Cornmuse
Horse Soldier Reserve Barrel Strength Bourbon
Bourbon — Ohio, USA
Reviewed
January 24, 2020 (edited December 8, 2020)
The Horse Soldier line needs to be addressed by the moderators. There are three current offerings; straight, small batch, and single barrel.
This is in reference to the Small Batch. There is a separate listing on Distiller for Single Barrel. Small Batch is 47.5 ABV or 95 proof.
Putting aside marketing stories and concentrating on the contents, this is an average pour. I keep trying to get excited about it.
Today's tasting is with a single large cube in a rocks glass. Even chilled and diluted it's obvious this is a young bourbon. The nose is more sophisticated than Very Old Barton BiB, but a step down from Knob Creek or WT 101.
This tastes like a high rye whiskey and with a 60/30/10 mash bill, it is. This reminds me a lot of Old Grand Dad (which I like a lot). All told, this is a bit brash, young and hot but it has a good taste foundation. I'm sure a little more age will elevate it, as will an NCF Single Barrel at full proof.
But...
This doesn't work on the taste-value matrix. This tastes like an okay $30 bottle, but it sells for more than double that.
There is NO WAY I'm selecting this over a KC single barrel at under $50, or OGD114 under $40, or any number of others.
Hard pass on another bottle... Maybe have other expressions at a bar, but I don't see Small Batch in my rotation.
60.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review