My wife and I went to Kentucky for Railbird music festival this summer. On a whim and knowing nothing we decided to make a Sunday morning trip to Buffalo Trace Distillery. I know nothing about bourbon except I like to drink it. While in line our neighbors let us know about the allocated bottle system and we were intrigued. I’ve had standard BT and Blanton’s fairly often (a friend always has a bottle on hand) so I knew what we were in for. We happened to be there on an EH Taylor day and took a great tour. While in line to check out we happened to be handed a bottle of Weller’s by a nice lady with a cart, I only got one and am still kicking myself for not grabbing another. We got excited that the probability of getting two bottles of Blanton’s would be possible so we came back the next day. Sure enough it was Blanton’s. Here is my first shot a bourbon review. Rested for 10 minutes in a tulip beer glass from my local brewery (closest thing I have to a glencairn).

Age: NAS, dumped 5/3/24, Warehouse H, Rick 110

Proof: 93

Price: $63

Nose: Ethanol/rubbing alcohol, light brown sugar, a little oak.

Palate: Sweet Corn, light oak, leather, bitter dark chocolate.

Finish: Smooth and almost no burn. A light oaky flavor lingers but not for long. Sweet cherry and fresh cut grass finish.

Conclusion: Honestly, a little disappointed. I bought two bottles at MSRP and will most likely break this out for people that like bourbon and might get something from the hype. Overall a decent drinking bourbon neat, but kinda boring. Am I wrong? Is my palate worthless? Should I quit now?

Rating: 5 - t8ke scale

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists. 

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfect