disturbia at the distillery buffalo trace what bourbons do you get to taste

Benchmark Bourbon Review [In Depth]

Benchmark Old No 8 Bourbon

Criterion Old No 8 Bourbon Details

Distillery:  Buffalo Trace

Type & Region: Bourbon, Kentucky, USA

Alcohol: 40 %

Composition: Buffalo Trace Mash #1, speculated to exist ~10-12% rye

Aged: At to the lowest degree 3 years old

Color: 1.0/2.0 on the colour scale (copper)

Cost: $10-15 for 750mL

From the company website:

"In 1773, three McAfee Brothers named James, George and Robert left Virginia westward to explore the uncharted territory that would subsequently become known as Kentucky. Traveling by canoe at first, the McAfee Company eventually followed a native trail overland that led to the corking buffalo crossing, where the brothers surveyed the country now habitation to the world's near honor-winning distillery – Buffalo Trace Distillery. The surveyor marks left behind are known as benchmarks and this bourbon whiskey honors the pioneering spirits of these early American explorers."

benchmark bourbon overview

Benchmark Quondam No viii Bourbon is Buffalo Trace's cheapest mashbill #ane bourbon, the same mashbill used for many of the its very popular bourbons such every bit Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, EH Taylor Small Batch, and more. While it'south the cheapest one, it's too the youngest and lowest ABV version.

While I write that it uses the same mashbill as those bourbons, it's probable that Buffalo Trace uses barrels from specific rickhouse locations for Benchmark Bourbon and not their other mashbill #1 bourbons. And if y'all didn't know by now, butt selection has a huge touch on on how the final bourbon smells and tastes (and Wild Turkey showed u.s.a. why).

Funny enough, Buffalo Trace put an age argument on the characterization ("aged at least 36 months"), merely I judge that'southward because they have to in order to phone call information technology straight bourbon. Long story short, directly bourbon has to be at least two years sometime, and the age has to be disclosed on the characterization if it's less than 4 years one-time, which Benchmark Old No 8 is in this case.

So in this Criterion Bourbon review, permit's find out if "budget" Buffalo Trace / Hawkeye Rare is compelling plenty to try for yourself, add together to your collection, or completely avoid.

benchmark bourbon aroma

At get-go sniff, Benchmark Bourbon doesn't accept much to offering. In that location's some lite honey, grain, vanilla, fennel, slightly dark apple juice, a drop of orangish juice, and some dry and roasted oak. Similar to young arts and crafts bourbon, there'due south a noticeable youthful graininess and pepperiness because the bourbon hasn't had enough time to develop more than sugariness.

So far, it'due south generally thin and meh, only besides not awful or unpleasant. It merely smells very young, but at least at that place's no harsh alcohol.

Swirling brings some slightly floral honey and vanilla, pear, a drop of cherry, and herbal fennel up front. Then I starting time to get more of that earthy and dry grain, caraway seed, oak, and dry cracker that screams young and under-developed bourbon.

The thing is, Criterion Bourbon isn't offensive to odour, but there's nothing peculiarly enjoyable about information technology either. It's just light and lacks any heft, richness, or depth.

I judge I sort of meet how this might become Buffalo Trace bourbon in a few more than years because it has some that lightly sweetness and fruity herbalness that I associate with Buffalo Trace. That is notwithstanding years abroad though.

criterion bourbon taste and palatableness

Benchmark Sometime No 8 Bourbon starts off with light dear, pear, roasted oak, vanilla, roasted and dry grain, cinnamon, and then even more grain and some earthy rosemary. The youthful graininess, dry oak, and light sweetness and fruitiness again remind me that this is young and not developed-enough bourbon.  It's pretty bland, and after a 2nd or so gets a trivial bitter likewise.

From my experience, bourbon picks up more oak, pepper, and char at get-go because of the intense char inside the virgin barrels, and it takes more time for the caramel, fruit, and chocolate to develop to circular it all out.

While "chewing" brings out the honey first, it so leads to a lot more dry out and earthy grains, then a niggling vanilla, apple tree, pear, caraway seed, dry out oak, blackness pepper, and clove. It starts a little sweetness and fruity, only and so the dry oak, earthy caraway seed, youthful grain, and black pepper take over and make the flavors worse.

It tastes so young and thin, non at all ready to be bottled for auction. So again, this bourbon probably exists considering Buffalo Trace needs to make some money sooner rather than later considering Buffalo Trace is 7-8ish years old and Eagle Rare is 10 years old, so it takes a while to historic period them, sell them, and earn coin. 36 months is much faster, and taste-wise it really shows.

The aftertaste kicks off with dry and bitter oak, dearest, roasted grains, and herbal fennel. It becomes quite bitter and dry out at the end, but not remotely at all like a 10+ year onetime bourbon does it. It's a little unpleasant.

Afterward "chewing" the cease starts-off fine enough, but it shortly takes a turns for the worse. It starts a little sweet and dry with dearest, grain, fennel, and caraway seed, just then the sweetness tapers-off and the dry and bitter oak, blackness pepper, and earthy caraway seed take over.

I'm unremarkably pretty forgiving hither, merely this pretty unpleasant and merely gets worse with every sip.

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Benchmark Bourbon Rating

Benchmark Bourbon is cheap but unfortunately not fun to drink. While information technology has a little sweetness, fruitiness, and herbalness that hint at hereafter potential, that dry out and bitter oak, bawdy caraway seed, and graininess hold back this experience from beingness fifty-fifty "Mid Shelf".

Then again, it is young iii year old Buffalo Trace bourbon that could have maybe go Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Stagg Jr, or another mashbill #one bourbon with more than time. Yous go what you pay for.

Call me crazy, but I'd rather beverage Buffalo Trace White Domestic dog Mash #one because it'southward really kind of good. I besides really savor baijiu (a Chinese clear spirit), so white canis familiaris is familiar and pleasant for me.

It'southward a scrap harsh, but I can't think of a compelling reason to drinkable Benchmark Bourbon…unless your goal is to become drunkard as cheaply as possible.

For anybody else looking for an enjoyable experience and/or aggrandize your whiskey cognition…go elsewhere. Let my feel (albeit intentional because the people demand to know) deter y'all from ever putting this in your rima oris.

Spend a little bit more than and go Evan Williams Bottled in Bond for around $twenty. If you desire to splurge, buy the one.75L handle for ~$xxx and it'll last a while. Sure it's a little more expensive than Benchmark Old No 8, but you're paying for significantly college quality.

All that said, it's still interesting to drink the very young bourbon that eventually becomes Buffalo Trace and Hawkeye Rare.

This somewhat unpleasant experience gives me greater appreciation for all the difficult piece of work that oak barrels do day after twenty-four hours to infuse so much grapheme and complication into the bourbons (and whiskey in full general) that we dearest, enjoy, covet, and sometimes overpay to obtain.

Oak barrels and time are the real MVP.

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