Basil Hayden's 10 Year Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

VITALS:

- $60

- 80 Proof

- 10 Years

- Kentucky

I just got back from a trip to the beach, where I spent a week soaking up sun, playing with my kids in the ocean, and of course drinking a whole bunch of whiskey. This was among the handful of bottles I brought with me. I grabbed it because, despite the low proof and my general history of not really liking Basil Hayden's products, it's really hard for me to pass on a well-aged rye. 

It turns out it ended up being a pretty good choice, review aside. After all, what goes better with vacation than day drinking?!?  But, it's no fun to get absolutely banged up and end up going to bed early and missing all the fun. So, enter the 80 proof rye. This quickly became my go-to when I was looking for a pour either after lunch or later in the afternoon. It was an easy sipper that I could enjoy and still do everything else I wanted to do.

But the whiskey itself? The nose was, as expected, soft and somewhat faint. It was hard to pick up, but I did get a decent amount of sweetness, kind of a brown sugar mixed with white frosting type of note. I also got a certain earthy baked goods note that reminded me a lot of rye bread, even pumpernickel. I don't often get bread notes in american whiskeys, but it was definitely here. It did lack the spice that I usually get of ryes, but perhaps that's due to the low proof--that it was just hard to notice.

The texture of this rye was, as expected, a bit watered down. It certainly comes across as thin and lacking in depth or boldness of flavor. However, it wasn't entirely absent. It had a constant undercurrent of sweet and woody notes, which for me makes a good combination. I got that brown sugar sweetness, and at times it came across as more of a caramel note, perhaps a slightly over-cooked caramel, toasted but not burnt.

To balance out that sweetness, I got a bit of woodiness as well, just a touch of oak. It had a nutty quality to it as well, which itself was sweet.  It reminded me of cashews in that respect. There was also a slight rye bite to it, a bit like a peppery sweet cinnamon. This was the spice I was looking for on the nose but just couldn't find. This is also what told me that this is definitely a Basil Hayden's product, despite being a rye rather than a bourbon, as I always seem to get that black pepper note.

The finish was fairly minimal. It didn't stick around very long, which, again, I attribute to the low proof. As noted above, though, that low proof actually worked for the situation, helping keep me lucid throughout the day, and then I'd switch over to higher proof stuff at night.  It was a good-but-not-great rye, but it sure served its purpose.  While it was a decent whiskey, though, I think I'd want more than just decent for the price.

Grade: B

Basil Hayden's 10 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $60
- 80 Proof
- 10 Years
- Kentucky

Aside from the rare pour when I'm at a hotel with a limited selection, for instance, I really haven't had regular Basil Hayden's in over five years (though I did like the Dark Rye for what it was).  The problem is that early on in my bourbon journey, when I was drinking less Scotch and starting to explore the bourbon world a bit more, Basil Hayden's was one of the first bourbons I tried.

Needless to say, my memories of that bottle weren't particularly great. I remember it having a significant peppery spice that distracted from all the other flavors, and it was a flavor or note that stuck with me for years. But, when Beam decided to release an older version, the tater in me prevailed and I just couldn't help myself. Although I didn't go out specifically looking for this bottle, I did immediately grab it once I came across it on the shelf.

The nose did not hit me with that peppery spice that I thought I was going to get going in.  In fact, it had a great, rich and fruity nose, full of cherry and plum. It also had a nice, rich chocolate note throughout. On later pours I noticed a distinct black licorice scent, but, even though I'm not really a fan of black licorice, still worked with everything else. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed sniffing each pour.

Unfortunately, the flavor just didn't quite live up.  The first thing I noticed was a blend of vanilla and black pepper.  I don't know if I've tricked my mind into tasting that whenever I have Basil Hayden's, but this vanilla/pepper note was there for me on every sip.

There were some other flavors that added some complexity and good flavor to this bourbon. I got a nice chocolate-orange note, reminding me a bit of those chocolate oranges that you'd have to smash on the table to break apart before eating. It lacked the sweetness, however.

In fact, I even got some cherry notes to go with the chocolate and orange, and at times I was reminded of an old fashioned, but one without the muddled sugar or simple syrup. It had the flavors, but not the sweetness. To be honest, that in and of itself is not so bad, as I don't always want something sweet. But, along with that unsweetened old fashioned note I also got a weird cardboard flavor. Now, I don't chew on cardboard on the regular, but I'm pretty sure most people can relate to the flavor, and that's what I was getting here.

While there were parts of this bourbon that I really liked, and some that I found to be a bit weird, all in all I found this bourbon to be underwhelming. I don't know that the extra aging added a whole lot of flavor or complexity. In fact, I found it to be not very flavorful generally.  I wanted more boldness in the flavor, especially after getting so much off the nose.

Grade: B-

Basil Hayden's Dark Rye

VITALS:
- $50
- 80 Proof
- NAS
- Kentucky/Canada

Okay, let me start off by saying that I'm generally not much of a fan of Basil Hayden's bourbon. The time I tried it way back when, it just didn't do much for me at all, and the brand has been off my radar since then. Beam then released the Basil Hayden's Rye, and given my prior experience with Basil Hayden's, as well as the fact that the rye wasn't very well received, it remained off my radar.

However, the Basil Hayden's Dark Rye, a 2017 release, caught my attention primarily due to what it is. In fact, going in, based on the description, I wasn't certain it would be good at all and thought there was a decent chance of it being awful. After all, the Dark Rye is Kentucky straight rye whiskey that is blended with Canada rye whiskey (perhaps the Alberta dark rye?). As if that weren't enough, they also blended it with port. So, unlike so many of the port-finished ryes that are out there, this was not finished in port barrels, but actually had the port added directly to the blend.

Accordingly, this kind of a cocktail rather than a rye (blended or not), although the amount of port is certainly minimal compared what a normal mixer in a cocktail might be. Per the bottle, they add "just a touch" of port. The result is, as expected, a very dark whiskey, with substantial red hues.

The nose is rich and fruity, definitely showing off the added port. The fruit note is lighter than expected, taking on a significant cherry quality. The low proof leaves zero burn on the nose, and what's left is delicious, warm and inviting.

Going in for my first sip, I held no expectations. I knew this was not going to taste like any rye I've had before, and I wasn't expecting it to. I went in open-minded, just hoping I liked it, and I was very pleasantly surprised. If I had any expectations, this would have exceeded them.

This is one of the best combinations of sweet and spicy I've ever tasted from a bottle. The sweet obviously comes from the port, which contributed rich and long-lasting flavors of plum and dark cherry. The velvety texture (I expected it to come across as more watered down) allowed these flavors to completely coat the mouth and seemingly linger forever. There was also an underlying unsweetened vanilla note that balanced perfectly with the port.  Towards the back end it had a nice, nutty note, like walnut, that worked really well with the vanilla and even light caramel notes to underscore the dominant port notes.

This really is a delicious pour that from the first sip reminded me of Thanksgiving. In fact, I first opened this bottle just before Thanksgiving, and it was my drink of choice for our first Thanksgiving celebration with some of our former neighbors (who also really enjoyed this!). It is sweet, but not too sweet, and is really a dangerous pour due to just how easy it is to drink. I found myself working through this bottle faster than I had ever intended.

Although it's certainly different, and far from a traditional rye, the Basil Hayden's Dark Rye makes no bones about what it is, and if you can get past the fact that it has the port directly added, certainly give this a try. It was surprisingly incredibly tasty.

Grade: A-