ctbeck11
Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
June 3, 2021 (edited December 3, 2021)
Nose - rich caramel, cocoa, vanilla, graham cracker, marshmallow, sweet floral notes, brown sugar, black pepper, candy corn, funnel cake, allspice, peanut butter, cinnamon, sweet oak, mint, leather, tobacco, apple, cherry, orange zest, nutmeg, moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - salted caramel, milk chocolate, vanilla, apple, cherry, black pepper, brown sugar, marshmallow, candy corn, leather, peanut, tobacco, spicy oak, allspice, cinnamon, floral notes, black pepper, graham cracker, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with baking spice, rich caramel, red fruit, and chocolate flavors.
Let’s cut to the chase. This is better than the Small Batch, at least the barrel @jonwilkinson7309 most graciously sampled for me to review. Roughly the same notes present here, but they’re all punchier and more easily identifiable. The fruit notes in particular are cranked up, providing a delicious juicy apple and cherry hit on the nose and palate. There’s also a peanut buttery nuttiness that I didn’t discern with the Small Batch, which is a welcome addition.
While there’s still a bit of the same thinness I found on the Small Batch, it’s not as bad here. However, I don’t get any of its counterpart’s sourness, which indicates to me that this is much older than the average of the Small Batch’s components.
Overall, I hold the same opinion as I do with the Small Batch. It’s absolutely worth the price at its $60 retail, but don’t touch it at the ludicrous secondary ones I’m seeing online. I’d love to try some of the other Taylor expressions, particularly a barrel proof release or a more aged version, as the only significant flaw I perceive, the thinness, would likely be minimized. Unfortunately, I’ll probably be waiting a while until I stumble upon one of those in the wild.
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@Ctrexman Maybe ten years from now we’ll all be buying Taylor single barrel at retail and telling war stories about the secondary market madness of the old days. Maybe just wishful thinking.
Yeah havent seen the Colonel in a while
@jonwilkinson7309 Ugh, I would buy cases of this at $55 a bottle. Thanks again for the sample. I doubt it’s one I’ll be seeing anytime soon.
Great review! I've only tried the small batch once, but I agree that the single barrel is a nice step up. I lucked into this bottle a couple of years ago at $55. While I enjoy it, I now see it going for up to $200 online. That's absurd.