PBMichiganWolverine
Smoke Wagon Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Indiana (bottled in Nevada), USA
Reviewed
December 27, 2020 (edited January 22, 2021)
I remember when I was a young teen, and the new Batman came out. It was the first one, the one with Michael Keaton. Yeah...way back then. It had such hype, was like the best thing since sliced bread. Yeah...Micheal Keaton, the comedy /romcom actor playing the Caped Crusader? He’s a great actor, so he must have made such a course correction from Mr Mom to a dark and brooding hero. All my high school friends were anxious to see it. We stood in line for hours and finally scored tickets to a show. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet expectations. I walked out disappointed. Not sure if it was just over-hyped and didn’t meet the expectations, or something else. Just didn’t do it for me.
So comes this bourbon. It’s been hard to find, and folks have been clamoring over how amazing it is. I never really bought a bottle...but was always in a lookout for a pour. That came to me this past Thanksgiving when a family member bought this over.
Aroma: syrup-y corn, really like any other bourbon in the young 3-4 yr age.
Taste: this is where I was disappointed. To me, just tasted like cotton candy dipped in alcohol. Just falls flat.
I know I had the baseline product, not the cask strength version. But, just didn’t cut it for me. Hard pass. I’m not sure why this is so hyped...which is expected more, and I didn’t deliver.
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I stopped doing NY resolutions cos, umm, they’re pointless in the larger scheme of things. If, however, I was to have a whiskey NY resolution for ‘21, it’s not to fall for the hype anymore. This one was one those I suspected was more hype than not (not withstanding the uncut CS version). Muchas gracias for the heads-up...
@Milliardo yeah , good point..god knows most of us are burned by thinking price = quality
@PBMichiganWolverine I guess my concern/skepticism comes from an inductive place more than a logical place, because I get that the pricier bottle should be independent from this one in terms of flavors. So many distilleries produce quality bottom-level stuff that I would be too chicken to take a flier on the $$$ bottle under the same label. I’ve been burned by Kentucky Owl, Old 55, and a few others where I saw the warning signs on the cheaper product but proceeded into the portfolio anyway, kicking myself later. I’ll be on the lookout for your review though 😇
@Milliardo I think to @dubz480 ’s point, it seems like their flagship version (uncut unfiltered...which I had no idea was a totally different beast) might be better.
It’s funny, based only on the pattern of this stuff on secondary sites, I was concerned this was the case. It felt very “KO Confiscated” if you will. Thanks for heading this one off!
Agree with what @Swahili1 said... Start with the Uncut and if you can find the age stated single barrels you will get a better idea... That said if you are not a fan of spicy Bourbon then those may not even change your mind
@Swahili1 that explains it...so the hype is for the uncut/unfiltered. Wondering for folks like me ( not bourbon enthusiasts ), they should be branding their base with a different name than the uncut version. I was led to think the uncut version is the same as the base, except cask strength.
there base version is their own young distillate......it is a far cry from uncut/unfiltered which is 6-8yr MGP in the UC/UF, and sometimes up to 13 yr cask strength MGP in the Private Barrel bottles! It is like Smooth Ambler- their own distillate is kind of 🤢, but their sourved Old Scout Single Barrels are👍👍👍
@jonwilkinson7309 totally agree..the $30 price point is really competitive. But, to your point, there’s others better in that range. In that category (makers, forester, russel, eagle 10, etc) , I’d go for this as the last option
I have a very similar memory of the first Batman movie, leaving the theater feeling that the Michael Keaton miscasting was only somewhat mitigated by Jack Nicholson's Joker. I likewise agree with your take on the Smokewagon. I see two problems. First, the MGP juice is perfectly respectable, but ubiquitous. Without something interesting added (like Belle Meade's finishes, or Litchfield's additional aging plus finishing), it's hard to get excited. Second, the $30-$40 price range is highly competitive for bourbon. I wouldn't pick this over bottles like Russell's Reserve 10, Eagle Rare, or Maker's 46. I've even found a couple of lovely Old Forester single barrels for less than $40.