My wife and I just got back from New Orleans so I have a lot of whiskey reviews to post over the next week or so. This was the Bourbon House's bourbon of the month, which means that members of their Bourbon Society (free to join online) get a free 1 oz pour that month. Basil Hayden is Beam's high-rye mash bill product, and is marketed to the relatively affluent consumer. In fact, the distillery's Old Grand-Dad brand uses the same mash bill and is bottled at higher proof, so in some ways Basil Hayden's may be the same juice diluted and then sold for a higher price in a classic emperor's-new-clothes con. I found this whiskey to lie almost exactly halfway between rye and bourbon, and perhaps it'd be good as a bridge for someone who exclusively drinks one to get a sense of the other side of the fence. The nose is vegetal and almost hoppy over a malty base, and the palate similarly feels like chewing on a head of raw grain with a light sprinkling of honey on top. It finishes quickly and smoothly, which confirms for me this is a whiskey meant to impress non-whiskey drinkers more than an enthusiast's bottle.