Rating: 12/23
N: Sweet, wood, some sawdust, light caramel, a hint of citrus citron?), and maybe a faint milk chocolate. It's smells fairly mild, but actually quite good.
P: I always think of this being a light and sweet bourbon - so light and sweet in fact that it seems almost disingenuous to call it bourbon - but it actually isn't as far in that direction as Ancient Ancient Age 10 star is. It tastes more mature and less sweet than I'd remembered. There's also more of a burn with a bit of harshness. I get that light caramel with a little bit of citrus (somewhere between orange and citron). The wood is there and it coats my tongue with its tannins a bit, but it isn't super pronounced like I would normally expect from a bourbon. The alcohol flavor is mostly covered up though, so that's good.
F: It retains that kind of sweet wood quality. It's mild and unobjectionable, but far from exciting.
- Conclusion -
The sweetness from Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star leaves a stronger impression. This is unobjectionable, but pretty forgettable. Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star is more likely to put off bourbon afficionados, but it's kind of fun. This tastes sort of like it was designed by committed and I don't really see it impressing anyone.
This is a totally passable bourbon, but it seems very middle-of-the-road. For what they're charging, this only makes sense as a really safe bet.
To compare a couple of kind of underwhelming bourbons, I find Old Tub to be more full, complex, and engaging. This isn't muddled, but it is pretty monotone. Still, it doesn't have much in the way of rough edges. There is a a decent maturity here that surpasses Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star, but Old Tub comes across as more mature.
This is kind of growing on me and I sort of enjoy it, but it isn't any more than an easy sipper. There isn't much contemplation possible here.
I think that this is about on the same level as Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star. It's probably a 12. I could believe 11 or 13, but not likely outside of that range.
23.0
USD
per
Bottle