Black Eagle Bourbon Whiskey

Rating: 8/23 This is a bottom shelf Total Wine store brand that carries a 3 year age statement (good) and was produced in Minnesota (bad). I have low expectations, but we'll see. N: Light and thin with a faint nectar sweetness with water, faint bananas, pears, and some sort of odd oily funk. Nothing here smells bad, but it overall just doesn't have enough going on, is too weak, and have any particularly good aroma. P: Oh, this tastes young. I'm getting a bit of bitter ethanol, but mostly this just lack flavor. It's watery and slightly bitter, in the way that whiskey gets when its ABV drops too much. There's something faintly industrial, but it isn't too obtrusive. It's sort of just a slight industrial note in the bitterness. There's a slight, watery sweetness, but not much and certainly not nearly enough. There's also some heat from muddled barrel spices that tend toward hot cinnamon. This is also a bit harsh. It has a mild burn, but then it just abrades my tongue. Spots of caramel come through when I get lucky, but that's rare. The flavor is also just really muddled. This palate is challenging, but not at all in a good way. There's really nothing to like here. It isn't the most challenging thing to drink out there, but it's bad. F: Drying, lingering harshness, light, bitter, bland, faint spices, maybe a faint hint of vanilla. It's not all that bad (at least it's better than the palate), but it's certainly not good. - Conclusion - This might be salvageable in something like a maple syrup old fashioned that injects a lot of sweetness and richness. This is bad though. It could be an 8 at most. A 6 might be too harsh given that it isn't actually painful, but a 9 seems generous. Side by side, Earl Settler (11/23) is so much better than this and so is Trader Joe's bourbon (11/23) (rumored to be from Barton's). I gave The Sexton a 9 and it has some really weird, unpleasant funkiness to it. This is actually not that much worse. The Sexton has more sweetness and character though, as well as less of that watery bitterness. This will be a 7 or 8. Ick. Coming back to this, I might be able to be convinced that it's a 9. Really, I'm thinking an 8 though. Ick, again.

First, let’s get one thing straight, this was clearly a giggles purchase. Or more like the aftermath of a whisk(e)y aficionado losing a bet. Needless to say, I was very amused by a bottle of bourbon that had nothing better to say about itself on the label than “individual barreled”. How bad could something worse than the bottom of the barrel be? Black Eagle is labeled “bourbon whiskey” so I’m assuming it meets those most basic requirements. Aged 3 years, bottled at 40% ABV*, and produced in Minnesota. Packaging: The bottle is so cheap I had to cut the bottom of the screw top off. It’s like the whisk(e)y gods are begging for me to spare myself. Keeping an open mind is going to be more difficult than opening this bottle. Appearance: I gotta be honest, the first thing that popped into my head was dehydrated urine. I hope that’s not what’s in here. Also, a quick Google search of “black eagle” informs me that a black eagle is in fact a real species of bird native to Southeast Asia. I’m not sure how it relates to a bottle of bourbon from Minnesota. Nose: What nose? It’s all ethanol. Ok, grainy, fruity ethanol. At least it’s not laboratory-grade ethanol. I don’t know if I’ve ever smelled something more non-descript. Dewar’s and JW Red have more going on. Palate: Did I just drink recycled heads and tails? Probably. That is sweet, grainy, and harsh, with a bit of charred, metallic vegetal funk. Finish: Whiskey flavored mouthwash. Now with added char and bitterness for dental health. Ok guys. Steer clear. The only thing I can assure you of is that they promised they aged this in some sort of individual barrel instead of a gasoline tanker truck. And that this is why I’m not a betting woman. There must be better whiskey produced somewhere in the state of Minnesota. 1.0 ~ Doesn’t Matter ~ At Least It’s Not Urine *Is it a joke that Distiller says this is 10% ABV? That’s probably appropriate because that is the ratio of mixer you’d need to make this remotely palatable.

Overall impression: Weak, watered down flavor On the nose, I am unable to decipher any distinct flavor notes. Just a light ethanol smell. Taste is quite simply described as diluted. Like the nose, there are no descript flavors to be found. For the cheap price, it is a good “party bourbon”, as I call it. Something that can be used as an easy mixer and if some gets wasted, no fret. $23.99 for a 1.75L

Nose - peanut shell, honey, corn, light rye spice, high ethanol burn. Taste - honey, vanilla, peanut, sweet corn, barrel spice, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast, very sweet, and bland. This is not good. It’s overly sweet and a bit hot and dull. It drinks more like a cheap Canadian whisky.

Color: liquid gold Nose: sweet caramel, apple, banana bread Palate: Apple, like flat apple cider, bread, light oak, everything is a muted tone. Probably best as a mixer. Not bad by any means, easy to drink, but nothing interesting whatsoever.

A rich, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Minnesota with a rich birth with notes of spice, vanilla & fruit; a spicy life adds notes of caramel & pepper; that led to a complex death of medium length. May 2019 / August 2022