Early Times Review Archives – Whiskey for the Ages

Brian’s Early Times Bottled-in-Bond Review:

reviewed 28-January-2022

EARLY TIMES BOTTLED-IN-BOND BOURBON REVIEW:

_{“I’m really tempted to add Early Times BiB to the [Advent Calendar] list, because I think everyone should try it.”
— Tom, BWE Member}

Early Times Bottled-in-Bond (ET BiB) is another from the Dec 2021 BWE Whiskey Advent Calendar and the Day 6 offering surprised many of us in the group. At $24.95 a liter it is a no-brainer to have in one’s bunker along side of Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. Both are great pours to close out an evening when just a wee bit more is needed.

While Early Times Bottled-in-Bond is considered by many to be a bottom shelf bourbon, do not pass it by. The aromas are remarkable with light and sweet complexities. And while the taste doesn’t quite follow with what the nose hints, the dried fruits, bittersweet chocolate, dark sweets, barrel spice and char make this a nice pour. And like our BWE member suggested, ET BiB should be in everyone’s bar or bunker.

EARLY TIMES BOTTLED-IN-BOND VITAL STATS:

Category: Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
Region: Louisville, KY
Distillery: Barton 1792 Distillery
Company: Sazerac Co., New Orleans, LA.
Mash Bill: 79% corn, 11% rye, 10% malted barley
Barrel Char: unpublished
Barrel entry proof: unpublished
Age: nas, minimum of four years in new charred oak barrels
ABV: 50% (100 Proof)
NABCA CSC #: 16086
Size: 1000ML
Price: $24.95 (Dec 2021, Idaho)

Learn more at Early Times Bottled in Bond.

ENJOYMENT METHOD FOR THE REVIEW:

Alternate pours, equaling about four ounces, were added into two Glencairns. My daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah and I enjoyed the bourbon neat for this review.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

EARLY TIMES BOTTLED-IN-BOND NOSE:

Even before ET BiB is brought to my nose I sense fruit tree blossoms and sweet corn silk floating on a warm early summer breeze. As I nose I get berries and apricots blended with allspice and white pepper. The aroma is somewhat bready but lighter, like a buttery caramelized maple sugar glazed breakfast pastry, sparingly filled with a light compote of apples, finely chopped pecans and cinnamon. I also smell a hint of milk chocolate and rich vanilla making this a delightful treat. This gentle aroma rounded by dry tooled leather, air seasoned and then toasted oak.

EARLY TIMES BOTTLED-IN-BOND PALATE:

The first sip of ET BiB is warm with subtle flavors of sun-dried field corn and dusty grain. Dark dried apples, stale raisins, and figs dusted with toasted cinnamon, pepper and rye replace the light fruit aromas. The dark tones continue with flavors of bittersweet chocolate, dark vanilla, burnt caramel and dark molasses drizzled over toasted hazelnuts. The added depth is enhanced by notes of old leather, strong oak, barrel spice and char.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
While ET BiB is gentle, the aromas and flavors do not quite match one another. I get a light sweetness on the nose and dark depth on the palate. Still, the pour is soft, mellow and smooth in the mouth, and quite easy to hold. However, with an aggressive chew, ET BiB can give a bit of a bite. After each nosing and sip, long clinging legs return the liquid to a darkened terracotta pot colored pool, leaving behind a long lasting crown of clinging droplets.

EARLY TIMES BOTTLED-IN-BOND FINISH:

Early Times Bottled-in-Bond has a medium-long to long finish without many flavors. I sense dry grain and warming black pepper. There is a touch of sweet, which to me comes across as burnt caramel and dark molasses, but it is the wood spice and barrel char which seems most prevalent. And when the final drops are gone, the aroma of barnyard earth and sweet oak waft from the empty Glencairn. All-in-all, this is a good bourbon at a great price and one I am happy to have on my shelf.

MY RATING: 86/100

Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
_{Click to read Brian’s scoring process.}

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WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:

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Hannah’s Early Times Bottled in Bond Review

Original review written January 28, 2022

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Early Times Bottled in Bond will easily move into the daily sippers rotation. It’s inexpensive; you get it by the liter; it’s bottled in bond… could I ask for more? 90/100

VITALS:

– Made In: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Early Times Distillery Co.
– Company: Sazerac Co., New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Age: nas; minimum of four years in new charred oak barrels
– Mash Bill: Corn=79%; Rye=10%; Malted Barley=10%
– Casks: undisclosed char
– Barrel Entry Proof: unpublished
– ABV: 50% (100 proof – Bottled in Bond)
– Size: 1 liter
– Price: $24.95 USD in Idaho in 2021

Visit earlytimesbottledinbond.com for more information

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I enjoyed this spirit neat from a Glencairn glass with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

Picture Small Town America, early morning, fresh air, and mountains. Maybe the road in front of the little bed n’ breakfast is paved; maybe it isn’t. The roads are empty all the same, and the town is barely starting to stir with lights in gas stations and restaurants turning on to greet the new day. Early Times BiB is warm, deep, and rich and will match the crisp morning air perfectly and make each breath in the lungs that much richer. Early Times for an early morning.

Photo taken by Hannah Dawson in Custer, Wyoming

NOSE:

Initial inhales are noticeably sweet with fig, brown sugar, caramel, and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg hitting the nose. There’s even a crushed nut (pecan?) component that makes the aforementioned scents seem buttery, if not also syrupy. The glass has not even fully warmed up yet, so I’m already impressed with the intensity of aromas here. It truly smells like a dark stone fruit preserve, ready to be smeared on a pastry. It’s a rich and deep smell, despite perhaps not being the most complex. Each aroma goes on and on, surrounded by a dusty grain and a very mild cedar essence. It’s the kind of nose that I don’t even want to bother writing for. I just want to sip.

Even though this pour is 100 proof, it does not come across that high on the nose at all. Deep inhales barely pull much more than a tingle of bite; it’s just full and inviting without interest in appearing aggressive.

PALATE:

– Mouth Feel: Raspy and full-bodied. The wood and bitter makes it impossible to not feel every drop with its oiliness.
– Balance: Solid. While the bitterness does sit a little forward, the quick chase of sweet to cleanse the palate, along with a woody foundation, makes it all work.
– Visual: Terracotta in color, this leaves behind a perfect, continuous crown. The legs aren’t quite so viscous, but they are evenly spaced and fall fairly slow.

– Taste: Apples, brown sugar and raw nutmeg cross the palate first, immediately drawing up the image of baked apples spruced up for both a touch of bitter and sweet. The nuts from the nose are here also, with the flavor most similar to pecans; however, the buttery-ness and slight bitterness isn’t too different from walnuts. There’s also a greater grain content on the palate than there was on the nose, contributing to some of the texture of the mouth feel and making it a bit raspier. With some searching, I can also find bitter molasses, with just a hint of sweetness making full circle to the original apple and brown sugar flavors.

Wood is in much greater quantity here on the palate. Gone is the cedar, replaced by oak – oak new and fresh enough, I practically feel myself chewing on wood chips. This grows in intensity, especially as the whiskey moves to the back of the palate. While I normally prefer sweetness over wood in my bourbons, this is growing on me considerably, and I find myself looking forward to each sip more than the last.

The alcohol is still incredibly mild, as it was on the nose. With a Kentucky chew, I find pastry, more oak, more molasses and suddenly some baking chocolate chips. Everything about this whiskey screams like it wants to be bitter, but it changes its mind at the last second to be almost sweet. In this way, I find it quite entertaining.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Medium to long. I have warmth sitting at the very back of my palate, but there is not much flavor here to keep the warmth alive too, too long.
– Between Sips: What is here between sips, is almost entirely oak wood chips after being soaked in water. It’s a familiar flavor for a bourbon, so much so, that it’s rewarding to find it.

– No More: This stays consistent as I go further into the glass. If anything, the wood components emerge more and the bitter notes dissipate slightly, but they do not disappear. The follow up of sweet is still present also, if not partially subdued. Overall, I’m impressed and pleased.

The empty Glencairn actually almost smells… like root beer? There is a mix of smoky barrel char to mix with the sweet, and while this may not be my favorite part of this bourbon, it’s still a solid finish to a really impressive pour.

WORTH THE PRICE?

Under $30 USD for a whole liter? And it tastes rich and deep? Of course it’s worth it – keep it on hand always! This may even contend for my personal “Best Value Bourbon” right along with Eagle Rare.

EARLY TIMES BOTTLED IN BOND REVIEW RATING: 90/100

Click to see Hannah’s rating process

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