The other day, Steffani Scheurich stopped by with the producers of a new Bourbon that she is representing. I always look forward to meeting with Steffani because she represents some excellent whiskey producers and this is no exception. The Bourbon is Flair Bourbon, named for Ric Flair, a professional wrestler. I am usually skeptical about whiskeys that are created by celebrities because they are usually sub-par whiskeys, but this is not the case with Flair Bourbon. It is a very good Bourbon made with 75% corn, 23% rye and 2% malted barley at MGP in Indiana. It is aged in 30 and 53 gallon barrels and sent to Colorado for bottling. Matt and I sat down to taste this Bourbon the other day and here are our tasting notes.
Flair Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Eight Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples, citrus, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, buttered corn, raspberries and oak wood
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples, orange zest, cinnamon and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and black pepper spice comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and the vanilla becomes a buttered caramel.
- Matt: Caramel, buttered popcorn, raspberries, ginger spice and oak wood. The dried cranberry added a nice brown sugar to the taste. The pecan added a note of peanut butter.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, orange zest and cinnamon. The dried cranberry made the finish long and spicy with oak wood and black pepper. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, caramel and orange zest.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood and ginger spice. The dried cranberry made the finish longer. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, caramel and ginger.
I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that is rich in vanilla and cedar spice in the smoke. I would reach for a NUB Habano cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller