buffalo trace

Old Charter 8 Year Old Bourbon Review

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Time for a look into something quite affordable – Old Charter 8 year old bourbon.  My buddy Scott wants to see reviews of less expensive bourbon, or “bottom shelf bourbon” as he put it.   I guess he’s hoping I’ll rate these much lower than the expensive stuff.  Here’s the thing – being on the bottom shelf doesn’t automatically make it a bad bourbon.  I have a saying:  ” There’s no such thing as bad bourbon.”  There’s okay bourbon, and there’s bourbon that’ll knock your socks off.  I’m excluding blended whiskies – I’m specifically talking about straight bourbon whiskey.  This leads me to Old Charter 8 year old.  I’ve seen it on the bottom shelf most places I go, but I don’t think it belongs there.

Old Charter is put out by Buffalo Trace.  It uses the distillery’s Mashbill #1, the same one used for George Stagg, Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace bourbons.  This one is 8 years old and 80 proof.  There used to be older variations of Old Charter, but now we’re down to this 8 year old.  Buffalo Trace also puts out a 101 proof.  Getting your hands on a bottle that says “Aged 8 Years” maybe be a little hard – the company has removed the age statement from the label and that version is hitting shelves. I’m not sure if they taste the same or not. I’ve only tasted the 8 year old version.

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I get some light caramel and oak, and a little bit of alcohol fumes.  There’s an overall lightness in the aroma.  Taste-wise, it’s pretty smooth and has a nice medium body at 80 proof.  There’s the standard bourbon caramel sweetness and very light oak.   Even a little depth with some butterscotch flavor, but nothing like its flavorful older brother Eagle Rare.  The finish is light and bittersweet.

Thus far, this is a really nice “smooth” sipping whiskey… definitely better than Gentleman Jack.  I find it pretty palatable.  Great for sipping neat or an ice cube.  I wouldn’t add water to it.  Personally I wouldn’t mix it in a cocktail either.  I prefer a little bit more “bite” in my cocktails, and I don’t think Old Charter can offer that.  I picked up a bottle of this for about $17.

7/10

William Larue Weller Bourbon Whiskey (2014) Review

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William Larue Weller is the only wheated bourbon in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.  In essence, this is a barrel proof W. L. Weller 12 year old, which is not a bad thing.  I’m sure this release gets choice barrels from the W. L. Weller line of whiskies.  A wheated bourbon means wheat is used as the flavoring grain instead of the more common rye.  Maker’s Mark and the Van Winkle bourbons are all wheated bourbons.  Mr. Weller is credited with being the first distiller to use wheat instead of rye for bourbon back in the mid-1850s.

This year’s release of William Larue Weller is a hellish 140.2 proof.  That’s the highest proof this bourbon’s ever been.  It’s even higher than this year’s George T. Stagg… if only by a couple of proof points.  Buffalo Trace Distillery provided a review sample.

When I take a nice big whiff of this bourbon, I get lots of alcohol and caramel.  When I take a smaller whiffs, I get LOTS of caramel and toffee, as well as a little oak.  Tasting it there’s a lot of sweet caramel, baking spices like cinnamon and cloves, and toffee.  The finish is sweet and dry.  While the high proof does come into play in terms of spice and heat, I find it slightly more palatable to drink neat when compared to George T. Stagg.  Adding water to this calms down the heat and really brings out the sweetness.

Make no mistake, this is one delicious bourbon.  Being a member of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection means it’ll be very hard to find in stores.  If the planets align and you run across a bottle, pick it up for the $80 suggested retail price.

9/10

George T. Stagg Bourbon Whiskey (2014) Review

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Every fall Buffalo Trace releases their Antique Collection comprised of three bourbons (George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, and Eagle Rare 17 Year Old) and two rye whiskies (Sazerac 18 Year Old and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac).  They range in age from 6 or so years to 18, and three of them are barrel proof.  These five whiskies are coveted among American whiskey fans.  George Stagg and Sazerac 18 are almost always at the top of “best of” whiskey lists each year.  Lately, hype surrounds certain bourbons (Pappy, anyone?), and these five whiskies are no exception.

This year’s George T. Stagg was distilled in 1998, making it 16 years old.  It comes to us “uncut & unfiltered” at a hearty 138.1 proof.  If you’re used to only drinking 80 or 90 proof bourbon, this number looks astronomical.  The strongest Stagg release was back in 1997, which saw a 144.8 proof bourbon.  Yikes!  I like sipping neat first, then adding a little water if I need it.  Most times I don’t.  This time I kept it close-by. Buffalo Trace Distillery provided a review sample.

This stuff smells nice.  I got alcohol fumes, caramel, toasted oak, and a little citrus.  Tasting it (slowly), I find it’s one of the thicker whiskies I’ve had.  Could be due to the high proof.  I got lots of toffee, butterscotch, cinnamon, a little oak and some vanilla.  There was also a little bitterness.  Buffalo Trace’s included tasting notes mentioned dark chocolate.  That may be the best way to describe the bitterness.  Now, don’t go expecting a Hershey bar here.  The finish was long and bittersweet.  The heat fades after a few sometimes intense spicy moments.  I tasted about half the glass neat, then added a minuscule amount of water.  The water slightly calmed down the heat and spaced the flavored out a bit.

The suggested retail price for the whiskies in the Antique Collection is $80.  Anything higher than that and your store is gouging your wallet.  I spoke about whiskey hype earlier in the post.  This one lives up to whatever hype it receives.  Drinking George T. Stagg is a truly sensory experience.  Don’t pass up a chance to purchase a bottle (at a reasonable price).  Your taste buds will thank you.

9.5/10