they source their whiskey, but also in listing every detail possible a consumer would be interested in knowing about the whiskey they are purchasing, down to the type of still the sourced whiskey came from.

High n’ Wicked Straight Bourbon is the company’s standard bourbon. It’s a 5-year-old Kentucky bourbon coming in at 104 proof with a high rye mashbill that surprisingly hides an unexpected sweet side. The nose is on the lighter side for the proof, but leans predominantly towards sweeter notes. The midpoint of the sip does a much better job focusing on its high rye mashbill and pulls in spicier notes along with dry earthier notes in conjunction with sweeter ones. Finishing on a spicy dry note, a prominent warming heat shows up and reminds you of its 100+ proof. The result is an above average bourbon that is easy to drink and enjoy. However, it comes with a below-average price tag. Sourcing is never cheap, and while transparency is appreciated, $80 for a 5-year-old bourbon will be a hard pill for most to swallow.