Fox & Oden Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 3

VITALS:
- $80

- 99 Proof

- 8-15 years

- Batch No. 3

- Indiana

I knew nothing about this bottle when it hit the shelves around here, and I hadn't even heard of Fox & Oden. Perhaps that's because the first two batches were Michigan-only releases.  I'm not sure if that's due to distribution issues or by choice, but it is what it is. Not only was this a new product on the shelves, but it's a 8-15 year blend of MGP bourbon. While the bottle does not indicate the percentages of the blend, I was still intrigued at the age on this whiskey.

I did some preliminary research, and the reviews all seemed positive, so, my interest piqued, I decided to go ahead and grab a bottle and give it a try. On the first sip, I knew it was a good bottle and I was satisfied with my purchase. After a few weeks, though, this bottle really opened up and turned into something fantastic, something that I couldn't keep my paws off of!

The nose carried all of those traditional bourbon notes, with rich vanilla and sweet caramel. It had a bit of a dark cherry note as well, though it was subtle. There was also an herbal note that stood out. I couldn't quite place my finger on what it is I was getting, but it was almost like thyme. It sounds weird, but I actually really enjoyed that note.

The flavor was a great combination of sweet and spice. The sweet came in the form of salted caramel and vanilla bean. That vanilla been really seemed to come forward more and more the longer this bottle remained open. I even got notes of milk chocolate, again which became more noticeable the longer this bottle was open.

The spice was very much a cinnamon stick type of spice. It wasn't sweet like cinnamon candy, and it didn't have that peppery spice that I get. Rather, it was more of a woody type of cinnamon spice that went perfectly with those sweet notes. There was even a peanut note to it, giving this all the makings of a great candy bar.

The finish seemed to re-focus on that vanilla bean note. It was a rich and almost velvety note that seemed to stick around in my mouth and the back of my throat forever. The cinnamon was there, but it was more subtle, and towards the end of the bottle the sweet caramel seemed to stick around for a bit more at the back of my throat.

If I graded this whiskey based on the first few pours, it probably would have been around a B+.  But, this is one of those bottles where it just kept getting better and better. The last half of this bottle was gone before I knew it, because I found myself just not wanting to drink anything else. This was an absolute surprise of a bottle, and I'm glad I decided to give it a go!

Grade: A