jonwilkinson7309
McKenzie Bottled-in-Bond Wheated Bourbon
Bourbon — New York, USA
Reviewed
October 5, 2019 (edited July 17, 2022)
@dubz480's review yesterday of McKenzie's Single Barrel reminded me that I've had the Bottled in Bond Bourbon on my "to review" list for a long time. So why the delay?
It's not because I've been unclear about my overall opinion - it's excellent. But it's a complex dram and I was not readily finding the words to describe it. I'm still going to struggle a bit, but here goes -
The nose is very pleasant - a typical bourbon scent of caramel and corn, along with a strong base of oak and mild baking spices.
The palate has some really nice, mild wood notes, some more caramel and corn, and a bit of spice. It's not an overly sweet bourbon, and it's very nicely balanced between rich, oily, sweet and oakey.
The whiskey finishes without burn and a slight spearmint note.
The details I've given are an accurate version of what I experienced, but incomplete. I'll update this review if and when I can better place some of the other great scents and flavors.
Had I been served this whiskey blind, I would not have pegged it for a wheated bourbon - it's simply a lot different than other wheated bourbons I'm familiar with - I feel it has more in common with corn/rye/barley mashbill bourbons.
At some point I'll do some comparison testing to determine with certainty, but the Mckenzie's BIB quite possibly is my favorite under $50 bourbon.
And it appears that it's popularity is growing quickly. After reading @dubz480's review of the single barrel, I searched for a single barrel bottle for sale online. No luck. I also noticed that the standard BiB seemed to be out of stock everywhere. Hopefully that will be rectified soon, or else an emergency trip to upstate New York night be needed.
45.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@dubz480 Dude, why did you delete all of your tasting notes!? You had so many good reviews posted on here, may of which talked my into buying many bottles that I fell in love with. Shame to see them all gone with the wind! 😕
@jonwilkinson7309 @PBMichiganWolverine the standard Rye release is a hard pass IMO
@jonwilkinson7309 I think you’re right—-It’s normally tough to get ice wine casks, but I think them being in Finger Lakes, and Finger Lakes being a producer of ice wine, they probably either own or can easily source those casks. Not sure if it’s distilery only , but probably
@PBMichiganWolverine. Interestingly, I did a little research on ice wine, and apparently it's a big thing in the Finger Lakes region, and produced by a number of the wineries there. So I assume they're sourcing the barrels in their own backyard. I've seen McKenzie's regular rye for sale in plenty of places, but never the finished version. Perhaps it's distillery only?
@PBMichiganWolverine I have not either and that definitely sounds interesting. I would also expect it to add a lot of sweetness!
@dubz480 @jonwilkinson7309 these guys have a Ice wine finished rye as well. I never had ice wine finished anything (or ice wine for that matter)...but I imagine it making the rye sweeter?
Glad you enjoy it! Definitely a good pour! it's pretty readily available in AZ so far knock on wood!. Cheers!