Benchmark Single Barrel Bourbon (95 Proof)

A top 3 "cheap" bourbon

NEAT: nose is heavy with brown sugar sweetness. That pretty much dominates the nose. Taste is thin but aurprisingly spicy. Some baking spices in there and light brown sugar. A decent pour for the price. Probably makes a good mixed drink.

I've been seeking good lower proof bottles lately. This one grabbed my attention, and so I took a gamble... Color: Medium Copper Nose: Sweet. I heard a review on YouTube that mentioned, "Juicy Fruit gum" — and I totally get where they were coming from. Leather. Oak. Totally recognize this as a "Buffalo Trace" nose. Reminds me of, dare I say, Eagle Rare?!. Now let's see how this stuff tastes... Palate: (First sip neat) Slightly syrupy on the tongue, which surprised me. Was not expecting that at this proof. "Spicy" kicks things off. Gentle chest hug. Somewhat nutty on the second sip. Let's add a large ice ball and see what that does, if anything... Still spicy. I'd say "spicy" is the predominant profile — on this maiden voyage, at least. More sweetness comes out as the ice melts. Again, I am tasting "Eagle Rare" here! Wow. I have some of that left. I think a blind between these two is warranted! Finish: Somewhat short, but nice with caramel. I love when I "discover" a relatively cheap bottle that delivers the goods. I can see this earning a spot on the Bottom Shelf. 3 solid stars. Added 2/19/24: As I mentioned above, I was curious to see how this Benchmark SiB would stand up against its longer-aged Buffalo Trace cousin, Eagle Rare, in a blind. I conducted it last night, and the results were not too surprising. Suffice to say, one can tell the difference pretty easily between a 10 year bottle and what is probably, at most, a 4 year bottle (probably less). Eagle Rare was the clear winner. But that is not necessarily a slam against Benchmark SiB. I still detect a lot of "Buffalo Trace" in it. It's just not as "developed" and "nuanced" as its older cousin. My thoughts on it remain unchanged: It's a good low-price option.

Surprisinfly good at that price