Tasting Notes: Boone County Small Batch Bourbon

This post sponsored by the Glencairn Whisky Glass

The Boone County Distillery traces its roots back to 1833 and the Petersburg Distillery in Boone County, Kentucky. The modern distillery was opened in 2015 in Independence, Kentucky. They use their heritage with the slogan that their whiskeys are “Made By Ghosts”. This slogan refers to the rich heritage of not only the distillers of the 19th century but also the rich heritage of Boone County. Are there really ghosts at the distillery? I shall leave that up to you and your experiences when you visit.

The whiskey in this bottle was made in Indiana. They don’t state on their website whether this was contract distilled or sourced, but the mash is listed as 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley. At their distillery in Boone County, they use a 500-gallon hybrid pot still with four fermenters. They age their whiskey in a 3,000 square-foot rickhouse. I suspect that there will be some flavor drift when the whiskey distilled in Boone County enters the bottle, but I hope it is not a drastic drift. I like this whiskey.

Boone County Small Batch Bourbon

Proof: 90.8

Age: No Age Statement

Nose: Very fruity – apricots, dates and cherries. Caramel with a touch of cinnamon spice and oak.

Taste: A bit thin in the mouthfeel. Lots of caramel, apricots, cinnamon and sweet oak. Tasted with a dried cranberry and a citrus note – tangerine or sweet orange comes out with vanilla and a thicker mouthfeel. Tasted with a pecan and the Bourbon is dominated by vanilla and sweet oak wood.

Finish: Medium long with oak and cinnamon. The dried cranberry made the finish very short with just a little lingering oak wood. The pecan made the finish very long with lots of cinnamon and oak wood flavors.

I am pairing this whiskey with an Oliva Serie V cigar. I find the smoke to have lots of sweet vanilla and dried fruit notes with just a hint of cedar spice. The Bourbon made the smoke very creamy with vanilla and fruit notes of apricots and cherries. The cigar enhanced the fruit notes of dried apricots and dates and rich caramel with a very spicy finish that was more complex with a little pepper and baking spices. I like this pairing.