Breckenridge Rum Cask Finish

Colorado blended bourbons (4-10 yrs) finished in rum casks at 9600 ft above sea level. 2023(?) Batch #12, 45% ABV. Mash bill of 56% corn, 38% rye, and 6% malted barley. Tasted neat. Copper gold in the glass with average coating legs. Nose is caramel corn and floral vanilla, light and tight. In the mouth, sugar sweetness, vanilla oak, light tannic bite, and then a light grassy spice comes on as it heads toward the finish. Sweet and average mouthfeel. The finish is cane sugar sweet, with some tannins, then a mint and rye lip tingle rising and falling in a longish finish. Clean, easy, ahhhh. I wasn't overly impressed with the Breckenridge Port Cask Finished bourbon, but had much higher hopes for this. Afterall, Breaking Bourbon (a web review page I value and trust) rated this its #1 Whiskey of 2020. Really! Ok, this is a sweet bourbon whose flaws in the port finish are hidden in this rum finish. But I'm not sure it's the best of 2020. Sweetness and no ethanol heat, light oak, tannins, and light spice leave this with a narrow flavor profile. But then, 2020 was RonaTime, and this is an ultimately comforting drink, just what the doctor ordered. Add ice and--careful!--it drinks too easy for those who are driving. Ok, so this is a really wonderful bourbon to sip, and those who prefer that sweet and floral profile will love this. I like it. It's good, even as a one-profile bourbon, and even at the price. Will keep tinkering with this tasting tonight.

If you love rum this bourbon is for you!! The nose is cotton candy and sweet coconut! The sipping experience is extremely silky and the viscosity is fairly rounded. I’m digging the coconut sweetness on the front of the plate. Juicy fruit bubble gum is on the mid palate and sugared almonds on the finish! While the finish isn’t long, the positive is that there is zero burn.

Straight: Good