Henry McKenna Straight Bourbon

Rating: 11/23 N: Lots of limestone minerality. It's a light nose that gives me a watery vibe. I'm getting plenty of barrel spice as well, with some light, musty corn. Hints of tangerine. It's a pretty boring, watery nose. Not bad, but definitely bottom shelf stuff. P: Watery with minerals. It's thin, but there's some nice corn sweetness turning into just slightly undercooked caramel with interesting herbaceous flavors that aren't overly bitter. There's a nice amount of barrel spice that doesn't take over nearly as much as I'd expected. Ginger, cinnamon, clove. It's actually a fairly sweet palate and is easy to drink, but there's some spicy heat from the barrel spices. Oh, there is quite a vanilla presence in here. It's nice. It doesn't take over too much and fits in naturally with the wood. F: Lingering sweet corn dipped in light caramel with faint herbaceous complexities. The barrel spices pop in from time to time, but mostly show up as a nice tingling. A lingering layer of thin vanilla sits underneath it all. - Conclusion - There's actually a lot to like here. I'm getting some good complexity with no bitter flavors from over-aging or weird vegetal or chemical flavors from under-aging. This certainly isn't your mature, contemplative dram, but it's fairly complex and quite approachable. The spices are a bit hot for the 40% ABV, but the level is just about right. The problem is that the rest of this is thinner. Maybe they were right to water this down to 40% ABV so the spices don't take over. This might be a bit too expensive to be a cheap mixer and a bit too mellow to be a more expensive one, but it's really not bad. No shame keeping this one around. Evan Williams Bottled In Bond (/23) is bolder and fuller with more peanut flavor, but also a lot more ethanol and burn. This is more approachable and easy sipping, as well as more complex. They're pretty close in quality though. I might lean toward a higher rating for this, but I'd probably re-buy the Evan Williams because most likely it's better for mixing and I'm not drinking booze neat if it isn't at least good (unless I'm working on a review). Evan Williams 1783 (11/23) is more mature with nice sweet vanilla, toffee sweetness and wood. I think that the Evan Williams 1783 is the clear winner here. I might have it rated a bit low at 11/23. This is going to be a 10 or 11. The big question is whether the good points of the Evan Williams Bottled In Bond outweigh its bad points to make it better than this. I'm thinking that this is an 11.

Pours a rich amber-gold color. Not very leggy until you add a little water to it. The aroma is very spicy and peppery. The cinnamon component makes me assume it has a good deal of rye. (Note: the mash bill is 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% barley.) The second wave is lacquered wood and just a touch of varnish. The barrel char is ashy and pairs well with the peanut dust that brings up the rear. The taste is cinnamon spice and red pepper flakes: it leaves a nifty little burn on the palate. The resins from the barrel give a prickly, piney character. The middle of the swallow has a combination of salted toffee and rich butterscotch hard candy. When you dilute it a bit, a bloom of cherry and orange rind comes out. It finishes with red and black pepper heat: the spices dance on the tongue long after the swallow. Dark chocolate, charcoal ash, bitter toffee and coffee grounds. The tail end is orange zest, ribbon candy and fire balls (the candy, not the shot for teenagers). The finish lingers better than I would have expected. This Bourbon is lot of peppery spice, finished wood, charcoal ash. Very well balanced between spicy and woody, both elements compliment each other well. For $15 this is an absolute steal: neat, rocks or mixed.

Nose: Light wood and grass at the top with fragrances of caramel and brown sugar Palate: Watered-down oak, some nuttiness, with the same hints of vanilla sweetness later in the taste Finish: Short, some astringency, but fades fast At 80 proof, you could do worse on the bottom shelf. This bourbon is thin in both body and range of flavors. It's fine, but there are better options for both mixing and pouring neat.

NOSE: Alcohol, brassy vanilla, grass, honey, scorched grain, something musty, butterscotch. MOUTHFEEL: Slightly creamy. TASTY: Caramel, dusty honey, butter, brown sugar. FINISH: Short, with grass, faint oak, and alcohol. This isn't the worst bourbon I've ever had, but I'll not buy it again. It's merely mediocre.

A semi sweet musty note on the nose with a slight hint of mint. The flavor has a strong plastic taste that leaves me with a nasty aftertaste in my mouth. No sweetness or spiciness on the palate, fell completely flat! Will never drink this again....however, the Henry McKenna 10 year remains a favorite of mine!

This is very sweet. I get just a slight nuttiness with lots of vanilla, caramel, and corn. There's just a hint of something medicinal. Not too spicy. The finish is short with no bitter aftertaste. This a great bourbon for the price, but just ok as a sipper.