I always like to receive new products from the Spirits of French Lick Distillery. Alan Bishop is a very talented distiller and always has very tasty whiskey in the bottle. The first one we are sampling is the William Dalton “Wheated” Bourbon, Bottled-in-Bond. The next one is the Morning Glory Kasha Bourbon, Bottled-in-Bond.
I have reviewed the wheated Bourbon from the Spirits of French Lick before, but that review, done a couple of years ago, was not 100% Alan’s distillate. This one is and it is very good. The Kasha Bourbon is made with buckwheat. When I visited Alan at the distillery a few years ago, I tasted this Bourbon when it was not quite two years old and loved it. I like it even better now that it is a full four years old. Matt and I sat down and tasted these whiskeys and here are our notes. I hope you enjoy them.
The William Dalton Wheated Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond
Proof: 100
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel, toasted hazelnuts and sweet oak.
- Matt: Caramel and chocolate with wheat grain notes and oak.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel and toasted hazelnuts, red currants, baking spices and oak. Tasted with a dried cranberry the red currant fruit comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and the spice comes forward – allspice and nutmeg, with some oak and fruit moving to the background.
- Matt: Caramel and dark chocolate with a little red currant and oak. The dried cranberry brought out notes of French vanilla. The pecan brought out notes of tobacco.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak and spice. The dried cranberry made it very brandy-like in the finish with lingering notes of fruit, spice and oak. The pecan actually made the finish shorter and drier with oak and spice.
- Matt: Caramel and oak with a note of red hots candy. The dried cranberry made the finish longer and added notes of vanilla. The pecan added notes of leather and tobacco to the finish.
The Morning Glory Kasha Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond
Proof: 100
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel, citrus, baking spices and oak.
- Matt: Cereal grains, lavender, cinnamon, tobacco and oak.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel and citrus with a little baking spice and oak. Tasted with a dried cranberry and it becomes very spicy with cinnamon and cardamom spice. Tasted with a pecan and it becomes less spicy but full of dark chocolate notes.
- Matt: Cereal grains and butter – hot buttered cream of wheat? With notes of citrus and oak. The dried cranberry made the citrus a definite orange and added a floral note, maybe lavender, but not sure. The pecan made the caramel notes stronger and added some dark chocolate.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak and spice well balanced with notes of dark chocolate. The dried cranberry makes the finish very spicy with cinnamon and cardamom and the chocolate comes late in the finish. The pecan made the finish very long with lots of dark chocolate with a hint of spice and oak.
- Matt: Long with dry oak and spice – cinnamon and cayenne with a note of dark chocolate. The dried cranberry made the cinnamon stronger and the chocolate becomes more of a caramel. The pecan made the finish long, dry and spicy with lots of oak and cinnamon with a hint of caramel.
I would pair these two Bourbons with any good cigar. I would reach for a Nat Sherman Pan Americana Gordo. The smoke is complex enough with notes of vanilla and spice to bring out the chocolate and spice notes in the Bourbons.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller