Tastes

I was quite surprised by this bourbon. Considering it's a 10 year-old, I have to compare it to Eagle Rare and the Bulleit 10. And I must say it has worked its way right up to the top with Eagle Rare for me. I actually tasted the two back to back and they are basically perfect complements to each other. Where one lacks, the other makes up for and then some. Both are beautiful by themselves, but when you have them side by side, you realize there's really nothing else you could ask for. The McKenna is very full-bodied and rich. It enters the mouth and it's so smooth you can't really tell it's alcohol until you swallow. Again, a nice complement to Eagle Rare which stings you right on the tip of the tongue, but bathes your throat in warm velvet as it goes down. The flavor of the McKenna is quite warm and buttery with some beautiful spice. This is a very good bourbon and I would love to have it in my collection.

On the nose, there are these "musty" fruits. Imagine fruits sitting in a wicker basket in a damp cellar. It reminds me a little of the Lagavulin 9 (Game of Thrones), but this has more of a mature quality. It has a lot of fruit notes that a lot of Speyside whiskies have (stone fruits with hints of citrus) which I am more than pleased with. The peat is relatively smooth. The thing I am learning from having the Lagavulin 8, 9, 11, 12, & 16 is that the age increases, the smoke and fruit become more and more integrated. It's like a good marriage. At the onset, the couple are essentially two people with similar goals and personalities. As they age they become more of a unit and each of their personalities becomes softer in order to complement the other's. This is how the smoke and fruit work in Lagavulin. As they age, they become less intense, but more integrated at the same time. This produces a stronger and tastier unit. I highly recommend this. Compared to the 12, it's more subdued (partly due to ABV) and the musty smoke is more pronounce. The 12 is more fruity, but both are delicious.

On the nose, the classic Beam flavors are coming through. They aren't as rich or rounded as other Beams like Baker's and Bookers. Nonetheless, it is still quite good. This isn't something I'd drink everyday because of the high proof, but flavors are good for the price. However, there really isn't anything about it that makes it special. Don't get me wrong; it's very good, just not very memorable.

Off the bat, the "Jim Beamness" hits me. What I mean by this is that each Jim Beam product has a certain, familiar character because of the similarities in the mash bill and aging. Baker's, though, is the smoothest and most delicious expression of this character. I find this to be the most drinkable and memorable Jim Beam product out there. There are others that are extremely good (Bookers, Knob Creek), but this one takes the cake for me. Not to mention it is the best bourbon for the fall as there are some hints of decaying leaf on the nose and palate. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a solid "higher end" bourbon.

While this bourbon is okay, it’s not nearly as rich as Eagle Rare 10 or Bulleit 10. I honestly have a hard time picking out that this bourbon was aged 10 years. It’s pretty light-bodied and has some good nutty flavors (cashews primarily). It also has classic bourbon flavors of vanilla and oak. However, 10-year-old bourbons usually have an excess of those flavors due to the longer time spent in the barrel. This is a good bourbon if it was $20. But I must say I’d rather spend the extra money to get Bulleit or Eagle Rare because those taste more special.

I mean it’s delicious. I’m not the biggest fan of the standard Bulleit but this 10 year is so rich and full of good flavors. I finished the bottle in a week because I couldn’t stay away from it. For 40$ it’s not something I’d buy everyday when you can get other good 10 years for less, but it is an extremely solid bourbon and I’d highly recommend to anyone who likes rich, sweet, vanilla-forward bourbons.

Different bourbon distilleries are known for different things. Some distilleries use different brands to portray their whiskey (Jim Beam; Buffalo Trace). Some distilleries experiment with wood to bring out thousands of flavor combinations (Maker’s Mark). But, Woodford Reserve has to be the master of grain variation. I have the Corn (standard), the Rye, the Malt, and, now, the Wheat. And I love each one in its own way. This wheat is a fantastic and couldn’t be more inviting on the nose. It has warm caramel and creme characters that come through both on the nose and the palate. I also get this hint of raisin bread minus the cinnamon. Although there are a lot of beautiful baking spices that come through as well. The thing I love about what Woodford does is that, because everything is the same except the grain used, their whiskies open up a huge learning opportunity when it comes to other whiskies. If you love bourbon you must get the Woodford Rye and the Woodford Wheat as these are competing secondary grains in a lot of different bourbons. A lot of bourbons use rye as their secondary grain and some use wheat instead. By comparing the two Woodford’s, it’ll make it much easier to discern what grains are used in a certain bourbon. But, you can’t forget about the malt as well, as most bourbons contain malted barley. Like I said, this is a great whiskey for something different and I recommend having all of the different whiskies that Woodford offers for a fantastic learning opportunity.

The best way to describe this whisky is “decent.” On the nose, stone fruit, such as peaches, is quite apparent. You also get quite a bit of butterscotch and caramel. On the palate. The warmth is long and slow as it builds. That same fruit comes through, but the butterscotch is more apparent here. It’s quite lush on the palate despite being 40%ABV which is a pet peeve of mine. 40% is the minimum ABV of whisky which means that the second you pour it into a glass, it dips below 40% due to evaporation. Not only that, but you have to finish a glass quite quickly before it starts tasting watered down from the evaporation. That’s why I believe the minimum should be 43% like other Scotches. This being said, however, I quite enjoy this whisky because it handles being at 40% better than other Scotches such as Glenlivet. The other thing is that the finish is quite long. The butterscotch really comes through on the finish and if you’ve ever had Butterbeer (Harry Potter), you’ll notice it quite distinctively on the finish.

It’s delicious, sweet, and memorable. My biggest problem with this bourbon is that it’s overpriced for what it is. It’s very good, but it’ll be hard for me to buy another bottle when I can find more interesting things in the 40$ range. However, I recommend that everyone buy a bottle at least once because it is quite smooth and complex.

I bought this Scotch to sip on during vacation. And I think that’s really the perfect way to enjoy this whisky. It’s a good Scotch to have when you don’t want to buy anything to expensive. For something that’s easy drinking in the evenings this does the trick. There’s nothing really special about it. It’s a basic Speyside so it’s fruity, has strong notes of honey, and a touch of vanilla. At 40% it’s really easy to drink which is great for casual drinking while on vacation. However, I wouldn’t consider adding this to my collection at home because it’s just not interesting enough. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just basic. If you’re on vacation and you want a cheap bottle to casually drink through the week, get this. Otherwise, get something more interesting like the Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Barrel Reserve.