It is said to be appreciated by cognac afficionados as a replacement for their favourite after dinner dram.

Baker’s 7y (53,5%, OB 2007)

Nose: new leather, mint. Rye. Fresh oak. Caramel, vanilla and some cinnamon. Flowery notes as well, which is not really common in bourbon but quite nice indeed. Less powerful than other cask strength bourbons maybe, drier and a tad more complex. With a splash of water: hints of banana and ripe plums. Maple syrup. Mouth: rich and mellow. Peppermint, ginger, vanilla. Oranges. Some caramel and toasted peanuts. Spicy, although the alcohol may help to exaggerate this. Pine wood. Finish: banana with a dark chocolate coating. Ginger. Sweet and long.

Nicely balanced and smoother than most other bourbons at this strength (e.g. Buffalo Trace or William Larue Weller).

Score: 82/100

Bernheim Original (45%, OB 2010)

Nose: butter croissant and other types of sweet pastry. Brown sugar. It shows more fruit than other Americans (apple, banana). Some spices. Light leather. Vanilla cake. Hints of mint. Very smooth and appealing. Mouth: starts very gentle, with the same buttered bread, caramel and menthol flavours. After that, the oak becomes more prominent with slightly bitter notes. Overall not as sweet as you would expect from the nose. Finish: rather short but still very smooth.

This Bernheim Original does not show a lot of complexity but it’s dangerously smooth and drinkable. Only the slight bitterness in the end was a bit of an off-note for me.

Score: 84/100

Thanks for the sample, Angelo!

The range is made up of the Special Reserve (40%), Original Single Barrel (46,5%), Gold Edition (51,5%) and Straight from the Barrel (cask strength). Regardless of the bottling strength, all versions have the same mash type, cask charring and maturation.

Blanton’s Original Single Barrel (46,5%, OB 2007, barrel #158, warehouse H, dumped 1/2/2007)

Nose: fairly dry for a commercial bourbon and quite spicy (cinnamon, pepper), with leather and maple syrup standing out. Almonds and marzipan. Burnt sugar. If you swirl it around, sweet marmalade and toffee appears. Fresh oak and hints of mint as well. Less sweet and less vanilla than I expected, but very good. Mouth: a weak and rather vague attack, smooth but not as full as I hoped (maybe a higher strength could solve this). Very minty with other spices following quickly (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg). Cough sweets. Big (charred) oaky flavours. Tobacco. Missing some roundness. Finish: dry and spicy.

Pleasantly dry, oaky and spicy on the nose, but maybe a tad too much of all that on the palate. Still a nice bourbon. Around € 35.

Score: 80/100

Buffalo Trace is bourbon from the distillery with the same name, based in Kentucky . It was the first brand to release ‘single barrel’ bourbon and ever since, they are trying hard to be seen as a progressive, ‘connoiseurs’ distillery of high quality.

Apart from the flagship ‘Buffalo Trace’ they have a couple of other products with different names: Elmer T. Lee, George T. Stagg, Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, Sazerac…

Buffalo Trace (45%, OB)

Nose: both grains and sweet corn can be clearly distinguished. Some caramel and pine wood as well. With a drop of water, citrus fruit is coming out. Taste: very spicy, with notes of sweet honey and brown sugar. Mint and vanilla too. Hints of leather. Finish with sweet vanilla and dry oak notes, nicely balanced.

A quality bourbon with an unbelievably low price  (€ 25). I’d rather get this bottle as a gift than any Scottish supermarket malt or blend of the same price. Don’t expect huge single malt complexity, but still a very interesting range of flavours.

84/100.

There’s a regular Jefferson bourbon whisky (note that they don’t spell it the American way) and this higher-strength brother Jefferson’s Reserve. A previous batch was labeled “15 years old” but not this time, so we can assume this new batch is a little younger. Each batch is around 2400 bottles.

Jefferson’s Reserve (45,1%, OB 2010)

Nose: very smooth and gentle, with sweet corn, lovely notes of vanilla and a white chocolate bar filled with banana cream. Some raisins and apricots as well. Hints of black cherries, nice! A little mint. Not very complex but with a kind of “sherried” sweetness and great elegance. It suggests a higher age than regular bourbon. Mouth: medium-bodied, much more oak influence now, with spices, mint and nougat. Raisins again. Hints of cigar leafs. There are not many other flavours to be found. Finish: spicy and dry with hints of polished oak and tannins.

I really liked the sophisticated nose, but on the palate I think it switches too much towards oak and spices. Around € 60.

Score: 80/100

Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 20 years old
(45,2%, OB)

Nose: expressive. Immediately mentholated. Slightly bubblegummy / cotton candy, some darker sugar, very big notes of varnish. Tobacco and old leather. Vanilla and other more powerful spices (white pepper). Much more oak than commonly found in bourbon, but still within the limits. Slightly dusty. Mouth: hmm interestingly weird. Not very complex, pretty much on burnt caramel and liquid wood extract (does that exist?). A bit too much oak I’m afraid. Pine trees with pepper and big hints of herbal cough syrup. Unique but rather flat, lacking richness that I do find in other bourbons. Finish: not very long, woody and resinous.

This Pappy Van Winkle 20 gained a bunch of awards but for me it’s not really worth the price (around € 110). I fear bourbon has more to say at younger ages.

Score: 80/100

The Stranahan’s whiskey is only +/- 2 years old and is sold in batches composed of two to six barrels. As a consequence your specific bottle may be a little different than the one I’m about to taste.

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey (47%, OB 2010)

Nose: nice hints of ripe banana, syrup and vanilla. Great hints of red berries and melon. Actually, I think it’s closer to some rums than to most bourbons.  A bit of rye elements too. Some cocoa, tangerine and cinnamon. The light smoke / charcoal is noticeable as well. Smooth and highly seductive. Mouth: huge banana again (Pisang), and spices. Lots of vanilla and a bit of coconut. A bit of lime and eucalyptus. More oak than you wood expect after two years. Finish: quite short but nicely drying.

Well, I didn’t see this coming. Unlike any other American whiskey. You could think of Stranahan’s as a mix-up between bourbon and Scotch. It’s less sweet than bourbon, less complex than Scotch but overall very interesting, big and full of flavour. Recommended! Around
€ 75 (more than twice the USA price, but still interesting).

Score: 87/100

William Larue Weller 
(62,65%, OB 2008, 3rd release)

Nose: BIG nose, resinous and spicy (cinnamon, vanilla). Dried figs and raisins. Pine trees. Notes of nuts, cigar box, tobacco and something of paint / nail polish remover. Really powerful and full. Mouth: dark, toasted notes, still hints of paint (don’t get me wrong, these are not necessarily off-notes, they are quite pleasant). Caramel, vanilla, lots of charred oak. Maple syrup, peppermint. Quite smokey. Finish: warm but maybe a bit short. Hints of chocolate, vanilla pudding and dark fruit.

Bourbon on steroids. Perfect after a strong chocolate mousse. Around € 120.

Score: 87/100.

Woodford Reserve
(43,2%, OB 2009, batch 54)

Nose: tons of vanilla with beautiful undertones of cedar wood, varnish and peppermint. Almonds. Crême brûlée. Some pear and floral notes. There’s even a hint of charcoal. It’s very rich and certainly has an individual character, different from other bourbons. Mouth: immediately woody (maybe a tad too much, slightly tannic) and spicy. Mint again. Burnt caramel and maple syrup. Something metallic as well (like licking a battery). A little tobacco towards the finish. Finish: sweet and spicy. Echoes of vanilla. Medium length.

A very attractive and rather complex nose, but on the palate it doesn’t live up to the expectations. The wood kicks in a bit too hard. Well priced: around € 35.

Score: 80/100