BeppeCovfefe
Kirkland 7 Year Small Batch Kentucky Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
August 3, 2018 (edited December 4, 2020)
Figuring a litre bottle of 7 year old bourbon could be a good find at about 30$, I decided to give this one a whorl.
What I found was the more you search the less you will actually know about this mystery bourbon. FORGET what you see on the front page, as of this review the BEAM sourced hooch has been replaced, this one is credited as "Tennessee Bourbon" which is nearly an enigma in itself, as we know Tenn is the land of the Lincoln County. Process.
Right up front the first thing you notice is a tart and strong divergence of citrus and sweet carmelized sugars, if this had come from say a bottle of Elijah Craig, it would have been expected. The middle is strong and sweet and tapering finish of natural heat with little bitterness. Some cherry chocolate notes, with hints of clove and orange are an afterthought.
While the source of the hooch may be questionable, one thing that can't be confused is the age date, if it says 7 years it must be 7 tears and that leaves out a considerable number of "black labels" that we know never reach that age before finding a truck headed for the local bottle shop.
While bottled in Columbia Tn, the source is still open to a myriad of possibilities. The rumors of Beam and now Daniels, Dickel and Buffalo Trace are all based on speculation, trusting my taster I would say this is a Heaven Hill product or near knock off most likely from MGP. This is a large corn and barley mash, perhaps some wheat, certainly not a high rye. The bourbon sweetness sets up nicely with the acidic citrus juxtaposition, there is little in the way of barreling or oak to be noticed.
For the price you cant fault this bourbon for what it is, and the absence of tell tale "young" bourbon greeness and immaturity is something you won't miss either. Coming from a warehouse shopping establishment, the expectation of a "value" bourbon should be entirely expected and the "Kirkland" 7 year old fills the bill nicely.
30.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@OldDude not that it matters but the source is Dickel for the most recent batches. I second that it's a decent value at $30 for 1L. Won't knock you socks off, but will do a job.
Didn’t know you reviewed this one or I would’ve checked it out sooner. Your review was far more interesting and revealing than my buddy’s description “tastes like Beam white label.” I believe you’re right in assuming that the “DNA” of this may be unknown or questionable, most everyone knows MGP is the source of some real decent whiskey. Whether it comes from Beam, Heaven Hill, MGP... whatever, it sounds like you validated my buddy’s claim that it might be worth checking out. ... for the record I’m not telling him you said it was a good value pick, his ego 😂
Paul, I feel your pain, Sir, a shame the state-legal types enjoy messing with our fun and calling it "their job", still the Kirkland vodka is said to be nearly(or exactly) the same as grey goose, sadly you can't enjoy their exceptional price on Whistle Pig 12 year though. BDanner, the stores near me have some truly good deals on things like WhistlePig Jefferson Ocean and Larceny, I believe Costco liquor depts are ran independently and in my state only 2 of them total are allowed to sell hard alcohol spirits. As they deal separately with distributors what they have available is likely to vary a good deal.
Sadly in Michigan the state sets the minimum shelf price, so I get no more of a deal going there than any other liquor store. Granted I won’t be able to find Kirkland brand anywhere else, but are those brands alone worth the trip? Not usually
I can find a Costco that sells liquor with a 45 minute drive over the border into South Carolina, but I haven't found a deal yet (on brown liquor anyway) that makes a special trip worth while.