Until I saw this in my local liquor store, I'd never even heard of this brand. I found it at an ABC in a sale rack for $2 for a 100ml sample. Its 80 proof, straight bourbon aged "at least 36 months." You never know how things will turn out, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
The whiskey is very light in color and comes in a plastic bottle. I tasted this neat in a glencairn. The nose immediately after the pour is pretty weak, but there's nothing offensive about it. Actually, I'm kind of surprised that there aren't any acetone or ethanol notes. I let the pour sit for about 10 minutes before evaluating.
After the rest the nose on this is mild,but slightly paint-like with sweet notes that remind me of buttered popcorn at the movies. There's just not a lot there to like (or not like). Overall its pretty nondescript on the nose.
This whiskey is pretty thin. There are minor tears after a swirl and very little sheeting.
First sip, this is sweet and actually pretty nice. It's very mild. There is a soft pepper-like finish that lasts for a few seconds. I'm getting a bit of vanilla, sweet caramel and the slightest bit of spice.
Clearly a low proof and I don't think this will work too well in a cocktail. I can see this in something like a "smoked" old fashioned with too much demerara - the kind of sweet, innocuous old-fashioned served by "whiskey bars" to the newly minted bourbon lovers who just know life would be completely different if they could only score a bottle of Pappy... But no way this stands up to vermouth. Or soda. Maybe coca cola if you just don't like the taste of whiskey.
Its very watery and lacking in body. Anyway, it doesn't suck. At least not completely. I think I like it better than JB white label (which I don't care for at all), but its been a couple years since I last sampled that one. It's actually acceptable if price is a serious concern and your expectations are modest. I'll pick this neat over JD Old No. 7 neat every time...
On my scale a 2.5 is peak of the bell curve. Clearly the majority of competently made mass market whiskey should land between 2 and 3 on this scale. Zackaraiah Harris is in that group, scoring a surprising 2.25 (an extra quarter point for being a great value).
No, I'm not likely to buy another bottle. I've purchased Jim Beam Repeal Prohibition bourbon on sale for the same price and I thought that to be a better product. Zack is a pass, but I'm not a hater...
9.99
USD
per
Bottle
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