Since the early 1990s, when I started an internship at the Filson Historical Society, I have heard Jim Holmberg call Kentucky “The first American West”. Kentucky is the fifteenth state of the Union and is represented by the fifteenth star in the American flag. The second American flag had fifteen stars and fifteen strips representing Kentucky as the fifteenth state. That is what inspired the people who bottle this whiskey to name their product 15 Stars. The whiskey is a marriage of sourced whiskey from Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee with barrels of 7, 9 and 15 year old Bourbon in the bottle. I received a bottle of this Bourbon the other day and Matt and I sat down to taste it. Here are our tasting notes.
15 Stars First West Bourbon
Proof: 106
Age: Seven Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla and caramel with a hint of fruit, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, floral spices, green apples and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples and pears, allspice and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla becomes a rich French vanilla. Tasted with a pecan and caramel and cinnamon come out to join the party.
- Matt: Caramel, butterscotch, white pepper and oak wood. The dried cranberry added a note of cherries and dates. The pecan brought out the green apple and cherries.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and spice. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with lots of allspice. The pecan made the finish very long with oak, cinnamon and a hint of chocolate.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and white pepper. The dried cranberry made the finish longer and more peppery in a good way. The pecan made the finish very long with oak, caramel and green apple.
I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that has vanilla and cedar spice in the smoke. I would reach for a NUB Habano cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller