Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; No Age Statement; 45% ABV; $17 (375ml)
Nose: Smells like a typical middle aged bourbon only with a jolt of extra spice. A little bit of wood, a little bit of sweet, and a lot of menthol/eucalyptus/cinnamon notes. Overall it's a bit thin on aromas with the hot spiciness being the major player.
Taste: The palate is some honey and sugary sweets. Again, not a ton of wood influence, about what you'd expect for 6-7ish years old. Like the nose the finish brings in a wallop of spicy notes. Peppermint comes to mind as the predominant flavor. Most of the flavors fad rather fast minus that spicy note and on the whole I find it rather thin on taste.
Thoughts: I can't take credit for this but a better name for this "Three Roses". Bulleit's contract distilling relationship with Four Roses ended a few years ago and while there's no telling what Kentucky distilleries this came from, there's a good chance that given the age here this was likely still made by Four Roses. I keep bringing this up because time and time remains when I taste a Bulleit bourbon I can't help but think it tastes like an inferior version of a Four Roses product. Having said that, it's a perfectly okay and serviceable bourbon; one that I won't complain about falling back upon due the lack of better choices. And that's about the only great thing this has going for it - no matter where I am, I can usually count on this being behind the bar.
Rating: C-
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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