You may have read our take here already—if you stumble upon flavored scotch, the very best thing to do is keep moving. But, just like whatever else in this eccentric and unforeseeable world, there’s constantly an exception to the guideline. And one such abnormality is available in the form of the brand-new honey-infused bourbon from Texas distillery Garrison Brothers.
Garrison Brothers is a little Texas distillery that holds the title of being the very first legal scotch maker to run in the state given that Prohibition. The bourbon coming out of this distillery in Hye, about an hour beyond Austin, can be explained utilizing some traditional Texas stereotypes—vibrant, bold, and huge in taste. The folks at Garrison credit this to the specific environment in which the scotch develops, with hot days and cool nights that quickly speed up the interaction in between scotch and wood. Add to that the truth that the distillery utilizes smaller sized barrels in addition to routine 53-gallon ones, something that not every scotch drinker is a fan of—however it occurs to operate in this case. There are yearly limited-edition releases in addition to the core Small Batch expression, like the Cowboy Bourbon which we’ve covered here prior to.
Which brings us to Lady Bird, a straight bourbon that has actually been instilled with honey and ended up in a cognac cask. This is sort of descendant of the Garrison Brothers HoneyDew release, however with a significant distinction. The information are as follows—the scotch is aged for 4 years in brand-new charred American oak prior to being instilled with Burleson’s Texas Wildflower Honey and delegated socialize for another 8 months. Then the scotch enters into French oak XO Cognac casks for an extra 3 years (truly more of a secondary maturation than a surface, although the terms are practically utilized interchangeably nowadays). Finally, it’s bottled at 114 evidence.
Lady Bird is a flavored scotch you will really wish to consume, whether it’s cool or in a mixed drink. If you’ve attempted honey-flavored scotch prior to, or perhaps honey barrel-aged scotch, you may be anticipating a quite strong dosage of that taste to strike you on the taste buds. But the impact here is subtler, which is most likely due to the strength of Garrison Brothers’ bourbon to begin with and the prolonged secondary maturation in Cognac casks. Yes, there is a honey note on the taste buds, however that intermingles with dirty oak, leather, newly charred vanilla, rum-soaked raisins, and some baking spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. This bourbon will amp up your Old Fashioned video game, or produce a good sipper tamed with a big ice if the evidence appears too extreme.
If you purchase a bottle, $5 will go to benefit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, which is as Texas a name for an organization as they come. The scotch is a quite restricted release with less than 6,000 bottles out there (SRP $180). True, this is not going to be for everybody, specifically those who much like their traditional bourbons, which is an absolutely easy to understand thing to like. But if you’re feeling daring, offer this a shot. And if you’ve been keeping it safe with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey or Jim Beam Honey and are all set to branch off, this bourbon may simply alter your entire scotch video game.
Score: 87
- 100: Worth trading your very first born for
- 95 – 99 In the Pantheon: A prize for the cabinet
- 90 – 94 Great: An ecstatic nod from good friends when you put them a dram
- 85 – 89 Very Good: Delicious enough to purchase, however not rather unique adequate to chase after on the secondary market
- 80 – 84 Good: More of your daily drinker, strong and trusted
- Below 80 It’s alright: Honestly, we most likely won’t lose your time and ours with this
Every week Jonah Flicker tastes the most buzzworthy and intriguing scotches on the planet. Check back each Friday for his latest evaluation.
