Tastes

Small pour at a friend’s house, this is a really nice Bookers edition. Warrants a review… Nose: Mostly rich candied nuts on the nose, maybe pecans, with a subtle peanutty note hiding in the background. Neat: Slightly muted entry with some sweet caramel notes building on the mid-palate to vivid fireworks of citrus, with orange, lemon, lime, they’re all here. Heat builds with the citrus, but not at all unpleasantly, into a warm and bracing Kentucky hug. Finish: Kentucky hug fades slowly with some lingering heat and tinges of sweet caramel. Some lingering bright citrus zest. Warmth and maybe a touch of dried fruit. Three drops of water: Water opens the nose up into a more fruity aroma, maybe pear or freshly cut apple. Palate now holds some green apple and white pepper, along with some light caramel and butterscotch. Overall: An excellent Bookers release, wish I had a whole bottle and one in reserve. Really good bourbon, and somewhat unique.

This has always stood out as a favorite of mine, just a really tasty bourbon, and unlike many other readily available offerings. This bottle has sat in the cabinet for quite some time now. Let’s dive into it more thoroughly. Pour in the snifter looks deep amber and borders on diluted iodine, it’s that dark and rich in color. Long legs creep slowly down after a heavy swirl. The nose is awash of syrupy sweetness, it’s rich and unapologetic. Tricky to break down at first, but I’m getting sweet oak, dark brown sugar, a hint of maple, and a wall of old fashioned candy sweetness. After a good twenty minutes in the glass, the nose remains rich and inviting, beckoning me in. It’s hard to move on from just talking in the smell… First sip is hot and almost salty-briny tasting. Second sip much less hot, but not awash with flavors as I might’ve expected. My palate may be off starting out. Some crackers and water might help. Intermission. Coming back to the glass, the difference is night and day. Creamy mouthfeel, earthy sweetness, and no alcohol burn on the first large sip. Second sip has oak, subtle caramel, and some black pepper. More sips intimate an herbal note, like thyme, along with the corn-fueled candy sweetness well balanced with an okay backbone characteristic of Woodford bourbon. The balance is impressive, although the flavor palate not as expansive as the nose might suggest. This is definitely Woodford Reserve bourbon, but it’s dressed to the nines. ZZ Top would be proud. The finish is slightly warming, fairly drawn out, and leaves me with subtle tobacco and borders on bitter oak. Definitely fairly earthy, maybe some maple wood chips in there too. I’m not picking up much sweetness or spice, just the slow fade of earthy flavors and gentle warmth. It’s as if the nose is the peak of the sweetness, the finish peaks in the balancing earthiness, and the sip itself combines the two in-between to a meticulous balance of sweet and earthy. The overall experience is good, but on a different day I might say it’s great; not so today. Perhaps my palate is still not fully cooperating. Perhaps this has sat in the cabinet longer than is ideal. But I could smell this all day, and *almost* be satisfied with that. The nose is ethereal, so good it’s hard to believe; the sip, balanced and approachable; and the finish brings me back to reality, in a neutral sort of way. After such a wonderful nose and the finely delicate balance, I just wish I could pull out more complexity on the palate. Have to go 4/5 here with this one.

Bottle’s been open a while but still nearly full. Generous pour into a snifter. My first taste from the bottle was quite enjoyable, so let’s see what it’s like in detail… Pour in the snifter (generous as it is) looks deep copper verging on amber, which is unexpected. On the nose, an interesting aroma something like cherry cola, robust but not overpowering. But there’s something else too… almost eucalyptus or menthol, and with a faint mustiness. Some vanilla and maybe a touch of oak after some time. But I keep coming back to the cherry cola note undergirded by faint eucalyptus or menthol. Interesting. On the palate, enters with sweetness and red hots, some heat, and a light cherry note a la maraschino. Chewing through more sips yields some robust clove spice verging on cinnamon, and a hint of that eucalyptus or even menthol from the nose. Maybe some subtle cola notes. Red hots and light cherry remain consistent throughout. Note the wood influence is by no means overpowering for my taste. In the finish, the gentle burn fades quickly, but warming notes of red hots linger and mingle with some true cinnamon for an overall medium-length. Trails off with some subtle bitter oak. Overall, a cinnamon-infused cherry cola with subtle herbal notes and some mild burn throughout. I really enjoy cinnamon and spice, so this appeals to my palate while standing out from many other bourbons. The very high wheat component in the mashbill is interesting and must contribute to this effect. So, while better overall bourbons are available in this price range, this certainly stands out as a unique and interesting offering, especially as a study of wheated bourbons and the pronounced effects of wheat on the overall product. Maybe more time in the bottle will allow the French oak to exert more influence as well. But an enjoyable pour nonetheless. 3.75/5

Disclaimer: Bottle sat for a long time about one-third full. Long enough that I couldnt quite remember what to expect. Came back to it to remind myself whether it was any good. Neat pour, lets just see…. All banana on the nose, quite surprisingly so. Ripe banana at first but quickly, strong bananas foster, eventually moving to caramelized banana. Try as I might, I can’t smell much else on it now. All banana. The palate comes on with some medium burn (and this pour was preceded by OGD114! Come on…) that’s honestly a bit distracting and disappointing. Old-fashioned candy sweetness emerges on the palate with expected caramel and some vanilla, and a few ripe banana notes come in as well. Pleasant enough, if you can handle the mild burn, which is somewhat persistent throughout. Many more sips reveal some bittersweet oak, and still some medium heat. Finish is medium-long, spicy and warm. Not unlike eating Thai food, except bourbon-y. Some oak and spice, maybe a hint of leather, but not necessarily in a pleasant way. Fades into more bitter oak. Overall, disappointing for what they want for this - but the banana note and sweetness are nice enough, and I can see why some might really like this. (Not all HH’s fault, either - price here has even gone up since I purchased - control states suck.) This might dress up well in a spirit-forward cocktail too at 94 proof. It handily beats most any $20 bottle for quality and flavor. For my money, though, there are many others up in this price range I’d rather grab. 2.75 / 5