Benchmark Top Floor Bourbon (86 Proof)

“Whiskey Credit Score.” It’s a concept a buddy and I came up with to describe what you’d be willing to drop on a new bottle you knew nothing about, purely based on the distillery. For example, for me Journeyman has a WCS so low, you’d have to pay me to take it. And I still might not. What do you want me to do with this? Hotel Tango has a very high WCS, and if I ever get into gin, it’ll probably be because they make one and I get curious. Similarly, Buffalo Trace has a very high Whiskey Credit Score with me. I’m a little concerned that it’s a blank check. If Rock Hill Farms ever did the collectible topper thing like it’s younger sibling, maybe each glass topper came in different colored glass and you had to collect the whole rainbow... I’d probably have to sell my car and start biking to work. So there’s the scene. Enter Benchmark, stage bottom shelf. Out of thin air, one day my local liquor store had 5 new Buffalo Trace products on display that I had never seen. Thankfully, they were all under $20... because again, those bastards own my wallet. The question wasn’t which one, it was: “Where’s the nearest ATM?” So here’s the Benchmarks: Benchmark 8 (80 proof) Benchmark Top Floor (86 proof) Benchmark Small Batch (90 proof) Benchmark Single Barrel (95 proof) Benchmark Bonded (100 proof) Benchmark Full Proof (125 proof) These are all made using Buffalo Trace mashbill #1, which is BT’s low-rye mashbill. People that are smarter than me think it’s about 10% rye, 5% malted barley, and 85% corn. They think this, but I don’t think anyone outside of BT actually knows. I wanted to do a true mashbill #1 round robin, so I threw in: Buffalo Trace (90 proof) EH Taylor Small Batch (100 proof) Eagle Rare (90 proof) Stagg Jr. Batch 13 (132.3 proof) 10 mashbill #1 bourbons. 45 blind taste tests in glencairns. Only one can be the best. 10th place: Benchmark Small Batch 9th place: Benchmark 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8th out of 10: Benchmark Top Floor. Nose is sugar, lemon, oats. It’s a lemon-frosted oatmeal cookie. Is that a thing? Body is caramel, honey, vanilla, milk. Mild apple and oats, but that milk is dominate. Finish is baking spices, citrus. This is the place in my experiment where mashbill 1 starts becoming enjoyable for me. This is a tasty whiskey at an incredible price. It’s a bit nuttier that I typically care for, but for $13.29 I don’t know if you can find a better bottle. Very low proof, so if you’re used to bonded or higher, this is going to taste like water to you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have a few more Benchmarks, so if you want to play along next time, feel free to skip the intro. However, I did have trouble deciding which BT stopper to rainbowify, so I may have some fresh material next time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fun new discovery about mashbill #1: The oats/oatmeal/oat cookie note is always there, but I never would have noticed it if it hadn’t been for these cheaper iterations.

Another product out of Buffalo Trace so I’m sure it’ll be snatched up quick. The way it was described to me was poor mans Stagg. I’ve never had Stagg yet so can’t compare, maybe one day. This is Buffalo Trace’s introduction into the low end competitors market and the Top Floor label does a pretty darn good job. I would recommend letting this rest a little bit before drinking if going with neat or rocks. Right out of the bottle very mild flavors, after about 5-10 minutes flavors were improved. My taste was neat in rocks glass. Nose - mild, picked up cherry, toasted caramel and butterscotch, little bit of oak, and definitely hints of tobacco. Palate - overall a pretty balanced flavor, little hints of sweetness. Very light in texture/mouth feel. Almost reminds me of a campfire, has almost like a burnt caramel flavor, hint of cherry, and then pick up some oak and the tobacco flavor with just a little bit of pepper. Finish - surprisingly is pretty good if you like a sweet tobacco flavor. What it reminds me of is a cigar or more specifically that black and milds scent. The glass after it was finished you would’ve thought you had just walked out of a cigar bar, strong tobacco scent. If you don’t like the tobacco flavor then I’d probably steer clear of this one. If you do then for the price this is an easy sipper, very smooth, flavors aren’t going to wow you, but it is well balanced. It’s something I could easily break out for a sip around the campfire or hanging outside on a cool fall night. If this stayed in a $20-$25 range absolutely would buy this again, no question.

N: Sweet corn, dust, earth, hay, mint, some shaving cream. Little bit of wood funk too. Interesting, but not terribly engaging either. P: Sweet caramel, vanilla, sweet corn. Toffee, something like a vanilla ice cream note, Some herbs and dried grass. Thin mouthfeel, bordering watery. F: Decent heat, but short and not a lot of distinct flavors. Some corn, vanilla, caramel. It's a typical bourbon finish. Grabbed all four of the mainline Benchmark (this, Bonded, Single Barrel, Full Proof) bottles on a recent re-up. This was my least favorite of the four. That said, it's a perfectly serviceable bourbon (and the first I've finished, although the Bonded will be right behind it). It reminds of a pretty good young MGP. I would call that a decent compliment. Well priced, solid whiskey, but the thinness of it in the mouth hurts. The other bottles don't have that problem. I might do this again, but it's not on par with something like an Evan Williams Single Barrel, when those can be found, and only a few bucks cheaper. It's also not better than standard Buffalo Trace (but I'm a BT fanboy so YMMV). _______ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord: https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired, please post a comment and I will provide a new one.)

BENCHMARK TOP FLOOR *NOSE: Surprisingly light in color with a lot if heat. Lots of Wood (Oak, Cedar, Sawdust) dominates with lighter notes of Vanilla, Brown Sugar, and Orange Peel. *NEAT: A Thin Watery Mouthfeel delivers muted flavors of Vanilla, Cinnamon, Slightly Bitter Tannins, and an almost Peaty Campfire Char. Slightly Bitter Finish of Oak and Mint/Menthol that coats the Palate. *SPLASH: A little water really helps. The Orange Peel becomes dominant on the nose and is joined by Grape Jelly (but still that pesky heat). Those Fruity notes join the palate as well and the overall character becomes Sweeter. It also gains a nice Peppery Spice/Tingle. *VERDICT: This was saved by a little water. This reminded me of Ancient Age (which gave me the camphor/menthol note on the finish), but also EH Taylor (which gives me the jelly notes). Talk about a swing! Definitely an outlier in this series, but at $18 it’s also the least expensive (along with the Small Batch which will get reviewed soon). So far, my least favorite of the bunch.

86 Proof. At least 4 years old. Part of the Benchmark Series from Buffalo Trace (Single Barrel, Small Batch, Full Proof, Bonded, and Top Floor). Currently only available in Indiana, but will be expanded to other States when supplies are sufficient- per Buffalo Trace. N: A light nose of brown sugar, oak, mixed citrus, and baking spices. P: A dusting of cinnamon, assorted baking spices, and brown sugar on burnt buttered popcorn. Also, cherries and touch of malt. F: Barrel char, buttery, and bit of cherries. Tannic and unpleasant. Very buttery mouth feel with a lot “burnt” notes. I expected this to be an oak monster, but it was not quite as overpowering as I thought it might be. Maybe the low proof helped it there, but I doubt it impacted it that much. I expected this to be the worst out of the Benchmark Series, and it was. It was the cheapest at $15.99 a bottle as well. I wouldn’t recommend this other than out of curiosity.

2.3 out of 5. My least favorite Dram Pour out of the Bunch. It’s the weakest offering on the Budget-Benchmark Bourbon lineup. (Caramel Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Cherry Cough Drops, Apple Pie Crust, and some light Anise/Floral notes hiding in the back.) This Kind of reminds me of a softer Evan Williams 1783 new release. Nothing special or spectacular. It’s a tad bit boring for my palate and taste buds, but for the overall value and price to proof point. It’s a solid sipper or cocktail mixer.