Benchmark Top Floor Bourbon (86 Proof)

Light nose. Whiffs of caramel and apple. Mild floral. Tastes is sweet. Finish lingers boiled peanuts. Falls flat pretty quickly

86 Proof. At least 4 years old. Part of the Benchmark Series from Buffalo Trace (Single Barrel, Small Batch, Full Proof, Bonded, and Top Floor). Currently only available in Indiana, but will be expanded to other States when supplies are sufficient- per Buffalo Trace. N: A light nose of brown sugar, oak, mixed citrus, and baking spices. P: A dusting of cinnamon, assorted baking spices, and brown sugar on burnt buttered popcorn. Also, cherries and touch of malt. F: Barrel char, buttery, and bit of cherries. Tannic and unpleasant. Very buttery mouth feel with a lot “burnt” notes. I expected this to be an oak monster, but it was not quite as overpowering as I thought it might be. Maybe the low proof helped it there, but I doubt it impacted it that much. I expected this to be the worst out of the Benchmark Series, and it was. It was the cheapest at $15.99 a bottle as well. I wouldn’t recommend this other than out of curiosity.

Another product out of Buffalo Trace so I’m sure it’ll be snatched up quick. The way it was described to me was poor mans Stagg. I’ve never had Stagg yet so can’t compare, maybe one day. This is Buffalo Trace’s introduction into the low end competitors market and the Top Floor label does a pretty darn good job. I would recommend letting this rest a little bit before drinking if going with neat or rocks. Right out of the bottle very mild flavors, after about 5-10 minutes flavors were improved. My taste was neat in rocks glass. Nose - mild, picked up cherry, toasted caramel and butterscotch, little bit of oak, and definitely hints of tobacco. Palate - overall a pretty balanced flavor, little hints of sweetness. Very light in texture/mouth feel. Almost reminds me of a campfire, has almost like a burnt caramel flavor, hint of cherry, and then pick up some oak and the tobacco flavor with just a little bit of pepper. Finish - surprisingly is pretty good if you like a sweet tobacco flavor. What it reminds me of is a cigar or more specifically that black and milds scent. The glass after it was finished you would’ve thought you had just walked out of a cigar bar, strong tobacco scent. If you don’t like the tobacco flavor then I’d probably steer clear of this one. If you do then for the price this is an easy sipper, very smooth, flavors aren’t going to wow you, but it is well balanced. It’s something I could easily break out for a sip around the campfire or hanging outside on a cool fall night. If this stayed in a $20-$25 range absolutely would buy this again, no question.