Basil Hayden's

Spirit Name: Spirit Type:	Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
Score:	78/100
ABV:	40%
Region:	Kentucky, United States
Body:	Medium
Intensity:	Medium
Texture:	Medium
Balance:	OK
Best served: Age:	Neat 8 years
Theme(s):	Menthol, spearmint, raisin, marmalade, vanilla, chocolate, rye, spicy, bitter, oak
Summary:	Sweet, smooth and complex. Sweet marmalade and raisin is brightened by spearmint and menthol as hints of vanilla smooth the sweet corn, but that sweetness is dominated by the spicy onslaught of rye and oak.
Tasting notes:	Basil Hayden’s is part of Jim Beam’s small batch collection. The distinct feature of Basil Hayden’s is that it contains twice the amount of rye than the other expressions in the small batch collection. Nose: Soft pulses of freshly baked bread carry sweet raisin and mild surges of vanilla, as butter and orange marmalade develop with hints of chocolate and menthol drops. As the whiskey rests the smell of raspberry confectionary intermingles with the bitter-sweet orange marmalade, and both add brightness to the grain rich and oak laden backdrop. Taste: A bitter helping of charred oak is mouth-drying, as sweet plumb raisin and preserved mandarin segments soften the onslaught of spicy oak as menthol and spearmint shine brightly. Flecks of grain crackle on the palate, for a moment adding some roughness to an otherwise silky smooth experience – almost like turbulence on a smooth flight. The turbulence is not unwelcome, and it adds something interesting to the experience. The oak is however sharp and it becomes a dominating force, so much so that the whips of bitterness are not very well balanced by the sweetness – the spicy rye and the oak outweigh the sweetness of the corn, and the palate becomes very dry.   Finish: Oak, pure cocoa and dry wood linger on the palate, drying it.
Dislikes:	Dominance of the rye and oak outbalanced the corn and the sweetness
Price:	$65 (Aus)