Coopers' Craft Barrel Reserve 100 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon

dark full rich with bold complex flavors

Inexpensive, simple bourbon but with a twist. The apple finish is delicious, and the smoothness outstanding. A daily sipper.

Hot on nose. Sweetness is dominant taste note, then heat and strong oak. Not super balanced. Not sure if a fan of strong oak note

Has hints of a good taste to it, but 100 proof makes it a bit astringent.

Bottle picked up for a weekend at the lake. This is surprisingly good, especially at the price of $30. The nose is apple, banana, dark cherry, bubble gum, caramel, toffee, vanilla, charred oak. The nose has a little heat. The palate follows pretty close. More cherry than banana on the palate. There’s some oak and a nice tinge of bitter that gives some balance to all the sweetness. While the nose was a little hot, there’s not as much heat on the palate. I think it’s better than OF100, Early Times BiB, Buffalo Trace, WT101, but also a few bucks more than those. I’d say it’s fairly competitive with EHTSB, Woodford DO, OF 1910. It’s no world-beater, it’s pretty straight forward, but it’s a solid bourbon for $30. Update: the banana note is much more noticeable when doing a side-by-side with something else, so buyer beware if not a fan of the banana note.

Spice up front, then sweet with wood. After a glass or two it has a light bitter wood finish.