I.W. Harper Cabernet Cask Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished in Cabernet Sauvignon Casks

VITALS:

- $40

- 90 Proof

- NAS

- Kentucky

I.W. Harper is one of those brands that occasionally I have to be reminded that I like. I think that's more due to their limited line-up than anything. Their standard Kentucky Straight Bourbon is one of my favorite lower shelf bourbons, something I was surprised to learn in a blind tasting.  Of course they have their 15-year bourbon that comes in the fancy decanter as well, but that's a limited release and certainly somewhat pricy.

So, when a new "standard" made its way to the shelves, I figured I had to at least give it a try. The price was certainly approachable at $40, though I wish it could have had a bit more proof. But, you throw a wine finish on it, and I'm going to at least give it a go.  

The nose is, quite frankly, exactly what you'd expect from a wine-finished bourbon. It was brown sugar and caramel layered over red wine notes. The fruity notes from the finish added raisin and plum, even some dates to the aroma.  It even had an oatmeal raisin cookie at times. It was sweet, but it was as soft sweetness that didn't offend.

At 90 proof, I didn't expect this to be a heater or anything. But, it came across as more watered down and thin than expected. And I'm not just talking about the texture. Unfortunately, there was just no boldness in flavor. Nothing really stuck out.  Certainly nothing smacked me in the face with flavor. And with a wine cask finish, that's kind of the point--to add flavor.

Here I did get notes of vanilla mixed with slight notes of dark fruit, again plum and raisin like on the nose. There was a slight cherry note at times, which was really enjoyable. But, I almost had to go searching for it. 

There was a light earthiness in there somewhere as well, kind of like a tea note, and at times more like a sweet tobacco leaf note.  I really enjoyed these notes as well, but everything was just so soft and watered down, I really just couldn't pinpoint anything that particularly stood out.

It may be that going forward I avoid any wine-finished bourbons that are under 100 proof. Perhaps this one is an anomaly, but it seemed to really not benefit from the wine finish, not because it didn't complement the bourbon well, but rather because it wasn't allowed to. I wanted to like this more, and I think a bit more viscosity and heat could have accomplished that.

Grade: C

I.W. Harper 15 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $80
- 86 Proof
- 15 Years
- Kentucky

Over the years I've seen this bottle sitting on the shelves off and on. I'll see it, think about giving it a try, ultimately passing, and then I won't see it for a few months. However, it invariably shows up again. And the main reason I notice it is the sparkly, decanter type bottle that it comes in. While the age is certainly noteworthy as well, the bottle is simply easy to remember.

And yet, I never bothered to pick one up, despite the nice package and the age of the whiskey. For whatever reason, it just didn't appeal enough to me, almost as though it were trying too hard.

However, when a coworker is giving me one as a gift, I'm far from the type of person to turn it down, and so I accepted, opened, poured and enjoyed.  After all, the neck-label tells me that, "Anywhere, any time, it's always a pleasure." I took that quite literally, immediately giving this a swig at the office.

The nose is very heavy on the cinnamon. It immediately comes across as spicy and even a bit dry. It has distinct vanilla undertones. Also, I don't know if it comes from the wood or what, but it had a certain peanut note to it. Along with these somewhat earthy notes, I also got a slight bit of cherry and even some citrus, kind of like orange peel.

The first thing I noticed when I took a sip was the watery texture. I guess that's to be expected at only 86 proof, but given the age, I anticipated a bit more of an oily mouthfeel nonetheless. That simply wasn't the case. As a result, I felt the flavors were more subtle than expected too.

The most prominent flavor is the oak note that was consistent from beginning to end on this bottle. It's well-aged and it shows. I've had other 15 year bourbons where the influence wasn't nearly this strong, but this whiskey certainly had a bit of a chewing-on-a-stick quality to it.

Beyond the oak notes, however, it had some nice flavors going on, even if they were a bit muted. I got a primarily vanilla flavor that was almost as if it were coated in cinnamon and chocolate. In fact, that chocolate note, which was more of an unsweetened type of chocolate, became more and more pronounced as I made my way to the end of the bottle.  I also got a flavor that reminded me of corn flakes (but without the two tablespoons of sugar that I would otherwise pour on top of my cornflakes because I'm twelve). I wasn't a big fan of this note, as it just didn't seem to work with the other flavors going on here.

In the end, this is simply an oak-forward whiskey--not in a bad way, necessarily, just in a defining way. For those who like a good, dry, oaky bourbon, this might be their thing. For me, however, after a while it just seemed to become taxing, and I just couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Grade: B-