Brian’s Lux Row Four Grain Double Barrel Bourbon Review:
reviewed 24-September-2023
LUX ROW FOUR GRAIN DOUBLE BARREL BOURBON REVIEW:
Lux Row Four Grain Double Barrel (Lux Row Four Grain) exhibits dry and earthy notes from the inital waft on through to the finish. Its herbal characteristics tend to dominate the pour’s dark fruit and spice although its dark sweetness matches well with the old oak and char. This unique pour may not be for everyone, and it will never find its way into an every day rotation, I am happy to recommend it to others.
LUX ROW FOUR GRAIN DOUBLE BARREL VITAL STATS:
Category: Double Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Region: Bardstown, KY
Distillery: Lux Row
DSP: KY-200044
Wheated Barrel Number: 8119640
Filled: 14-August-2018
Mash Bill 1: 51% corn, 45% wheat, 4% malted barley
Ryed Barrel Number: 8086595
Filled: 11-July-2018
Mash bill 2: 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley
Barrel Char: unpublished
Barrel entry proof: unpublished
Age: A single barrel of 4-year-old wheated bourbon and a single barrel of 4-year-old ryed bourbon
ABV: 57.5% (115 Proof)
NABCA CSC #: 19461
Price: $79.95 (Idaho, Summer 2023)
LUX ROW FOUR GRAIN DOUBLE BARREL
Lux Row Four Grain Double Barrel utilizes a ‘Double Single Barrel Mashbill’ which is a blend of two separate 4 year single barrels in one bottle. Master Distiller John Rempe (also known for his Blood Oath series) has hit a home run with this offering. This bottle of 4-grain bourbon combines a single barrel of ryed bourbon with a single barrel of wheated bourbon, a perfect and flavorful mix of the finest mashbills.
Learn more at Lux Row Distillers.
ENJOYMENT METHOD FOR THE REVIEW:
On Day 24 of the 2023 30 Bourbons in 30 Days Challenge, alternate pours, of about four once review amounts went into a Glencairn and a Weck. After posting on social media, my daughter and I enjoyed the bourbon neat as I prepared this review. About 30 minutes had gone by before my first sip.
LUX ROW FOUR GRAIN DOUBLE BARREL NOSE:
The first wafts of Lux Row Four Grain are dry and earthy with herbal, dusty grain, and hay. With deep draws, the ethanol comes out and the pour becomes vegetal, which somehow helps bring out dried dark fruits, like raisin and fig. Allspice, powdered ginger, and rye help balance the aromas, and as I take the glass away I smell lightly toasted wheat bread. With additional nosing I sense light vanilla, however the aroma is almost masked by nearly burnt sugar, and dark molasses with freshly hulled walnuts. Further nosing confirms dryness as the smoky char of dry old oak fades into musty potting soil.
LUX ROW FOUR GRAIN DOUBLE BARREL PALATE:
As I sip Lux Row Four Grain, the dry elements sensed on the nose come through. I get barrel tannins along with sherry and the same herbal, dusty grain, and hay. Mouthfuls are warm, almost hot as the ethanol spured by the alcohol’s proof spare with the pour’s vegetal nature. While not strong, I do taste a trace of tart apple along with dark fruits, and fig. Then flavors of cinnamon, ginger; and rye mix with rich vanilla, which help make the pour darkly sweet. Brown sugar, woody caramel, and dark molasses add depth to walnuts, dry old oak, char, somewhat acrid, but not off-putting smoke. And as sensed in the aroma, each sip has parting notes of earthy potting soil.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
For the most part I find Lux Row Four Grain reasonably balanced. Its flora, spice, sweets and woodiness blend well, and only the fruit notes are lacking. In the mouth, I find the liquid to be creamy, becoming more viscous the longer it is held, although small sips with a Kentucky Chew can be rough on the underside of the tongue. In the glass a thick inverted crown hangs with clinging droplets as it sits, and when sipped, the thick veil breaks slowly before draining in fat legs back to the tawny colored pool.
LUX ROW FOUR GRAIN DOUBLE BARREL FINISH
Lux Row Four Grain Double Barrel offers a medium, dry, throat warming finish. I sense barrel tannins, and the herbal, dusty, hay, and vegetal aftertaste found on the nose and taste buds. The few dark fruit notes do little to calm the slightly acidic bitterness I feel. Then a blend of cinnamon, ginger, and rye mixed in brown sugar, woody caramel, and dark molasses marry with dry, old oak and char..and when the last sips are gone, the empty Glencairn smells earthy, much like the empty pot from a plant recently replanted.
MY RATING: 89100
Will I buy this whiskey again? YES
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 89/100 to access other whiskies with this score.
To access other reviews from this brand, click Lux Row Distillers.
WHISKEY TRAITS, FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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