I received some samples of 15 Stars Bourbon this summer. I have not reviewed them earlier because of the backlog of whiskeys to taste. They are very good products and Matt and I finally tasted them the other day.
These Bourbons are bottled by a company that is buying barrels and bottling them as 15 Stars Bourbon. The whiskey is distilled in Kentucky and bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky. I have no problem with whiskey coming from a rectifying company. If they are purchasing good barrels, they can be very good whiskeys. In fact, they can often be superior whiskeys because they have the option of marrying whiskey from different distilleries to create unique flavor profiles. The first of these two Bourbons is a marriage of 7 and 15 year old Bourbons called Private Stock. The second Bourbon is a 14 year old Bourbon called Timeless Reserve. Both are very good and here are our tasting notes for both brands.
15 Stars Private Stock Bourbon
Proof: 107
Age: Seven Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Very light nose with vanilla, a hint of fruit, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, black cherry, lemon and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Very spicy with black pepper, vanilla, a hint of ripe apples and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the pepper is toned down and the apple comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and caramel comes out to join the vanilla.
- Matt: Vanilla, cherry lemonade, ginger and oak. The dried cranberry made the cherry a black cherry and brought out some orange citrus notes. The pecan brought out some chocolate and peanut notes.
Finish:
- Mike: Very spicy with black pepper and oak tannins. The cranberry made the finish shorter and reduced the pepper. The pecan made the finish very peppery and dry with oak tannins.
- Matt: Lots of oak and ginger spice. The dried cranberry added a note of sweet pipe tobacco. The pecan added a hint of lingering chocolate.
15 Stars Timeless Reserve Bourbon
Proof: 103
Age: Fourteen Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Very sweet with vanilla and marshmallows, a hint of apples, pepper spice and oak wood.
- Matt: Notes of chocolate, plums, cardamom spice and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples, black pepper and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the vanilla and apple fruit. The pecan brought out some chocolate notes and more wood.
- Matt: Caramel, chocolate, peanuts and oak wood. The dried cranberry added some fruit notes of cherries and strawberries. The pecan made the chocolate a dark chocolate with caramel and raisins.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak and pepper spice. The dried cranberry made the finish much shorter but added some lingering vanilla flavors. The pecan made the finish very long and pleasant with oak wood, pepper spice and lingering chocolate.
- Matt: Long with oak and leather dryness. The dried cranberry brought out some nutmeg spice. The pecan made the finish very long with oak wood and burnt caramel.
I would pair these Bourbons with my pipe tobacco. It has lots of vanilla, coffee and fruit notes in the smoke and would pair well with the pepper spice in these Bourbons.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller