Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey

When I first started branching out with my bourbons, looking for better quality than whatever I had been mixing with Coke up to that point, someone had recommended Breckenridge Bourbon to me. However, in wanting to taste the best of what that bourbon has to offer, I focused more on the well-established distilleries and the local craft distilleries. Finally, though, my wife brought a bottle home for me the other day and I got a chance to give this one a go, and I've been missing out.

Although I don't usually do so, I feel the bottle itself is worth commenting on. That's only because on the back it has a sweet printing of the ski slopes at Breckenridge, a place that I'm particularly fond of and can't wait to get back to, making this a winner in my book before I even took a sip.

As to the juice itself, this comes across as a very crisp and clean bourbon. It initially comes across as mildly sweet, tasting like brown sugar and vanilla bean, with very minimal burn at only 86 proof. It had a light oakiness that balanced well with the sweeter flavors.

Despite coming across initially as a crisp and watery bourbon, it had an oily finish that left a distinct cinnamon flavor on my tongue. It was enjoyable, but nothing to write home to mom about.

However, a couple pours into the bottle (though not necessarily in the same night), the flavor only improved, getting a bit sweeter, a little bit smoother and very enjoyable! The vanilla and caramel notes really came through and the wood tones faded out.

In the end, this is one of the best non-Kentucky bourbons that I've had. I finished the bottle much faster than I really wanted to, which to me is the best sign of a good bourbon.  I would recommend this to anyone, whether to someone new to bourbon or someone who loves their bourbon but may hasn't had this one yet.

Grade: B+