Alc. 45.2%
Bottle:
Classic woodford presentation; tombstone shaped bottle with a burnt copper color label.
Nose:
Big bourbon opening, just getting thicker after airing. lots of banana and cherry backed by huge creamy vanilla. Some chemical like isopropryl, wet earth and light amount of char. Some sour rye after generous airing.
Palate:
Fruity beginning to a woody expression. Very creamy with char, corn, candy shop, roasted walnuts, clay and a minty exit. Incredibly complex and ever changing. Egg nog spice and dry hay are apparent, but pleasant. Roasted walnuts anchor the bass notes.
Overall:
As if woodford reserve wasn’t good enough, they just had to go and make this. Buy, buy, buy.
Please note:
This particular bottle starts its life as the usual distillers select bourbon, but is finished in a second cask. The second cask has been heavily toasted rather than charred, which really lends a soft creamy vanilla quality to the bourbon. The bourbon finishes in the second cask for around a year.
With a mash bill containing 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malt, this is triple distilled in copper pot stills to a proof of 140 and watered down to a barrel entry at 110 proof. there isn’t much more water added to bring to bottle proof, which is believed that it keeps the integrity of the barrel proof flavor.
Woodford reserve is aged for roughly 6 – 8 years in the rickhouses. Some of these rickhouses that contain the ageing barrels have a heated floor which helps add more ‘summertime effects’ on the ageing barrels. Technically the extra heating could help speed up the ageing process, making a 6 year old bourbon taste like an 8 year old bourbon.
This particular bottle has met mixed reviews by many experts and enthusiasts alike, which seem to show a love-it-or-hate-it approach to the bottle. Personally, I love it. you can find this in the lcbo for 70$
score: 89
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