Jefferson Reserve Bourbon Review

Hannah’s Jefferson Reserve Bourbon Review

Original review was written on November 21, 2019

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Not sure if the bottle purchased is an accurate representation of what this bourbon can/could be, but if our bottle’s offering was standard in taste, I’m not impressed. 58/100

VITALS:
Jefferson Reserve Bourbon Review

– Made in: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Kentucky Artisan Distillery (KAD). Castle Brands has a 20% stake in KAD
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Small Batch
– Age: nas
– Mash Bill: undisclosed; believed to be high rye
– Casks: undisclosed char
– Barrel Entry Proof: undisclosed
– Batch #360; Bottle #05070
– ABV: 45.1% (90.2 proof)
– Price: $46.95 USD in Idaho

Visit jeffersonsbourbon.com for more information

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

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

Check out his review for this bourbon here!

SETTING:

For this, I imagine standing on a small plot of land where tall herbs tickle the hips and palms of outstretched hands. The wind creates a playful rustle in the herb stalks, bathing you in the bright, floral scents of your small garden.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

NOSE:

Smells very oaky and caramelly on the first draw. Brown sugar and other syrups join in, even when my nose is far from the dram. On deeper breaths, I get the ethanol bite of alcohol. Overall, this smells like something one with a love of candied bourbons would enjoy, but this is far too sweet for me. Not to mention that there also seem to be undertones of a medicinal herb-quality that I catch traces of every now and again. Not looking for a doctor’s visit here, but okay.

Nevertheless, the nose is favorite aspect of this bourbon.

PALATE:
Jefferson Reserve Bourbon Review

– Mouth Feel: Tingly and a bit sharp
– Balance: Unbalanced – I feel as though there is a battle of sour and bitter here…
– Visual: No crown, but long legs; tawny color

– Taste: The herbs from the nose are carried in unfortunately in an even more dominant way than before. The herb in question I would say, is lavender, and it has uplifting qualities just at the end of the sip. This kick almost seems to give the bourbon a… bubbly feel? Like it’s carbonated? Not a fan.

The aftertaste of the lavender sticks around between sips also, which I’m not thrilled about.

Taking larger sips to coax out other flavors (like the sickly sweet sugar I’m suddenly craving) only brings more of the same lavender to the palate, maybe with a sprinkle of lemon zest.

With a Kentucky chew, the alcohol finally appears in all its burning glory, only to be overtaken by the bright and happy lavender and lemon, like it’s meant to cheer you up.

I guess I like my bourbons a bit dark, sarcastic and sinister.

FINISH:

– Lasting Power: Medium. I can feel the warmth in my throat. And the aftertaste, I’m pretty sure, is tattooed into my tongue.

– No More: As I keep sipping, taking the same volume of sips each time, the alcohol kick is unpredictable and wild, causing me to uncharacteristically cough a couple of times. At only 90 proof, this should not be happening.

Towards the bottom of the glass, the flavors begin to mellow out, but the lavender and lemon are still the overriding flavors.

Hard to tell what the empty Glencairn smells like. I guess a soft wood? Eventually, it becomes a bit more intense, but a sudden resurgence of caramel from the original nose turns the glass a bit sickly once again.

WORTH THE PRICE?

No

RATING: 58/100

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Jefferson’s Reserve Review

Brian’s Jefferson’s Reserve Review:

written on 19-January-2019

JEFFERSON’S RESERVE REVIEW:

Jefferson’s Reserve is a bigger, higher proof brother to Castle Brands’ Jefferson’s Very Small Batch. Its promise of sweet freshness detected on the nose betrayed what I was to pick up on the tongue. A strong nutmeg aftertaste lingers. While this bourbon is not unpleasant, it does not compare with my favorites.

JEFFERSON’S RESERVE VITAL STATS
Jefferson's Reserve Review

– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
– Distillery: Kentucky Artisan Distillery (KAD) … Castle Brands (as of early 2019 Castle Brands has a 20% ownership stake in KAD)
– Mash bill: unknown; believed to be high Rye
– Age: NAS
– ABV: 45.1% (90.2 Proof)
– Batch #: 360
– Bottle #: 05070
– Price: $47.95 USD in Idaho

Per the company’s website, Jefferson’s Reserve is a blend of up to four sourced new and aged bourbons from established distilleries finished with “… some old-fashioned experimenting …”

See more at Kentucky Artisan Distillery Brands.

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

For the evaluation, I shared the juice neat from Glencairn glasses with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

NOSE:

The nose has no detectable alcohol and is gentle and subtle . An aroma of fresh shucked sweet corn combined with fresh picked apples. A faint caramel sweetness dissipated nicely into fresh whipped cream.

PALATE:

The sweet freshness detected on the nose does not pass through to the tongue. A bold and surprising essence of cloviness gave way to nutmeg, which caught me off-guard. This bottle of Jefferson’s Reserve was a briny cinnamon apple. Its toffee and bittersweet chocolatiness mixed with a hint of pepper and barrel spice. This bourbon had no burn, but was warming with an oh-so-subtle piney woodiness.

Jefferson's Reserve Review

Balance, Body, Feel, and Look:
Jefferson’s Reserve is not full-bodied but creamy, and melts away in ones mouth. Its short legs clung in the Glencairn then as droplets fall back into the tawny bowl.

FINISH:

The finish was medium-long and dry. The clovi-nutmeg spiciness sensed on the palate, while not unpleasant, lingered extra long in the back of my mouth and tongue after the dram was swallowed. I felt as though a cleanse with a sweeter bourbon was needed to cut away the blend of baking spices.

MY RATING: 60/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? No
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.

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