This whiskey Is bottled by the Preservation Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. It is a small, pot still distillery that has been around for only about five years or so. That means the whiskey in the bottle is most likely sourced whiskey with maybe a little of their own distillate in the bottle. There is nothing wrong with that as the people who own Preservation Distillery have been bottling whiskey for decades. They got their start in the 1980s selling brands such as Old Saint Nick and Old Man Winter in Japan. Julian Van Winkle gives them credit for helping him enter the Japanese market and allowing him to earn a profit in those hard times for the American Bourbon market. Preservation Distillery have always bottled excellent whiskeys and this one is no exception. I recently received a bottle of Old Man Winter Bourbon and Matt and I sat down and tasted it. Here are our tasting notes.

Old Man Winter Bourbon

Proof: 109.5

Age: No Age Statement

Nose: 

  • Mike: Corn, vanilla, honey, baking spices, oak wood.
  • Matt: Buttered corn, almonds, oak wood.

Taste:

  • Mike: Corn, honey, citrus – lemon zest and tangerine, ginger, nutmeg, and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and a pepper spice comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and the vanilla and ginger are enhanced and a hint of chocolate comes out.
  • Matt: A viscous mouth-feel with buttered corn, lemon, ginger and oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out caramel notes and enhanced the ginger giving it a nice tingling on the tongue. The pecan brought out notes of rich caramel and chocolate.

Finish:

  • Mike: Medium long with oak and baking spices. The dried cranberry changed the spice to a black pepper. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak, spice and a little lingering dark chocolate.
  • Matt: Medium long with oak and almonds. The dried cranberry added ginger spice to the finish. The pecan added a nice lingering caramel note to the finish.

I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that is rich in vanilla and chocolate notes. I would reach for a My Father The Judge cigar.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller