Monday, June 8, 2015

EH Taylor Cured Oak


This is the latest release (and the first new release in quite some time) from Buffalo Trace's EH Taylor series.  Buffalo Trace has stated that it is a 17 year old bourbon (there is no age statement on the label) that was aged in barrels with staves that were air dried for 13 months as opposed to the usual six months. It was aged in Warehouse C, which means it presumably survived the same tornado that hit the distillery's warehouse and produced an earlier bottling in the series.  As with most of the Taylor whiskeys, it is bottled in bond. Suggested retail price was $70, but good luck with that. Going retail price seems to be around $100.
  

E.H. Taylor Cured Oak, BIB, 50% abv ($100)

The nose is sweet and fruity with fresh cherries. The palate starts with a touch of sweetness. The middle palate is grainy with brown rice, and then the desert dry oak sets in which turns bitter.  The bitter palate stays on for the finish, although it does have a nice sweet finish on the nose.  This is fairly good stuff, though quite dry and oaky, and it needs a lot of air.  Straight out of the bottle, it tasted pretty bad; it took some time to develop.  While that's not unusual for older whiskeys, the difference here was more extreme.  I would open it a day before you intend to drink it to give it some exposure to air.



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where did you even find this in LA!? I never once saw it on a shelf anywhere....and K&L didn't advertise it either.

-Humchan2k

Funky Tape said...

Did you add water, boss? What happened?

How long before the desperation grows so perverse that guys are flipping open bottles after they decide they don't like the flavor of the week? Don't answer that....

SteveBM said...

I tried at a bar. Thought it was very oak-forward on the tongue and finish. Didn't enjoy it. Can't believe this one is a flippee

sku said...

This one has been very hard to find in LA, and I'm not sure I would spring for it again at the same price. Funky Tape, good question. I didn't add water, though I will and will report back. Generally, I find that water really messes up the balance of these older bourbons, plus the proof isn't all that high to begin with.