Thursday, February 21, 2013

Woodford Reserve... Fantastic Voyage

By Matt Adams

First off. This blog started out as a personal journey with bourbon and has now become a voyage with my cousin! He's buying into the search for the best of the best with me and now we're taking this son of a bitch head on together. Not only does this make more sense financially, but it's giving us more opportunities to try twice as many spirits. I also need to get this off my chest... Keith, the Breckenridge you brought over is in the shelf with all the weird schnapps and liquors for mixers. It will probably be living a long life up there in the dust bowl of drinking. If anyone ever wants to try some paint thinner, come on over! You can chase it with some nasty apple liqour that's right behind this bottle in my cupboard.

Onto the good stuff. 


Woodford Reserve
http://www.woodfordreserve.com/

Last time Keith came up he brought over a bottle of Woodford and I went back to the liquor store and bought that Four Roses I passed on for the under $20 reviews. I'll get to that one in another post because I've only gone back to that one twice since having the official bourbon of the Kentuky Derby in the house. As for the smell or the "nose" for you snobs out there. You get a kick ass whiff of oranges, really deep cinnamon and almost a sweet pipe tobacco smell. It's a great combination of rich sweet goodness. Up front on the taste it's HOT and I'm not really comfortable with the burn. Once the finish comes on, it's worth it. It's a very complex sweetness with a lot of fruit and spice that I was waiting for when I smelled the shit. The oak in Woodford is really subtle compared to a Hudson Baby Bourbon or even the Rowan's Creek where you're hit with Oak at all times. I wasn't going to stick with this bourbon because I didn't like the burn on the front. The damn trick on the Woodford for me is to cut the burn with a splash of water when I ice it. I've been enjoying this one along side Makers Mark with the trick in place! It might be a cheat, but it's becoming one of my favorites. You know what. I'm also going to establish something right here and the pure reviewers out there might scoff at me, but I've learned a valuable lesson with Woodford. If you don't like something about a bourbon, try to fix it and you might like it better. Not everything needs to be enjoyed neat. I've also learned to enjoy bourbon with a little lemon or orange slice in it. In coffee tasting they pair food with certain beans to bring out the flavors and you can do the same with bourbon. Some might like the heat, but MY ass out the kitchen and on a mission with a splash of water in the Woodford. Fantastic Voyage and a good one to pick up.


Taste: Oranges, cinnamon, pipe tobacco. 
Price: $25-$30
Purchase Again: Yes

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