Tastes

Tried this one neat in a highball glass. Did not let it rest. Given the proof should be no need to splash this one down in my opinion. My particular bottle was barreled in 2010 and bottled in 2018. Nose - A lot of sweetness comes out, heavy caramel, vanilla, and banana. I get a little bit of candied peanut, and little bit of oak. Has a pleasant fragrance. Definitely noticeable as an Evan Williams product with a little twist. Taste - sweet, but not as sweet as you’d think with how the nose comes across. Has an extremely balanced flavor. Strongest flavors are banana and vanilla, little bit of baking spices, peanut, orange, and that 8yr aging gives it just enough oak flavor to tame the sweetness and just a minimal hint of spice. Incredibly smooth, very light, didn’t think it had an oily/buttery texture while tasting. The legs in the glass I thought it would have a light to moderate texture, but tasting felt it was pretty light. Finish - moderate very pleasant finish. Still hung on to that banana flavor, oak, little bit of that peanut flavor, and floral notes. With a single barrel tastes are going to vary a little bit, but for the price point this is a darn good bourbon. Personal preference would be a slightly higher proof, but for what this is and what Evan Williams is offering at this price it’s hard to complain. This would be a very easy every day drinker, and if you were trying to get someone started on bourbon this would be a good choice. Great balanced flavor, incredibly smooth, and great price. ***Revisited this a month after opening and air really changed this one up, got a lot drier, oak, peanut, dry red wine flavor. Still pick up banana on the finish, but the sweetness definitely dissipated from the front end, still good flavor, but liked it more when had the stronger vanilla and banana flavor.

I’ve had 2 bottles of this and had it at a tasting and each time has been a quality bourbon. Has that classic Wild Turkey flavor and bite. My 2nd bottle was a little more subtle in the bite. I don’t know what and old timey bourbon back in the day would equate to, but this has an old fashioned quality about it. Don’t want to go super high dollar on a bourbon, but want something with good flavor and pretty readily available give Kentucky Spirit a try.

Old 55 comes from a small distillery in Indiana, and not a MGP. For a small distillery it’s a decent bourbon. I’ve been told that I should try the 100% sweet corn from same distillery. I’ve had two tastes of this bourbon from different barrels. The first one had a big burst of sweetness, little bit of cinnamon, still pick up on some corn flavors. Relatively smooth, not much bite on it. That 2nd was much more subtle, not as much sweetness, got more corn, oak, and dryer flavors. Still finished smooth, very little burn. Overall a good local bourbon, the 1st was better just had a little more flavor and complexity to it, 2nd was alright flavors were much more subtle and on the dryer side.

I was pleasantly surprised with Blade & Bow. I had seen it show up a the liquor store quite a bit so thought I’d give it a shot. Nose is pleasant, not very strong. I got vanilla and orange that stood out the most, little bit of caramel and even a little bit of banana. Palate I thought was remarkably smooth. Definitely had the vanilla, caramel, and citrus. A little bit of pepper, but I really couldn’t get over how smooth this was more than anything. Finish was mostly caramel, didn’t last long. Was a tad bitter. As already eluded this was remarkably smooth and very easy to drink. It didn’t blow my socks off, but it was just a good solid everyday bourbon. I’d buy again.

I’m a big fan of the Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend so for the price point they both sell at was nervous this wouldn’t compare being they both use Armagnac barrels after maturation. The BBCo Chateau De Laubade delivers and then some. This is a special bourbon! I tried it first neat and then with a very small splash of water. There is a lot of complexity and a lot of flavors going on and they are all equally amazing and balanced. Nose Neat - I got a lot of warm flavors toffee, caramel, lot of honey, little bit of cinnamon. Nose Water - All of the above, but then it really started to bring out the fruit flavors apricot, cherries, apples, and grapes. If I could bottle the scent into a candle I’d buy a dozen. Even my wife who isn’t big on bourbon said it smelled amazing. Palate Neat - has almost like a buttery syrup texture that makes it so smooth. A very balanced sweetness with honey, caramel, toffee, citrus, do get a little bit of a dark dried fruit flavor, not an overpowering spice but just enough to balance the sweetness. Palate Water - That little splash, just wow! It really opened up. I got honey, toffee, caramel, chocolate, apricots, apples, cinnamon, oak, tobacco, etc. it has a ton going on. Finish - Get ready to go on a ride because it just hangs there (the case for both neat and water). I could still taste it probably 20 -30 minutes after I had finished. I got a lot of oak, leather, grape, and even hints of tobacco. The Armangac barrels really bring this bourbon to another level every time I went back I’d get another scent and flavor to jump out. If you can find this I would highly highly recommend buying. It has all the qualities you’d want of a regular bourbon, and I don’t know much about Armagnac barrels, but I would certainly argue that it’s a perfect compilation between the two. I didn’t want to put the glass down. There was nothing about it I didn’t like. I even ended up buying three more bottles (one as a gift). With as many high quality bourbons are being produced these days it’s hard to give a top 5 as it’s always changing, but this Labaude would easily be in my top 5 right now. Well done BBCo.