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Saturday, August 22, 2020

Daviess County Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished in French Oak Casks

VITALS:

- $45
- 96 Proof
- NAS
- Kentucky

With the recent Binny's barrel picks from Rebel and Ezra Brooks, I feel like I've been picking up a lot of Lux Row products lately. This was the first in that trend. I had seen these on the shelves for a while, but I frequently looked right past them. Then a friend recommended this French Oak Cask finished bourbon from Daviess County, giving it incredibly high praise. 

At that point I was left with no choice, really, but to make sure to pick one up the next time I was at the store. A glowing review paired with a moderate price made it an easy decision. He was not the only one, though. I bottled a sample for another friend, along with a bunch of other samples, and he made it a point to text me to tell me how much he liked this sample specifically.  And so, the stage is set. 

The nose had a light wood note to it. I don't know if that was just a placebo effect of knowing that this is a secondary wood-finished bourbon or not. But it was there, albeit light and inoffensive. I also got notes of cherry and vanilla, as well as a sweet popcorn note, kind of like kettle corn. It wasn't bold or pungent, but the aromas did mix very well together.

The texture was surprisingly viscous and buttery, given the proof. However, I didn't get that popcorn flavor I got off the nose. Rather, I found that this was very vanilla forward, and if that's your jam, then this is definitely worth trying.

On top of the vanilla I got a certain honey note along with a sweet wood note. In fact, at times it came across almost like a granola bar, with that sweet honey mixed with a nutty, cereal like note. In that sense the wood notes were on the sweeter side, as far as wood notes go.  I guess that's a way of saying it lacked that bitter bite or tannic quality that I sometimes get from a more oaky bourbon.

The sweetness carried throughout, and it was most noticeable on the finish. Due to the oily quality of the whiskey, the finish was nice and long, and it left my mouth with a nice, thick coating of sweet caramel, and more towards the end, a maple syrup note. This is where I would have liked it to be a bit more balanced, though. The syrupy sweetness, whether honey, maple syrup or just sweet vanilla, needed something earthy or even a touch of that wood note as a counter.

That being said, while this may not have been my favorite whiskey, others certainly have loved this. If you like your bourbon on the sweeter side, definitely give this a go!

Grade: B

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