Alamo Bourbon Black Label

Love the Smokey sweet aroma. Smells like someone is making cupcakes in the kitchen while your tending to the grill. Nice amount of oak and barrel spice. Pretty impressed by the sweetness. Not too over bearing and the bold notes really compliment it. Nose is sort of...dusty leather, but a vase with a flower is nearby. Love this bourbon. Very nice presentation at 45%

Made in downtown San Antonio, Texas, this upstart distillery also makes a corn-based Vodka and a coffee liqueur. I first received a bottle of this gratis at a company holiday party and thought it was decent. Since it’s a 90 proof small batch (which it doesn’t taste like) there must be a LOT of variation in batches, because I purchased a second bottle which tastes NOTHING like the first. The mashbill is purportedly corn, barley, and a “hint” of rye. I don’t detect anything that would suggest rye, and the corn, which must be predominant in order to call this a Bourbon, seems bland and lacks character. I definitely get the softness of barley. In fact, it’s so light that I suspected it might really be a spirit whiskey (since they’re using corn to make their “ethanol” vodka, could they be blending this? Whatever the case, I suppose a lot more time in oak and perhaps a bit of heat applied to hasten the aging process could help this Bourbon. As it sits, I can see why the price has dropped by 20% recently at my local Total Wine outlet. But even at $20.49, it’s no value. Even Ezra Brooks 90 proof blows this away for half the price. I want to support these guys but I just can’t recommend this stuff.

Flat taste and no real flavors apparent.

Warm and tasty!