Bourbon Jedi

There is no emotion, there is Bourbon.

Elijah Craig – Barrel Proof

March 19, 2021 / / 0 Comments
Elijah Craig - Barrel Proof with glencairn glass
Elijah Craig – Barrel Proof

Time for one of my faves and one of the few rare bourbons I can still find.

Bourbon: Elijah Craig – Barrel Proof
Batch B520; 63.6%

Color: Redwood

Nose: Vanilla, ethanol, oak, red hot candy, pepper

Taste: Oak, leather, potpourri, herbs, pepper, tobacco

Finish: This bourbon comes on strong and doesn’t let up. From the jump the it starts burning from the tip of the tongue and then throughout the mouth. Once the burning dies down your mouth is left feeling a bit worn out.

Verdict: B

This is definitely a bourbon that benefits from adding water. The burn goes from all-encompassing to acceptable and it opens up the bourbon to the point where I could catch some sweet and fruity notes.

Smoke Wagon: Uncut Unfiltered

March 12, 2021 / / 0 Comments
Battle Born Bourbon

Babies, pandemics, and quarantines really kill productivity. Now that things are inching towards normalcy so am I; the time for bourbon tasting has returned. I’ll admit I’m a bit out of practice but I’ve heard tasting bourbon is like riding a bike.

Today’s bourbon hails from my home state of Nevada.

Bourbon: Smoke Wagon: Uncut Unfiltered
Batch 35; 57.68%

Color: Redwood

Nose: Vanilla, ethanol, oak, red hot candy, pepper

Taste: Oak, leather, potpourri, herbs, pepper, tobacco

Finish: This bourbon comes on strong and doesn’t let up. From the jump the it starts burning from the tip of the tongue and then throughout the mouth. Once the burning dies down your mouth is left feeling a bit worn out.

Verdict: B

This is definitely a bourbon that benefits from adding water. The burn goes from all-encompassing to acceptable and it opens up the bourbon to the point where I could catch some sweet and fruity notes.

Buck Bourbon

June 14, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Didn’t really know much about this bourbon when I picked it up but it was affordable so I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s from Frank-Lin Distilleries and is sourced from Kentucky but other than that there’s not much else I could find out about it.

Bourbon: Buck Bourbon
8 years; 45%

Color: Like a breakfast tea

Nose: Right off the bat there’s a strong note of alcohol which quickly dissipates followed closely by brown sugar, herbs, spices, and some hints of citrus.

Taste: Dry oak, leather, sage, grass with a short, quick pepper burn at the end.

Finish: It’s light without much of a burn and plenty of leather and oak lingering on the palate.

Verdict: B-
For a bottle with a bucking bronco on it the taste profile of this bourbon is on point. The earthiness and the leather fit right in with it’s stylings as a cowboy whiskey. It’s 8 years old and goes for $25-30.

In this day an age when the great value buys like Henry McKenna and Buffalo Trace are increasingly hard to find or being placed in lotteries; I am always on the lookout for a good budget whiskey. While this bourbon isn’t on the same level as the others mentioned above, at this price point it’s a keeper.

Barrell Whiskey: Infinite Barrel

April 19, 2019 / / 0 Comments
Barrell Bourbon with glencairn glass

While I’ve never seen this bottle on a shelf before I have heard good things. Today was my lucky day and I’m eager to try it out. According to Barrell this expression has added a mix of Tennessee whiskey, 100% Polish malted rye, Tennessee rye, Indiana whiskey, and Irish whiskey since the March 15 bottle. Color me intrigued.

Bourbon: Barrell Whiskey: Infinite Bottle Project Cask Strength
April 19, 2018; Bottle #657; 58.75

Color: Yellow-orange close to honey.
Nose: Plums, cloves, herbs, and corn starch.
Taste: Oak, smoke, char, leather with hints of vanilla and citrus at the beginning.

Verdict: Initially there’s seemingly not a whole lot going on with this whiskey. It almost feels so balanced that it’s muddled with no really flavor. However, after a few seconds it kicks in and that is where this whiskey really shines. There’s a nice strong oak followed with a smoky char and a hint of leather with a medium burn on the front half of the tongue that feels just right. Even though it seems kind of plain I really enjoyed this one and at the price point it’s really worth it.

B+


Old Forester 1910 “Old Fine Whiskey”

February 22, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Bottle of Old Forester 1910 with glencairn glass

It sure has been a crazy winter but I’m finally ready to start catching up on my backlog of whiskies. First off the newest Old Forester expression.

Old Forester 1910 “Old Fine Whiskey” B
46.5%

Color: Dark, syrup with a slight reddish tint
Nose: A nice blend of sweet, fruity, and earthy: brown sugar, raisin, rosemary, and red wine at the end.
Taste: Cough syrup, potpourri, oak, and char.

Verdict:
The medicinal first impression off the bat is kind of a downer. From there you get a variety of floral and herbal notes. It also tastes like it has been watered down too much. There’s no real bite to it at all which makes it feel very weak.
If you’re the type of drinker that prefers a lighter whiskey you may enjoy this but for me it wasn’t that good of a whiskey. I had high hopes for this expression but unfortunately I don’t find it that enjoyable. Good thing there’s always the Old Forester 1920.

B-

Old Fitzgerald BiB 11 years

August 13, 2018 / / 1 Comment
Bottle of Old Fitzgerald with glencairn glass.

I didn’t think I was going to be lucky enough to find a bottle of this, but I was really hoping I would in large part because I love beautiful bottles and doubly so when the bourbon is good. 

This bottle was designed to evoke a 1950s style decanter and they pulled that off with ease. Not saying if the bourbon is bad it’s worth it for the decanter but it’d be close. I’d heard some good things but I wanted to see for myself how this bourbon.

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