Alc. 40%
Bottle:
Tall clear wine bottle wrapped with a tan sandwich board. The label is not so much a label as it is a sheet of cardboard wrapped to the bottle. The cardboard sandwich board is tied down by what looks like a belt with the bh insignia. There is a black topped cork, once wrapped by foil. The whole presentation is very flashy.
Nose:
Light and honeyed with charred corn and red licorice abound, followed by clay and barnyard hay. Light bodied and subtle with a touch of garden mint.
Palate:
The nose truly portrays the palate. Subtle with char, red licorice and bubble gum followed by a touch of anise. Some lingering pepper, a liitle beer and some effervescent cola. Cinnamon and a balanced amount of oak.
Overall:
A little too subtle, and a little too off balance in flavors altogether. The oak is nice, the fruit is nice, but they don’t all come together. Mixing grade bourbon.
Please note:
This is in the long family of beam brand bourbons. This is in the same line up of premium bourbons like: knob creek, bakers and bookers, although this particular bottle finds itself on the low end of the spectrum.
Like a lot of bourbons, this brand too, is immortalizing a mans name behind the spirit. basil hayden was a devout Christian who helped lead up to 25 families to Kentucky, where he later settled. He is responsible for the first catholic church is Kentucky.
Basil hayden was also known as a distiller who used a high amount of rye in his mash bill, and so, this bottling of basil hayden utilizes a mash very similar to basils old recipe, which dates back as far as 1792.
Although there is no age statement on the bottle, as this has turned to a no-age statement blend, this was an 8 year old bourbon at one point.
score: 82
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