Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Bourbon

Nice touch of heat with lingering toffee smoothness.

Sugary nose that I could drink all night. Had a fruity finish. Especially good for half price night...

Initial tasting upon opening. Look: Amber, honey, copper Nose: oak, ethanol, brown sugar, vanilla Taste: caramel, vanilla, oak, slight apple, dark cherry, oily and looong finish, cinnamon, baking spices, extremely balanced.

I've been looking out for this one for a while, but in my experience, E.H. Taylor is quite rare in New England; if you're lucky, you might happen upon the Small Batch. The wife and I were in Narragansett Rhode Island last month, killing some time waiting for a dinner reservation, so we decided to check out Pier Liquors (blessedly, she enjoys liquor stores almost as much as I do, although her preferred drams are rum and pisco). I walked in and headed right over to the whiskey section (of course) and a large selection of E.H. Taylor tubes immediately caught my eye. Most carried the orange Small Batch script, but two were accented with a cherry red font - the Single Barrel! I grabbed both and immediately bolted to the rum section to show the wife my trophies. I normally don't buy two bottles of something that I've never tasted, but in this case I didn't get burned - it's a winner. The nose is beautiful - sweet and smooth like an ocean breeze. The palate is all of that wrapped around a spicy center. I found that it benefitted a lot from having a few weeks to breathe after opening - my first sips were a bit hot and strong on the spice. Several weeks later it had balanced out wonderfully.