Review by: The Muskox
As of this week, I’m a legal resident of the United States! I’m already sweating through all my shirts, and I don’t think I really needed all that free healthcare anyways. I think it’s appropriate to mark the occasion with a few reviews of American whiskies.
I’ll also state that this review is coming from a bit of a different point of view than usual for a bourbon at this level. I’m really a malts guy, and don’t find much time for bourbon. I couldn’t care less about BTAC hype, the secondary market, investing, speculations, allocations, lotteries, taters, or the state of American whiskey in general. I have no skin in the game.
I don’t have an enormous background of corn-based experience to compare this whiskey to, but I’m not really a neophyte either. I know what I like, and I’ve got lots of experience critically tasting whiskies. All of this is to say, I think you readers should decide for yourselves how useful this review is to each of you.
I know the label on the sample says 2008, but that’s a typo!
Distillery: Buffalo Trace.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Style/Region: Straight Bourbon / Kentucky.
Mash Bill: Buffalo Trace’s wheated mash bill.
ABV: 53.5%.
Age: 15 years. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: New charred oak barrels.
Nose: Deep and sweet. Lots of concentrated fruit – wine gums, orange marmalade, black cherries. Brown sugar and root beer. There’s a deep floral flavour – almost potpourri, or habanero peppers. Getting towards that bubblegum note people talk about with wheated bourbon. Some strong oak, waxed leather, and varnished furniture.
Palate: Thick and creamy texture, a fair bit of heat. Arrives with lots of rich dark fruit, browned butter, chocolate chips, and strong spicy cinnamon. There are also some brighter fruit notes of maraschino cherries, papaya, a little banana, and perhaps some mango. The oak comes in slowly and mustily(?), along with roasted nuts, grilled corn tortillas, strong cinnamon, dark chocolate, and loads of browned butter. A bit of a citrus tartness comes through too. Fragrant wet hay.
Finish: Very long, with that texture lingering. Melted butter and sugar syrup on pancakes. Bananas Foster and brown sugar. More fruit notes of sugared orange zest, Juicy Fruit gum, papaya, chocolate-covered strawberries, and hibiscus tea. Moderate oak, but soaked in cream. Slightly earthy.
Conclusion: This is excellent. I love the rich texture and long finish, but most of all I love the fruit! There’s a deep fragrant fruity/floral character here. I once tried Pappy 23, long ago, when I was too far gone to take any real notes – I don’t remember much, but I remember that fruitiness. Fantastic complexity too, even
I don’t really know how to rate this. It’s definitely one of the best bourbons I’ve tried. Probably not better than that one Four Roses OESF, but maybe ahead of everything else. I’m not confident in where the ceiling should be.
All in all, this whiskey hasn’t blown my mind, or converted me to bourbon from scotch, or heaven forbid, convince me to pay secondary prices. But judging it for what it is, I think it’s an excellent whisky and I’ll savour my opportunities to drink it.
Final Score: 87.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 