Bourbon night - the #MiniTasting gang take on 3 bourbons and suggest a playlist ala @thisismydram
Here are our thoughts:
| Dram | Four Roses Small batch | Wild Turkey 101 | Jim Beam Booker's True Barrel Bourbon (Batch 2017 -01E) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 45% ABV | 50.5% ABV | 62.7% ABV | |
| Distillery info | If you’ve ever wanted proof that mingling Bourbons is an art unto itself, you’ll find it in this perfectly balanced, small batch Bourbon. Four original Bourbon recipes have been expertly selected by our Master Distiller at the peak of maturation to create this very mellow and perfectly balanced Bourbon. Nose: Mellow spice, rich fruit, hints of sweet oak & caramel. Palate: Mellow, ripened red berries, dried spice, well-balanced, rich. Finish: Soft, smooth & pleasantly long. | For more than 60 years, legendary Master Distiller Jimmy Russell has been crafting Wild Turkey 101 the right way. With a high rye content, this iconic bourbon is perfectly aged in American White Oak barrels with the deepest char for more character. | Color: Our darkest and deepest amber and henna color. Aroma: Robust vanilla and caramel notes; slightly smoky. Finish: Long and full; perfect for easy going sipping. Mash bill of 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% barley 41% came from the 6th floor of the 9 story warehouse E 13% came from the 6th floor of the 9 story warehouse H 46% came from the 7th floor of the 9 story warehouse D | |
| Appearance |  | |||
| A lovely dark gold in the glass, twirls leave a lovely ring of tiny beads which eventually fall as slow fat legs, Initial nose is vanilla toffee! | Another lovely dark gold colour, swirls stick to the glass and fall as slow fat legs. Initial nose: peppery honey | Another dark gold coloured dram, gravity defying swirls lead to an inverted crown of beads falling slowly as thin legs - beautiful! | ||
| Nose | Brian | Loads of toffee and vanilla as expected from a #bourbon but this has an added layer of complexity - red fruit, sawdust, polish and an interesting orange note - yummy! | Loads of peppery spice, a little vanilla and toffee. Getting a little apple on this one too. There's also some brown sugar and sawdust notes in here. | ABV hits you immediately but it's not like the previous two - dryer as John suggests. Loads of icing sugar, a sour citrus note and some cashew nuts? With a little water - oak jumps out more - a little red fruit. |
| John | Rich gold in colour, big beading and reasonably slow legs… Initial nose is a rich vanilla ice cream with a little bit of wood spice | Another one that is rich gold in colour, small beads and very slow legs on this one… This is much less sweet that the Four Roses on the nose… something a touch floral and more dunnage, earthy and grain… | This one is slightly darker than the previous two, small beads and reasonably quick legs… The nose is altogether dryer than the previous two, but closer to the @WildTurkey than the @4RosesBourbon… this might be my favourite nose of the night. The menthol is there, something a little minty! | |
| Paul | Wood - Polished Wood, lots of grain notes and abit of fruitiness. Creamy vanilla | This seems a bit more restrained to me. Definite vanilla, some wood but not as much as the 4 Roses. Lots of grain, toffee. | Malty, menthol? The wood and vanilla is there of course, Fruity - remind me alittle of chewits | |
| Scott | Gold, thick oily legs, ooh err Vanilla cream, fruity preserves like marmalade or lemon curd, cask char and wood shavings - I get the sawdust too, almost like a sawmill! | Gold in colour, thin but slow legs ooh err Spicy and spirity, vanilla as per for a bourbon, charred oak casks and some honey on toast | Apparently for export only, this @JimBeam Bookers is copper/gold in colour and has thin, weedy fast moving legs. No ooh err this time. Find it quite closed, dry, hint of vanilla and cask char. Definite bourbon and yes agree with Paul on the menthol & mint. Menthol shaving cream anyone? | |
| Palate | Brian | Thick syrupy arrival, lots of wood spice, honey and that orange note from the nose. Yeah - like the grapefruit note - it's got a slightly sour edge to it - nice! After a few sips the spice calms a little, there's a bit more of the red fruit from the nose and an icing sugar dryness. | Another thick syrupy arrival, not as spicy as the nose suggests initially but quite sweet instead. There's a citrus note and more of the brown sugar before the wave of spice and dryness takes over. The ABV comes across well on this one - yummy! | Wow - ABV hits you straight away, there's a lot of spice and sweetness here - orange, brown sugar. I think this needs a little water to open it up. with a little water - more citrus notes - sour grapefruit and some chocolate |
| John | Quite a soft arrival, I must admit this one had been open for a while so may have lost a little of its initial bite. The wood spices are there and it’s a little drying… The grapefruit is a good shout mate - that little bit of sour/sharp/citrus. | Really coats the palate well, the higher ABV really helps to carry this one - getting buttery toasted teacakes and something slightly sour too… lovely stuff 😋 | I think this initially hides the ABV very well… it’s such a well mannered arrival - then it builds and grows towards the finish, very warming… | |
| Paul | Again more wood, a big splodge of vanilla! Fruit is still there, bit of grapefruit. I think it gives on the palate what it gave on the nose really. | Vanilla, charred cask, wood spices, cinnamon, bitter toffee. Grain, more barley in this? The abv helps it alot but its all a bit more restrained and "smoother" | Oh! I like this one! Wood spice, sweet, very sweet. Cherry, lots of red fruit. Plenty of wood and vanilla. Still getting a distant minty note. Its already my favorite. The abv is helping it hugely. | |
| Scott | Understated arrival, honey with added wood spice, gains a bit of a sour element midway through. Limes? | Spicy, woody arrival with some golden syrup. some sawdust notes too. Salted caramel, buttery, hides the ABV well | Would never guess this is >60% abv. Clean, fresh arrival, building in spice towards the mid palate. Chewy treacle toffee moving towards drying oak as it leaves | |
| Finish | Brian | There a lovely spice note - slightly sour citrus - and drying. Lovely dram - nice start to the evening! | Loads of spice, warming, a little orange and honey. Very drying with a little sour note to end - lovely dram! | Big kick of ginger spice, icing sugar dryness and that sour citrus note from the palate. But it needs going for a long while - warming you up from inside. |
| John | There is a lovely soft warmth in the finish, again a little drying and the wood spices make a return - this is very nice 😊 | Warm and reassuring in the finish, the sour is more evident and a little spice too | This has a powerful finish, big ABV kick at the end, very drying and hangs around! | |
| Paul | Vanilla and wood spice, bitter toffee. Long finish in my opinion, the spice stays there for a while. Overall. I like it, it seems to me like an "everyday" sipper. Im not sure id go for a bottle, but id buy a dram or two of that. | Wood, bit of wood spice, oats? Nice finish! But not as "punchy" as the 4 Roses. O. Same again I think, hides its abv well. Nice stuff, enjoying it, but dont think id go for a bottle, just a dram or two. | The red fruits, vanilla and abit of wood spice stay with you. Finishing with slight wood spice and that minty sweet note. O. Its great! Would buy a bottle! Where can i get it? How much is it? | |
| Scott | The finish is more woody, like freshly planed wood. Sour grapefruit, lemon and lime with some icing sugar dryness flung in for good measure | More cask char, pepper, warming, mellow even..surprised by this one. | Spicy sandalwood or cedar at the end, little sour grapefruit but not as much as the last two. | |
| Overall | Brian | Interesting - I think I prefer the @WildTurkeyUK over the @4RosesBourbon - I think the extra ABV just gives it an edge. #EveryPalateIsDifferent | I'll rate them in reverse order of tasting @JimBeam Bookers, @WildTurkeyUK 101 and @4RosesBourbon Small batch - all nice though! | |
| John | A very good start to the evening, I don’t know much about #bourbon but I’m trying to learn… glad I liberated what was left of this from my Dads. Since sending out the #dramples to the guys it didn’t take me long to finish the bottle off 😉 | This was a bit of an impulse buy when I knew we were doing a Bourbon Night - have to say I’m not sorry… been enjoying this in contrast to my usual Scotch whiskies. | I didn't bother with any water... because I'm big and bad 😉 hard to pick a favourite as they were all really good... but pushed for an order I'll go @WildTurkey, @JimBeam #BookersBourbon, @4RosesBourbon but I'd happily drink any of them. | |
| Paul | Not massively complex or anything, but good for what it is. | My favorite by far was the @JimBeam Bookers, then 4 Roses and lastly Wild Turkey. 🤠👍 | ||
| Scott | Nice sipper again, think I preferred the @4RosesBourbon though | This stuff showed me that all bourbon isn't just sickly sweet vanilla filled stuff for dunking coke in. Saying that it makes a stonker of an #oldfashioned | ||
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| Photo: Scott |
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| Photo: John |
So all the way through the evening we shared a playlist of 'appropriate' songs - here they are:
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