W.B. Saffell Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

VITALS:

- $50 (375 ml)

- 107 Proof

- NAS
- Batch No. 1

- Kentucky

One thing I love about these little bottles is the way they feel in your hand. It makes you want to just shotgun the whole thing (as bad of an idea as that may be). They just feel good in your hand. The downside, of course, is how little liquid they hold. It’s like they hold half the amount of whiskey as a regular bottle! I really have a hard time getting on board with that. Bigger is always better.

That being said, I have heard really good things about this latest release in the Whiskey Barons collection coming out of Wild Turkey. It’s my understanding the Russells didn’t have a hand in the first two releases, but that they did have a hand in this one. Perhaps that’s what did the trick, I don’t know. But, I certainly wanted to find out for myself just how good this one is.

The nose on this one was really pungent, with strong notes of anise along with a peppery spice that provided a nice bite. I also got some dark cherry. A certain amount of tannic wood notes came through as well, which at times came across as more of a walnut note. It kind of smelled like what I’d expect Nick Offerman to smell like if he were a bourbon guy.

Interestingly, I found the flavor to be quite different from the nose. Instead of dark cherry and wood tones, I got something bright on the flavor, like fresh peach. It was sweet and even a bit tangy. It was balanced out by a kind of earthy, tea-like flavor as well.

It was on the sweeter side, but that sweetness was balanced out by a nice cinnamon spice (this is, after all, a Wild Turkey product), as well as the tangy flavor from that peach note. The pepper spices that were intermingled helped balance out that sweetness as well.

What did come through from the nose was that walnut note. This flavor was present throughout, from first pour to last and from front to back. It wasn’t strong, but it was always there. On later pours I noticed some orange peel or burnt orange notes. Those notes, along with everything else this had going on, seemed to blend into a sort of walnut Old Fashioned flavor, like a more earthy, less sweet version of the cocktail. I found I really liked it.

This is a product I certainly wouldn’t mind grabbing some more of. While it didn’t blow me away, it certainly would be the kind of whiskey that I would, from time to time, be in the mood for. It was very good, and I could see myself at some point down the road yearning specifically for another pour of this.

Grade: B+

Old Ripy The Whiskey Barons Collection Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $50
- 104 Proof
- NAS
- Batch No. 1

Old Ripy is the other initial release in The Whiskey Barons Collection from Campari America. As with Bond & Lillard, Old Ripy was also distilled at Wild Turkey, though without an involvement of the Russells. This bourbon honors the Old Ripy brand, which was created by James Ripy in 1868 and was produced through 1950.

As with Bond & Lillard, this bourbon comes in a .375 ml bottle. Though I'd like to see it come in a full-sized bottle, there is something I enjoy about holding this bottle in my hand, where it fits perfectly like a grenade or, as I alluded to previously, a bottle of Red Stripe. It just feels right. The label is incredibly eye appealing as well, and I think that will go a long way towards moving this product off the shelf.

But, what matters most is what's inside, and, quite frankly, what's inside of this bottle is very good bourbon! Its nose is full vanilla with a light sweetness and is very aromatic. You also notice the corn grain as well, like sweet corn flakes.

Upon the first taste this bourbon was delicious! It's definitely on the sweet end of the sweetness spectrum, but it's not sugary or offensively sweet. I actually enjoyed it, much like a dessert bourbon! It was predominantly brown sugar and vanilla, but it had a candy-bar character to it, as if it had hints of Butterfinger as well.

Again, describing it as a candy bar character makes it seem overly sweet, but that's not the case here. It's more like a donut or coffee cake type sweetness, the kind you can enjoy for breakfast (not that I enjoyed Old Ripy for breakfast at any point). There was also a crisp apple note that seemed to subtly underscore all the other flavors, contributing to an overall delicious profile.

The finish was the only thing that disappointed. It was short and somewhat unremarkable. There were some enjoyable spiced hot cider notes that lingered, but only for a second before they dissipated. I really wish they would have stuck around, coating the back of the throat a bit more.

As with Bond & Lillard, the price tag of $50 for a .375 ml bottle is prohibitive. However, I found this bourbon to be superior to the Bond & Lillard (which I really enjoyed). I worked my way through this small bottle very quickly, and, if it were packaged as a normal 750 ml bottle, I'd be all over it. All in all, after trying the first two, I'm looking forward to more releases in this line.

Grade: A-

Bond & Lillard The Whiskey Barons Collection Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $50 (.375 ml)
- 100 Proof
- NAS (Minimum of 7 years)
- Batch No. 1

This bourbon and Old Ripy, which I will be reviewing in the near future, are a couple new offerings from the Whisky Barons Collection, a series of bourbons released by Campari America and distilled at Wild Turkey (though without involvement of either of the Russells) to honor the pioneers of the bourbon industry and brands that did not survive prohibition.

The bottle itself is very attractive and cool-looking, and rather than put a lengthy story on the bottle, it simply identifies the two individuals being commemorated (W.F. Bond and C.C. Lillard), and provides a quick-hit nugget that "Before Prohibition, Bond & Lillard was highly referred and awarded the grand prize at the 1904 S. Louis World's Fair." Initially I was put off by everything as being too gimmicky, along the lines of Orphan Barrel. And though this is a bit gimmicky and probably a money grab while the bourbon trend is hot, Campari does not make up a story about some lost barrels that were miraculously found, but rather that they are producing a bourbon as a nod to some historical bourbon families, distilleries and recipes. In the end, I'm alright with that.

As to the bottle itself, $50 is a lot to ask for a .375 ml, and that's a factor that needs to be considered in any review. Nonetheless, I was clearly willing to try out a new product sourced from Wild Turkey, even if it meant likely overpaying a bit. I will say, though, that I really like the shape of this bottle. It fits in the hand much like a Red Stripe, causing me to reminisce about eating jerk chicken on the beach and listening to Jimmy Cliff. I never did end up drinking straight from the bottle, but in the hand, it almost feels like it's meant to be enjoyed that way.

The nose on this bourbon is soft, giving off notes of light fruit, and when I say light fruit, I mean that they don't overwhelm the senses, like pears and apples. I also pick up more traditional notes of caramel and sweet, vanilla pipe tobacco.

The flavor is a nice mix of sweet and spicy. The sweetness tends to be a fruity type of sweetness, though not the "light fruit" that I noticed on the nose. Rather, it's a kind of cherry flavor, balanced by a light chocolate note hanging out in the background. The spice is very much a clove spice, which I've always felt was kind of a weird cherry-cinnamon type spice to begin with, so I guess that makes sense. The texture is soft, with really no rough edges and a nice viscous texture, buttery even, that really coats the mouth.

As I made my way (albeit very quickly) to the bottom of the bottle, the sweetness really stood out, as it was kind of a unique sweetness that I can't recall noticing in a bourbon before. In fact, it took me a bit to place it, but once I did it was almost all that I noticed - sweet tea. I noticed a distinct southern-style sweet tea flavor to it. Though different, I really enjoyed it. It probably helps that I love sweet tea.

This was a fun bourbon to try out, from the label to the bottle to the interesting flavor. Everything about it was fun and enjoyable. It wasn't "great" bourbon, but it was really good and a fun pour in nearly every respect.

Grade: B+