I like the whiskeys that are being made at the M.B. Roland Distillery in Kentucky. They are a small distillery with two pot stills, one 600 gallon with a 300 gallon doubler. The latest release of a bonded Bourbon is Old 2nd District. It is named for the historic Kentucky 2nd tax district that covered western Kentucky. The Bourbon uses its white corn, rye and malted barley mash bill and is Bottled-in-Bond. I picked up a bottle of this fine Bourbon the other day and Matt and I sat down to taste it. Here are our tasting notes.
M.B. Roland Old 2nd District Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Four Years Old Made Fall 2020, Bottled Spring 2025
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, caramel, honey, peaches, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Corn, vanilla, peaches, cinnamon and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, caramel, peaches, cinnamon, cardamom and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the peach comes forward and blackberry joins the party. Tasted with a pecan and chocolate and ginger join the party.
- Matt: Vanilla, peaches and cream, cinnamon and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the peach. The pecan added caramel to the taste.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, cinnamon and cardamom spices. The dried cranberry added lingering blackberry. The pecan made the finish long and spicy with oak wood and ginger spice.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood, cinnamon and lingering peach. The dried cranberry made the finish spicy with lots of red hot cinnamon candy and oak wood. The pecan made the finish long and spicy with oak wood, cinnamon and lingering caramel.
I would pair this fine Bourbon with a My Father Blue cigar. The vanilla and dried fruit in the smoke would pair well with the vanilla and peach in the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller