Reviews

Col. E.H. Taylor Seasoned Wood Bourbon Review
Photo courtesy of Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Photo courtesy of Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Buffalo Trace Distillery just announced the eighth addition to the Col. E.H. Taylor line – Seasoned Wood.  Just like its brethren, Seasoned Wood is bottled-in-bond, which means it’s bottled at 100 proof and is at least four years old (among other things).  According to press materials, this release is “aged well over a decade”.  This the first wheated bourbon in the Taylor lineup.  Seasoned Wood is a one-time, limited release.

What is seasoned wood exactly?  According to Buffalo Trace:

The barrels in this release underwent a variety of special seasoning processes,   including barrels made from staves that were immersed in an enzyme rich bath with water heated to 100 degrees.  After spending time in this proprietary solution, these staves were then placed into kilns and dried until they reached an ideal humidity level for crafting into barrels.  Other staves were seasoned outdoors for six months, and still others were left outdoors for a full 12 months before being made into barrels and sent to Buffalo Trace Distillery to be filled and aged.  All barrel staves were seasoned, dried, and crafted at Independent Stave Company, who consulted on this project with the premiere expert on oak maturation, Dr. James Swan.

Onto my tasting notes:

The aromatic nose leads with a strong honey note.  Dried cherries, fresh orange peel, and a floral note follow.  In an odd way, it sort of smells like an Old Fashioned cocktail.  There is little to no alcohol vapor to speak of, considering this is a 100 proof bourbon.  The entry is soft, with spiced honey starting things off.  That citrus note and dried fruit from the nose also finds its way to the palate, cutting right through the creamy mouthfeel.  Some oak is present providing a touch of astringency in the back-palate.  The finish is long and warm, leaving citrus, baking spice and honey behind to slowly fade away.  It leaves your mouth watering for more.

You can guess I’m a fan of this one.  Seasoned Wood is a very welcome addition to the good-to-excellent range of Col. E.H. Taylor whiskies.  It’s overall softer but richer profile stands out among others in the lineup.  This is a very well executed bourbon from Buffalo Trace that receives a high recommendation.  Seasoned Wood will be available starting late March for a suggested retail priced of $69.99.  The fact that it is limited won’t help your chances of finding a bottle.  In the rare instance you do see one, pick it up.

9/10
(Note: A small review sample was provided by Buffalo Trace.)

Woodford Reserve Distillery Series – Frosty Four Wood Bourbon Review

Photo courtesy of Woodford Reserve.

Photo courtesy of Woodford Reserve.

The third entry in Woodford Reserve’s Distillery Series is Frosty Four Wood, following Double Double Oaked and Sweet Mash Redux.  The trend seems to find the distillery revisiting previous editions of their Master’s Collection.  This is great for folks that didn’t get to taste a previous releases of earlier Master’s Collection expressions.  Case in point: I never had a chance to taste the original Woodford Reserve Four Wood.  At least with this release I get to taste a variation of it.

Frosty Four Wood gets its name from its flavor influences, namely barrel finishing.  Fully matured Woodford Reserve is put into three different cask types: maple, sherry and port.  This secondary maturation lasts a few months.  The barrels are then blended together and bottled.  The frosty part of the name comes from the Polar Vortex of 2013.  The original Master’s Collection Four Wood was exposed to the low temperatures, causing flocking, or mineral precipitation.  The distillers used a filtration technique that resulted in a fruit-forward flavor profile.

The nose is rich and fruity.  Dried fruit, sweet oak, and slightly burned toffee are the key players here.  I’ve never smelled so much fruit in a bourbon.  That fruit-forward profile also carries over onto the palate.  In addition to being the dominating flavors, dried berries and citrus provide richness here.  Cloves, corn, vanilla and toffee develop mid-palate.  A spicy yet slightly drying oak shows up for the medium finish.

I like this one.  It’s an interesting take on the Woodford Reserve profile.  The port, sherry and maple cask finish really give this bourbon a fruit-forward, rich profile, which is not how I would describe the standard Woodford Reserve expression.

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8/10
(Note: A review sample was provided by Woodford Reserve.)

1792 Single Barrel Bourbon Review
Photo courtesy of Barton Distillery.

Photo courtesy of Barton Distillery.

New from the Barton distillery in Bardstown, KY is 1792 Single Barrel bourbon.  Although I haven’t officially reviewed 1792 Small Batch on this blog, I consider it a solid pour.  Now we have a single barrel version of it.  Sazerac, Barton’s parent company, is calling this release a limited edition.  It’s bottled at 98.6 proof and retails for $39.99.

This is the distillery’s first new release since their tasty port-finished expression, which was released last fall.  The press release for this whiskey mentions more new releases of 1792 this year.  I’m curious to see (and taste) what they have cooked up for 2016.  Now, onto the tasting notes.

Lots of official tasting notes for bourbon mention “butterscotch.”  In the case of 1792 Single Barrel bourbon, they’re right.  The nose on this whiskey is full of rich butterscotch, toffee and figs, with just a touch of vanilla extract on the backend.  The entry is a bit spicy at first.  That butterscotch and creamy caramel found in the nose wrap around a roasted corn note, along with a small squeeze of citrus and that fig note.  It’s got a slightly viscous mouthfeel, which I’m attributing to the high-ish proof.  There’s very slight heat on the finish, which is medium-length and leaves behind slight barrel char and toffee.

This is just like the 1792 small batch, only with more character.  That’s the great thing about single barrel releases.  The unique qualities of each barrel of bourbon aren’t washed away in a blend.  You get the flavor profile of the brand delivered in a slightly varied manner.  Going under the assumption that barrel variation isn’t too extreme, this one comes highly recommended.

8/10
(Note:  A review sample was provided by Barton 1792 Distillery.)