Royce Neeley is making great whiskey at the Neeley Family Distillery in Northern Kentucky. He has a rich family heritage in distilling, although it was moonshining, and not legal distilling until Royce and his family built their distillery near Sparta, Kentucky. He likes to make Bourbon with a different mash bill and this Bourbon is no exception. It has a mash bill of 63% corn, 17% oats, 8% wheat and 12% malted barley. He bottled this Bourbon as a bonded Bourbon. He sent me a bottle a while back and due to a backlog of whiskeys Matt and I need to taste, we are just now getting to it and we’re glad we did. Here are our tasting notes.
Neeley Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, apricots, allspice and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, candy corn, raspberries, allspice or nutmeg, and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, apricots, lemon zest, allspice and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla becomes a rich French vanilla and the lemon zest moves forward. Tasted with a pecan and the vanilla becomes a rich butter caramel and the oak wood is enhanced.
- Matt: Caramel, candy apple, allspice and oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out cinnamon and a hint of raspberry. The pecan added a note of peanuts and the oak wood was enhanced.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, allspice and lingering lemon zest. The dried cranberry added lingering vanilla to the finish. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak wood and lemon zest.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood and spiced apples. The dried cranberry added cinnamon spice to the finish. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak wood and spice.
I would pair this Bourbon with an A Fuente Gran Reserva Maduro cigar. The dried fruit and vanilla in the smoke pairs well with the vanilla and fruit of the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller