Cedar Brook Bourbon is the latest heritage label released by the McBrayer Family. It is a wheat recipe Bourbon sourced from Owensboro. They bottled ten barrels of this whiskey and it has already sold out, but they have plans to increase the production of the brand and make it a regular release.
The McBrayer Family are descended from Judge William H. McBrayer. Cedar Brook was one of his brands of whiskey in the 19th century. The family decided to get back into the whiskey business about ten years ago and started by contract distilling ten barrels of whiskey. They did this every year since and are slowly increasing the amount of whiskey being made for them, but it will never be a huge amount. Their goal is for hundreds of barrels per year, not thousands of barrels. This means the brand will be a small brand sold mostly in Kentucky and Ohio. Bill McBrayer and his Father dropped off a bottle of Cedar Brook for me the other day and Matt and I sat down and tasted it. Here are our tasting notes.
Cedar Brook Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples, a hint of spice and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, caramel, dates, toast points, and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, corn, apples, pepper and oak wood. Tasted with a died cranberry and the pepper is enhanced. Tasted with a pecan and the vanilla becomes a buttery caramel with apples, pepper and oak.
- Matt: Caramel and brown sugar, raisins and dates, oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out notes of green apples and nuts. The pecan gave it a creamy mouth-feel, with caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon and oak wood.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak, pepper and lingering vanilla. The dried cranberry made the finish longer and spicier. The pecan made the finish very long with oak, pepper and lingering caramel.
- Matt: Medium long with oak, nutmeg and lingering caramel. The dried cranberry added some lingering fruit – dates and raisins. The pecan made the finish very long with oak and cinnamon.
I would pair this Bourbon with a Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial cigar. I find the smoke to be rich in vanilla with tobacco and cedar spice that would pair well with the vanilla and pepper of the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller