Buffalo Trace

I bought this on a whim about a month ago when I visited one of the few stores in this country that carry bourbon. It was cheap, supposedly quite good, and it came recommended by the shop keep. I figured I’d go for it. I’ve recently fallen in love with bourbon, and I wanted to seek out a new everyday sipper for my shelf. It was an impulse buy, to be sure, but not one that I would come to regret…

Nose: Oak first, then mint, then cherry cola, with a sweetness somewhere between dark honey and maple. Hints of spice. A straight-forward and respectable bourbon nose.

Palate: Creamy arrival, but medium bodied. Burnt vanilla, oak, honey, maple, coconut, red licorice, and cherry cola. Nice spices here.

Finish: A semi-dry finish with cherry cola, mint, coconut, red licorice, and spices that loom for a while before gently fading. Medium length, with lingering oak.

The flavours are wonderfully consistent throughout this dram, and some of the lovely notes that greet us at the nose stay present right through the finish. There’s good balance here, as well as a bit of kick. This isn’t particularly heavy bourbon at 45%, so my instinct is to drink it neat. However, I do find a couple drops of water makes a world of difference in opening it up.

So, yup… this has replaced my previous everyday bourbon sipper, Knob Creek. Why? One, because I prefer the mash bill here. I get more rye from this and more general balance. Two, because it’s thinner. No, it’s not thin. But it is thinner than my previous sipper. I know; that’s usually cause for complaint, not praise. But while thick, mouth-coating, syrup-like bourbon may be great from time to time, I prefer something a little less substantial for casual sipping. And this is the ultimate casual sipper; the embodiment of a medium bodied, non-premium, quality bourbon. It isn’t going to rock your world. But it’s very pleasant, reasonably complex, straight-forward, distinctive, and affordable.

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