Basil Hayden Bourbon

Surprised I haven’t logged this. Decently pleasant with honey on the nose. Something there on the finish…

When I first started drinking bourbon I usually stuck with the lower end, sub-$40 bottles. This was my first semi-premium bourbon, and I thought it was really good back in the day. Did I just want it to be good because I had spent more money than I usually do? Probably, because revisiting this again I'm not sure what I thought was so great about it. The nose starts off nicely, fruity, thinking peaches and apricots, with some oak but not too much. On the palate it's very thin, which I guess shouldn't be that surprising since it's only 80 proof, with vanilla, oak, pepper and a bit of baking spice. The finish is pretty short with a little bit of burn, but nothing too bad. I'm definitely not sure why I liked this so much back in the day, but in my opinion it's not worth the price tag. I've had $20-30 bottles that run circles around this one. If price doesn't matter, then you can probably put this at a 3, but I think it's too run-of-the-mill to deserve that when combined with the price.

Rivaling Willett for my favorite bourbon.

A go-to bourbon. Corn forward with a sweetness I love. Smooth finish and mild burn