Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch Bourbon

One of my favorite movies is The Big Lebowski. At one point in the movie, Sam Elliott's cowboy character asks the bartender at the bowling alley if they have any more of "that good sarsaparilla." Upon hearing that they have Sioux City sarsaparilla, he goes "yeah...that's a good one." I feel like this bourbon is like that - the exemplar of, yeah, that one's a good bourbon. It scratches all the right bourbon itches: an almost copper penny color, a nose loaded with vanilla, spice, coconut, chocolate, leather, and caramel, and a palate that screams "now THIS is a bourbon." Chocolate ice cream with a caramel ribbon, sopapillas with cinnamon and vanilla ice cream, that lightly drying sense of tobacco and old leather, a just-sweet-enough cherry cola that emerges with a little extra time in the glass. For a 100 proof offering, it's very smooth, too. I struggled with whether to call this a 4 or a 5; my "if I have to think about it, it's a 4" rule stands. It's an excellent bourbon; perhaps not the most striking or fresh take on things, but it's a good one.

It was a little too early in the morning for tasting but I was eager to, at least, have a whiff of this highly recommended bourbon (adaminak:). Years ago, I started my migration into spirits with cheap bourbon & rye and eventually moved over to scotch based on personal preference. I've never tried to analyze this penchant and today was an attempt to possibly revisit the error of my ways by trying some of the good stuff, so I filled the Glencairn then poured it back into the bottle and proceeded to nose the coated glass. I will do this sometimes with the higher alcoholic Islays to get a better nosing profile, and it is not unusual to smell new sawn wood as the glass starts to dry. In this case, the table saw was running and the sawdust was flying, baby! It was mixed with the rich aroma of honeyed vanilla, caramel corn, and a spiciness unique to bourbon alone. Finally, at lunch I had my first indulgence and I was pleasantly surprised. The Small Batch was very smooth with sweetness more muted than expected, probably due to the 50% ABV, and had the same complexity of flavors that came out in the nose and many more that I'm sure could change depending on one’s mood. The finish was bold and lengthy with maybe a hint of rye. The bottle and packaging of this product are outstanding, and compared to other bourbons I‘ve drunk, it gets a rating of 4 stars.

Smell is awesome. The taste is good but I don't love it as much as I feel like I should? Much better after a drop of water but there is some flavor on the front that I do not love (maybe the oak?)A little bit of heat on the back but a good amount, nice finish