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I was given a sample of this slightly older bottling a little while ago by MvZ. Originally this was a € 20 bourbon or so, but since it’s older and since bourbon prices are going insane, it is now for sale in The Netherlands for € 224. It’s a product from Buffalo Trace distillery and that elevates my expectations slightly, since I generally like what they produce. Honestly, having some (not a tremendous amount) of experience with dusty bourbons like this, I think this is performing at a below average level.

Second of all, it’s bottled by the Thompson Brothers of Dornoch, Scotland. It is a cognac, but instead of being bottled in that region of France, it was transported to Scotland before being bottled, hence ‘brandy’. Swallow: A warming finish with lots of raisins, old oak and a dry texture. when it can’t be bottled as Cognac, it seems to push prices down a little bit, like with this one.

and I didn’t write these notes on my phone for easy copy-pasting… Sniff: Stewed strawberries and rhubarb, with old, wet oak behind it. Lots of red fruits and that old oak that I often find in port casks. It doesn’t leave much room for the whisky, which again is typical for a lot of port casks. While this whisky doesn’t give the spirit any more room, it’s slightly less singular on the cask’s former contents.

Of course, having been drinking whisky for the better part of two decades a lot of the entry level bourbons are familiar, so I skipped that step. But, with random shops offering random stuff all across the country, and auctions sometimes having acceptable prices, my collection of American whisky has grown rather quickly over the last six months. I don’t necessarily prefer high proof, but I do think it offers a different perspective on what many Europeans still think of as an inferior type of whisky. This one is a lot easier to find and is available in The Netherlands for around € 100 While these drams are definitely not whiskies to start an evening with, they sure are a good way to end them!