BDanner
Old Tub Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
July 9, 2020 (edited June 20, 2022)
Old Tub BIB
NOSE: Give this one some time. At first it is all Stinging Heat that rises from your glencairn. After that you get Raw Peanuts, Brown Sugar, a Citrus that starts out as Orange but transitions to Lemony, and a lot of Dry Dusty Corn. With time the Raw Peanut becomes more akin to Peanut Brittle.
NEAT: Thin Mouthfeel. Peanut Heavy and Spicy Heat. There is a Dry Sweetness here with Vanilla, Honey and Oak. Spicy Finish with Cinnamon & Honey Roasted Peanuts coating the palate. Medium length KY Hug. The coating layering aftertaste is the best part of the experience for me. It's simple but quite pleasing. While I was expecting the lack of filtering to impact the mouthfeel, maybe this coating aftertaste is where it has an effect?
SPLASH: Really Amps up the citrus on the nose. Palate loses some heat and gains a Vanilla Coke note. Combined with the Beam Peanut it becomes reminiscent of a "Chaingang Coke" where you dump your pack of peanuts directly into the glass bottle. You also start to get a little hint of chocolate on the finish.
VERDICT: While this did have some positives, chief among them the wonderful building/coating aftertaste and the mid-$20's pricetag, it fell flat for me on a couple fronts. #1) This feels like an afterthought. It's like they were sitting around and someone said "Hey! Why don't we skip the filtering on a couple batches of Beam Bonded, throw it in those leftover OGD BIB bottles and call it Old Tub?" They could've given this a bottle with a more antique feel similar to the version sold at the distillery. Maybe played with entry proof or something. It just seems rushed and doesn't "honor" the history of the name IMHO. #2) I was a little disappointed in the lack of mouthfeel. I was hoping a non-filtered would have a little more character. Overall, though I did ding it a quarter point for the reasons mentioned, this is a solid but not spectacular bourbon that left a little on the table. I do think that I liked it better than the standard Beam BIB and it would be an interesting Side by Side to experience the difference the Chill Filtering makes.
23.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@BDanner I'm with you on the sbs w/m bonded. I'm liking this also, but not like I did DC. Might have to add DC to a sbs with OT & BiB to sort it out.
@BDanner I hope you'll leave an updated tasting at some point given how it's changed.
This is actually kind of growing on me. With some time open, it is beginning to resemble its "Distiller's Cut" Cousin. It has become a go-to pour over a large cube of ice after working all day in this string of 100+ heat index days.
A+ writing as always and HOW BAD I've been craving A COKE OR DR PEPPER with some honey roasted peanuts tossed in recently how did you know??? sounds like something I'll grab a bottle of but not a second.
@m_scho I’m not necessarily bemoaning what it is, but more what it could’ve been.
I was hoping this would be a gem for the price. Might still have to pick up though as it’s only $23 in these parts.
Yeah...not a swing and a miss, but they settled for a single instead of trying to stretch it into a double.
Thanks for review sounds like a pass