Whisky Review #5 Woodford Reserve

For my fifth whisky review for my blog I am going to review Bourbon, not as classy as single malt by any means but bourbons do have their place.

The main difference between scotch and whisky is geographic, but also ingredients and spellings. Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, while bourbon is whiskey made in the U.S.A, generally Kentucky. Scotch is made mostly from malted barley, while bourbon is distilled from corn. I would most certainly frown upon you asking for ice if I served you a single malt in my house (well actually I would refuse cause how can you possible palate a single malt to appreciate it when your taste buds are numb, perhaps you would appreciate my parrots drinking water just as much if I added a little vodka…ok rant over) but bourbon does deserve some ice, I don’t agree too much with mixers such as cola although Jack Daniels is nice with coke. One of my favourites is Maple Jim Beam with ice. I am reviewing Labrot and Graham’s Woodford Reserve (distiller’s select) as I opened a bottle this weekend with company. It was Batch 121, bottle 2236 to be precise.

Woodford Reserve is a brand of premium small batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It is made from a mixture of pot still spirits distilled at the company's Woodford Reserve Distillery in Woodford County, in north-central Kentucky, and column still spirits from the Brown Forman Distillery in Shively, Kentucky. Each bottle is numbered with a batch number and bottle number. Woodford Reserve's alcohol content is 45.2% alcohol. I served this with lots of ice but I did the tasting notes on the raw sprit. The nose is quite thick and creamy. There are notes of honey and spice, leather, a touch of cocoa, a little smoke, toasty oak and vanilla cream with a hint of butterscotch. The palate is thick and full. There are notes of espresso beans, winter spice, cereal sweetness, plenty of rye, ground ginger, almond oil, toasty oak and a little rum. The finish is long and mature with notes of cereals and toasty oaken spice. Most people here in Scotland use the clichés JD and Jim Beam when drinking bourbon but this fellow is worth a try, perhaps slightly more expensive but shop around for a good price. It’s about £31 on amazon just now but try the stores for a better price, I have most certainly seen for under 30 quid. It comes in a lovely box too, easy to conceal on your book shelf so no one will ask for it when you have visitors :-) . Would make a lovely gift when wrapped in wrapping paper. Far classier than JD or JB and corked cap makes a lovely popping sound. The unique batch and bottle number does stand out too. I would recommend over the usual bourbons but if you are going to pay £30 for a Bourbon then why now splash out on a nice single malt instead? That’s my thoughts, yes the bourbon will last longer as you will use ice and (I hope not) a mixture but a nice malt to me will always triumph over any Bourbon.