I'm following up my reviews of 2 soft wheat whiskies with an (arguably) soft bourbon.   Woodford Reserve is a brand that (at least initially) built themselves on luxury and doing things differently. They priced themselves accordingly. They ferment their mash for 6 days instead of 2 to 3. They have their own cooperage. They distill 3 times instead of the usual 2. But does the end result justify the more elaborate means for Woodford Reserve Bourbon? Let’s find out. Mash Bill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley Age: NAS (but aged somewhere between 6-7 years) Batch: 3776, Bottle: 1764 ABV: 45.2% Price: $24.99 (typically seen for $25-$32) Nose:  So much mint it almost has a cooling effect.  Buttery brioche, apricot funk, honey, grass, and rye spice.  Fresh vanilla, which is almost odd considering the mustiness I've found on the palate,  For only 45.2%, there's detectable heat.  Palate: Rich and sweet, but with a watery mouthfeel.  It has more bite than spice.  More mint, apricot, candied oranges, tannic oak, vanilla, rye spice and barrel char.  As my bottle has evolved, I'm also getting more mustiness, which I consider a flaw and don't enjoy as much.  Finish: Medium length.  Sweet, spicy, and with surprising amounts of minerals (but not to the degree of anything by Dickel).  The tannins are a bit rough and clingy, like underripe bananas.  Overall Impressions: Woodford Reserve Bourbon is just "alright" for me.  It's a fairly easy sipper but it's also fairly unremarkable and unmemorable to me. I think I prefer Knob Creek despite the bitter notes I find in that.  It also drinks a bit hotter than 42.5%, so you may enjoy this better with a cube of ice.  For me, it soundly loses to Michter's and gets trounced by Eagle Rare.  There's lot of competition at this price point which keeps this from being a repeat buy. 3.0 ~ 75 ~ Average