BACKGROUND: The Colonel E.H.Taylor Jr. line is produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery and includes several varietals, which include Small Batch, Single Barrel, Barrel Proof, Straight Rye, Old Fashioned Sour Mash, Warehouse C Tornado Surviving, Cured Oak, Seasoned Wood, Four Grain and Amaranth. The entire line is produced under the guidelines of the federal Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, and the reason for that will become apparent below. The bourbon’s namesake was not a military colonel, but, like Col. Harlan Sanders and Col Tom Parker, he was, instead, an honorary Kentucky colonel as named by the governor of the Bluegrass State. Taylor could also legitimately claim that he was closely related to three presidents - James Madison, Zachary Taylor, and Jefferson Davis. E.H. Taylor is mostly remembered within the industry not as a distiller of bourbon but as a banker who financed the purchase and construction of several historically important distilleries like the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) and Old Taylor distilleries. He also incorporated innovations in bourbon production, such as the use of copper fermentation tanks and column stills. A four-term mayor of Frankfort and a member of the Kentucky State Senate, Taylor’s most significant contribution to bourbon was his successful lobbying for passage of the federal Bottled-in-Bond Act, which combatted sub-par whiskies being sold and marketed to the public by rectifiers. The bourbon chosen for the Small Batch variety is aged in warehouses that were constructed by E.H. Taylor well more than a century ago, and it is hand-selected for use by distillers with Buffalo Trace, which operates today in Taylor’s former O.F.C. Distillery. Though the label contains no age statement, the Bottled-in-Bond Act requires it to be at least four-years-old, and most Internet sources believe the low-rye bourbon to be aged roughly seven years. NOSE: The heavenly nose offers combined scents of buttered corn, Heath bar, caramel, and maple syrup. If Glade offered plug-ins with the scent of this nose, my entire house would smell like this. PALATE: The first taste presents a bourbon that is lusciously oily and viscous. Flavors of citrus and corn present themselves first on the palate followed by a burst of cinnamon that brings red hots candy to mind. Perhaps a dash of tobacco is present, as well. FINISH: Cinnamon lingers on the finish and oak finally makes an appearance. Citrus hangs around on the back of the tongue. The finish offers just the right amount of simmering warmth, and it keeps going and going. FINAL ASSESSMENT: This delightful bourbon possesses the perfect balance of nose, flavor, and finish. Similarly, the proof ensures it is not too hot and not too “meh.” If this were the only bourbon I could drink until my dying day, I’d be happy. Highly allocated in Alabama, I am nursing the bottles I own to make sure they last.