| One reads of "smooth" or "seamless" flavor. And then there is this eight-year-old Bourbon, constructed, so it seems, without even the mortar of oak between expertly fitted, hand-hewn blocks of flavor. Everything is so carefully, confidently balanced. Pity that some drinkers looking for glaring, blockbuster flavors might perceive some lack. In fact, most every desirable Bourbon flavor is here—but subtly so.
The nose, with water—what a nose!—shows a near-Armagnac level of integration between fruit and oak. (You know Bourbon is getting good when it compares to artisan French brandy in construction of flavor. The difference is, this Bourbon accomplishes at eight years what takes Armagnac twice as long.) The late, great Michael Jackson had a phrase he would use for a whiskey of this quality: a "dovetail" of aromas, in which every scent gets equal billing. There's a terrific little fruit aroma thing, somewhere between blueberry and black currant (and adding a few extra water molecules help bring it out). And on the tongue, rye spice is a sophisticated sprinkling across the polished notes of corn, clean oak and multi-hued fruit, as if the Iron Chef-master distiller took a pinch of rye between his fingers and sprinkled it over his finished dish.
Extra kudos are deserved of Drew Kulsveen at Willett for hooking me up with whiskeys like this. He and I share an affinity for the originating distiller of #375, and I thank him for it and moreover hope to drink with him a bottle of #375...an event for which I have no ulterior motive at all, I assure you.
Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, rye mash
Proof: 121.1º
Age: 8 Years
Size: 750 ml
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