Flashback Friday – T. W. Samuels Bourbon circa 1977

The other day, Matt and I tasted this whiskey for our YouTube channel. It is a Heaven Hill Bourbon, but it was not always part of Heaven Hill. The brand was created by the Samuels family in 1844 at Samuels Spring in Nelson County, Kentucky. The Samuels family owned the brand up to the late 1940s when they sold their share of the distillery and brand to their then partners in the distillery. Then Bill Samuels’ father went on to purchase the Burks Spring distillery and started Maker’s Mark. The brand and many of the warehouses at the original T.W. Samuels Distillery were sold to Heaven Hill in the 1960s. Maker’s Mark also purchased some of the warehouses at the distillery. This bottle has glass made in 1977 and the whiskey is from that year or the next year. Matt and I enjoyed this Bourbon and here are our tasting notes.

T.W. Samuels Bourbon

Proof: 86

Age: Six Years Old

Nose:

Mike: Vanilla, bananas, baking spices and oak wood.
Matt: Caramel, bananas, dates, a floral note, baking spices and oak wood.

Taste:

Mike: Vanilla, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and caramel comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and white pepper and caramel come forward.
Matt: Caramel, dates, banana bread, ginger and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the caramel. The pecan enhanced the banana bread.

Finish:

Mike: Medium long with oak wood and cinnamon. The dried cranberry made the finish long with oak wood, cinnamon and lingering caramel. The pecan made the finish long and spicy with oak wood and white pepper.
Matt: Medium long with oak wood and ginger. The dried cranberry added lingering caramel. The pecan added a note of tobacco to the finish.

I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar with dried fruit and vanilla in the smoke. I would reach for a Rocky Patel Special Reserve Sun Grown Maduro cigar.