Tag: Bourbon Review (Page 2 of 4)

BSG Review: Jim Beam Repeal Batch

October 16, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Jim Beam Distillery

Location: Clermont, KY

Parent Company: Beam Suntory

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 86 (43% ABV)

Age: 4 years

Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley

Jim Beam Repeal Batch is basically the same 4-year-old bourbon that is used for the standard white label offering, but there are a few differences that will make this one worth your time. The main differentiator is that this expression is non-chill-filtered and bottled at 6 proof points higher than white label. This was created as a commemorative offering celebrating the 85th anniversary of Repeal Day. It is supposed to result in a taste that more closely resembles the taste profile of their post-prohibition whiskey. Most consumers should be able to find this bottle for under $20.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Golden with long, thin legs

Nose: Vanilla, popcorn, oak, almonds, clove

Palate: Oak forward, clove, butterscotch, cinnamon, corn

Finish: Oily, medium-long spice and honey

Jim Beam Repeal Batch starts of visually with some very long, thin legs down the side of the glass. The nose initially comes off with vanilla, popcorn and oak. After a few sips I also picked up some almonds and clove. The taste was very much oak forward with clove also on the front end. The transition back went from butterscotch and cinnamon to the familiar corn notes as it went down. The finish was oily and relatively long with a spiciness and some honey notes coming through at the very end.

I’m not usually a big fan of the entry-level offerings from Jim Beam, but this one has me intrigued enough to keep sipping. This is a well-done sub-90-proof offering that is sure to do well with consumers that don’t really want to move into higher proof bourbon, but still want a little more interesting experience than the old familiar college mixer in the white label bottle. I definitely recommend giving this one a shot. The price is right and I think they did a great job with the branding efforts for this throwback styling on the label. It makes this bottle look nice on the bar, too!

BSG Score: 75/100

BSG Review: Rabbit Hole Heigold Bourbon

September 25, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Rabbit Hole Distillery

Location: Louisville, KY

Parent Company: Pernod Ricard (as of June 2019)

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 95 (47.5% ABV)

Age: 3+ years

Mashbill: 70% Corn, 25% Malted Rye, 5% Malted Barley

Heigold is the latest addition to the Rabbit Hole Distillery portfolio. It is their fourth whiskey and will fill the spot of a high rye bourbon offering in their lineup. According to Rabbit Hole, “Heigold was named after Christian Heigold, a German immigrant who was a stonemason by trade. Taken with his love of America and his hometown of Louisville, he adorned the facade of his 19th century mansion with American icons, honoring the U.S. for the opportunity given to immigrants like himself. Heigold mirrors the patriotism and passion for Louisville that is shared by Rabbit Hole’s founder/whiskey maker Kaveh Zamanian, he himself an immigrant who loved the U.S. before he ever set foot on American soil.”

Heigold is aged in #3 wood-fired, toasted and charred new American Oak barrels and has a barrel entry proof of 110. It is aged just under four years and is non-chill filtered. This will be a full-time regular addition to the Rabbit Hole collection and will debut in late September at the distillery as well as off-site retail locations for a SRP of $69.99 per 750 mL bottle.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Amber

Nose: Vanilla, brown sugar, butterscotch

Palate: Lemon zest, white pepper, oak, light vanilla

Finish: Medium-short in length, mostly pepper

Heigold starts with an aroma that is all sweetness. The vanilla is front and center with brown sugar and a butterscotch note to round it out. When it hits the palate, though, the game changes completely. It approaches the front end with an initial touch of citrus in the form of lemon zest, followed by a transition to white pepper spiciness as it crosses the mid-palate. The sweetness from the nose is almost completely masked for me in the taste with just a touch of vanilla hanging on before it goes down. The finish is medium-short in length and stays on the spicy peppery note before fading away. I experienced almost no Kentucky hug with this finish, which made for an extremely easy sipping bourbon.

I enjoyed the swing from sweet to spicy as it switched from the nose to the palate. That keeps it interesting as the aroma is still experienced with every tip of the glass before taking the next sip. It definitely makes up for the lack of a long finish, which I don’t normally experience in most sub-100 proof offerings anyway. This is a welcome addition to the Rabbit Hole lineup and fills the gap nicely for the high rye bourbon aficionados.

BSG Score: 85/100

Disclaimer: Rabbit Hole provided this product in exchange for an honest review with no strings attached.

BSG Review: Angel’s Envy Finished Bourbon

September 11, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Sourced for Angel’s Envy

Location: Louisville, KY

Parent Company: Louisville Distilling Co. (Bacardi Ltd since 2015)

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels

Proof: 86.6 (43.3% ABV)

Age: NAS (believed to be 4-6 years old)

Mashbill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley

Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey finished in port wine casks is a blend of 8 to 12 barrels per batch. There is no age statement, but, according to the distillery, it is aged for up to 6 years. After the bourbon is done aging in its original barrel, ruby port wine casks are used to finish the bourbon for an additional 3 to 6 months depending on the taste. The barrels used for finishing are 60-gallon ruby port barrels made of French oak. They are imported directly from Portugal. The name Angel’s Envy comes from the story line that, though they lose about 5% of the spirit in the barrel each year to evaporation or “the Angel’s Share,” what’s left behind is what’s worthy of envy.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Goldenrod

Nose: Cherry, brown sugar, black pepper, oak

Palate: Cherry, baking spices, brown sugar, slightly astringent

Finish: Medium length, cherry/plum, licorice, dry

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of port wine. That being said, there were some enjoyable notes that came out of this whiskey for me. The nose started with a nice pop of cherry and brown sugar that then faded into black pepper and oak. The taste kept that cherry note on the front of the palate, but switched to brown sugar and baking spices as it crossed over the middle of the tongue. The flavors just hung out in the mid palate for me while leaving a bit of astringency immediately after it went down. The finish was a medium length that kept hints of cherry and also a plum fruitiness. The kicker for me was the black licorice note in the end while it dried up the palate rather quickly. Black licorice is one of my least favorite notes and will always skew my opinion of the whiskey to the negative side. Because of this, I cannot keep my score for this one in the 80’s and will have to let it slip just under the mark.

BSG Score: 79/100

BSG Review: Rabbit Hole Bourbon (Pre-Cavehill)

September 3, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Rabbit Hole Distillery

Location: Louisville, KY

Parent Company: Pernod Ricard (as of June 2019)

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 95 (47.5% ABV)

Age: 2+ years

Mashbill: 70% Corn, 10% Malted Wheat, 10% Honey Malted Barley, 10% Malted Barley

This bottle of Rabbit Hole’s signature 4-grain bourbon is from Batch #4 Bottle #1929 and is age stated at 2+ years. It is now known as Rabbit Hole Cavehill Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey as they have rebranded all of their offerings with a distinct name. Cavehill bourbon now brings an age statement of 3+ years.

This bourbon is distilled in a Vendome 24-inch copper column still. The distillate enters the Kelvin Cooperage #3 wood-fired, toasted and charred barrels at 110 proof. Each batch contains 15 barrels or less and is not chill filtered.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Caramel/Amber

Nose: Brown sugar, nutmeg, floral, grains

Palate: Red apple, almonds, black pepper, oak, light vanilla and honey

Finish: Medium-short in length, grassy notes, lingering pepper, a hint of honey sweetness and mint

The standard bourbon offering from Rabbit Hole starts off with brown sugar and nutmeg on the nose, immediately followed by a floral note and then the grains eventually round it out. The taste transitions to a red apple note with a bit of almond up front. The oak barrel note and black pepper show up before giving up a hint of sweetness in the form of honey. The finish is short to medium in length that starts with a grassy note. There is a little black pepper that lingers for a short time before giving off a bit of that honey and some mint at the very end. I think this is a solid offering for the initial bourbon release from Rabbit Hole.

I’m looking forward to comparing this bottle to both the new Cavehill branded version of this 4-grain bourbon as well as their latest high-rye version called Rabbit Hole Heigold Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

BSG Score: 83/100

BSG Review: Legent

August 27, 2019 / BSG / 0 Comments

Distilled By: Jim Beam Distillery

Location: Clermont, KY

Parent Company: Beam Suntory

Class: KY Straight Bourbon Whiskey partially finished in wine & sherry casks

Proof: 94 (47% ABV)

Age: NAS (appx. 4-5 years)

Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Barley

Legent is a Beam Suntory collaboration between Fred Noe, Master Distiller at Jim Beam, and Shinji Fukuyo, Chief Blender at Suntory. It starts its life as a typical Jim Beam bourbon. Some of the bourbon is finished in wine and sherry casks before being blended back in with more straight bourbon to create this unique offering of Japanese style blended whiskey using Jim Beam bourbon as its base. The bottle is very nice with an image of the facial profiles of both Fred and Shinji on either side of the black brush stroke down the center. It also has a large engraved wooden topper on the cork with both “Kentucky” and “Japan” across the top and “Two Legends One Bourbon” underneath. The price is right at $35 for a 750 mL bottle.

BSG REVIEW:

Color: Amber/Red-tinted

Nose: Peaches, raspberries, brown sugar

Palate: Molasses, brown sugar, plum and a little hint of peanuts

Finish: Short-medium length and dry, cinnamon and oak with a very light KY hug

I get all sugary sweet aromas on the nose, with peach and raspberry dominant notes. This is typical for me with the wine and sherry finished whiskies. The taste switches it up a little with a molasses and brown sugar front end that transitions to more of a plum fruit flavor before giving off a hint of peanut as it goes down. The finish is short to medium in length and dry, which I also typically get from wine finished whiskies. It finally picks up a little spice with the cinnamon and oak coming through at the very end. This whiskey doesn’t give much of a KY hug, but the dryness lingers on the palate and is all I can concentrate on after it goes down. Legent was a cool experiment, and at this price I would recommend giving it a try if you like wine and sherry finished bourbons, but I cannot say this would be a repeat purchase for me. The nose had me reeled in, but, ultimately the finish turned me away in the end.

BSG Score: 76/100

Tag: Bourbon Review (Page 2 of 4)

BSG Review: Jim Beam Repeal Batch

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Rabbit Hole Heigold Bourbon

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Angel’s Envy Finished Bourbon

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Rabbit Hole Bourbon (Pre-Cavehill)

BSG REVIEW:

BSG Review: Legent

BSG REVIEW:

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