Belfour Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Texas Pecan Wood

Swing and a miss, oh wait that's baseball not hockey. Everybody and their dog Rolf, is wanting to be in the liquor business these days and who can blame them. From Clooney to Jordan to the Rock, put your name on a bottle and make a fortune, it's all the rage. Sadly (or not) it just isn't that easy to crank up and crank out great bourbon. Not that Balfour doesn't have a good Master Distiller that knows what they're doing, I'm sure they do, but slapping staves in a barrel whipping up something great isn't as simple as it sounds. If it was Rolf's bourbon would be rockin at the nearest bar. This seems like a good base 2 to 3 maybe even 4 year old bourbon, not a bad one, it's just that adding "finish crafting" isn't the substitute for time that these neophytes would want you to believe. So how is it? The nose offers up some nice sweet vanilla and caramel base sugars and yes some noticable wood making for that after shave old english leather note. Not a bad nose not that you would ever mistake it for say Woodford Double Oak. The refinement just isn't there. That's the problem, this is priced premium and you could get a Makers 46 for half the moola and it's going to be as well crafted (and better in my view). Oh yea, the taste, it's front standard bourbon confectionary notes, strait into a middle of some acrid wood bitters, pecan nut, sure why not, or walnut or pick your bitter wood nut nib. Tailing off it's not really bad just not distinct in a way that really makes me want more. Maybe some higher proof and another 2ish years and it would stand up to the already much better priced 1792 Single Barrel. I'm sure it will sell well at bars where a fancy looking bottle is as important as the product contained within, if that's you, cheers! That's just not me.

I bought this not expecting much other than just being curious if the pecan staves actually added something unique to the bourbon. The nose is really great! Not super strong, but I get notes of caramel, nuttiness, and some oak. Really a fan of the nose. The palate is pretty dynamic actually! It starts out with a classic bourbon taste, and I am surprised that there is definitely a pecan note in this! It’s got a really rich nutty-ness to it. Other initial notes are caramel, brown sugar, vanilla etc... as soon as you open your mouth or start swallowing, it becomes a spice bomb, with a follow through that feels similar to Four Roses to me. A little bit of cinnamon and rye spice on the follow through. Some gripes about it. I don’t think I will want to drink multiple glasses of this in a row, it can feel a little thin, and there is a little bit of bitterness every now and then that I’m not loving. It’s super expensive. I bought a 200ml bottle for $25. Probably wouldn’t buy a full 750 ml bottle of it. Overall, I’m glad I tried this. It’s got a very definite journey of flavors that it takes you through each sip. Starts out tasting almost like a wheated bourbon, and the follow through almost resembles a rye. Very interesting experience, and it is pretty unique that you actually can pick out a pecan/nutty note in it.

Let me start by saying I’m drinking a store pick. I saw several people claim that this store pick was a “butter pecan bomb.” I opened this and let it sit for 10-15 minutes in a glen. I really wanted to like this more than I did, especially for a 84.99 bottle. Alas, it is much more woody than I anticipated and the flavor disapates somewhat fast compared to what I typically drink (Woodford DO, Barrel Segrass, Jack SBBP). I definitely get a buttery, oily note which is pleasant, I just wish it lasted longer. Im unsure if it just needed longer in the barrels or what but overall it was “ok.” I want to give this bottle a couple weeks and come back to it. Hopefully it opens up a more but I’ll come back and drop another review whenever I come back to this.

Nose: stronger than expected but one dimensional with young whiskey. Pallet: It’s mellow that helps with the younger ethanol that comes through, also picked up hints of spice and a unrefined caramel. Finish: Ends with bits of sour notes, I’m not sure if that is an effect the pecan barrel finishing adds. The formula is good but just needs more time in a barrel. I read where the pecan wood has an effect of aging the whiskey faster, as that may be true it still needs to go longer. Belfour is doing it right by owning the process with putting down their own barrels so I’m expecting this brand to only get better in time (plus the bottle has a kickass gatsby era style to it).

NEAT NOSE - Butter Pecan, Light Brown Sugar, Vanilla, and Honey PALATE - Full of light brown sugar and honey with a touch of vanilla. The mouthfeel is quite thin and it tastes young, but not grainy. Everything is well balanced. FINISH - There’s a sweet nuttiness on the finish, but it’s short lived. BUY? - I would skip this one. I got this towards the beginning of my bourbon journey because it was in a cool bottle and expensive so I thought it would be great. Boy, have I learned alot so far. I also thought the pecan wood finish would be interesting, which it is, but it’s not enough. BIY AGAIN? - Absolutely not at $80.

I first opened this bottle a couple weeks ago and wasn’t the biggest fan. I treated this pour the same as last time by leaving it to sit for a little bit. This time I can say I am more of a fan. I am getting much more sweetness now; lots of butter, honey, brown sugar, some nuttiness and plenty of spice. So all in all, its good. Definitely above average and worth a buy if you want to try something new. Would it be my go to? No. I just think that value wise there is better for a 85 dollar price tag especially when you can get Barrel whiskies for an extra 5 bucks.