Jefferson's Reserve Twin Oak Custom Barrel Bourbon

Opinions are all over the board on this bourbon. I first tasted it at a specialty shop and was impressed enough with its unique character to buy the bottle for when I wanted something different. Upon opening the bottle and tasting a few drams, I can say for sure this is “something different” but not necessarily in a good way. The nose betrays the spice of high rye mash bill. The first thing I noticed on the palate was a smooth oily mouthfeel. Instead of blossoming into the burnt caramel and vanilla I love in a good bourbon, a very mild brown sugar sweetness was quickly overcome by a bitter taste and the smoothness gave way to an extremely heavy oak. Here I must relate a story. Back in grad school the student union building had a deli that allowed you to put whatever you wanted on a sandwich for the same price. I love cheese. And the deli had like 9 kinds. So I said to myself, “You can never have too much cheese” and asked the sandwich maker to put a slice of each kind on the sandwich. As I retired to a nearby bench to enjoy the cheesiest of all sandwiches, I found quickly that my jaw-closing slowed and nearly halted about 2/3 of the way through the cheese stack. I muscled through but then my molars had the same problem chewing and the sphincters of my throat just gave up and refused to push it all down. I learned that day there is such a thing as “too much cheese”. Returning to the present, the wave after wave of oak that presented themselves on the palate and finish taught me something new in the same vein: there’s such a thing a “way too fucking woody” in a bourbon.

Jefferson's does it again. This is really good. I have no idea how sourced juice continues to turn out so good, but keep it up Mr Zoeller. I still feel the Jefferson's line is overpriced, but I cannot doubt it's goodness. This is not as good as the Ocean Voyages I have sampled, but it is $25 less. It also has more oak notes and more depth of flavor. I believe it is a fair trade off. If you can get a bottle on sale, don't pass. Thanks @ridethalightin for sharing.

"Holy Crap this is Flat !!!! This I would say is my second worst buy to date . Woodford Reserve Double oak is about $20.00 bucks cheaper and way way way better ! If you are not a huge fan of whiskey & bourbons and just want something easy to drink , this would be for you. Feels heavily watered done and non complex at all , just flat and fast I don’t know what these other reviews are talking about lol and absolutely pass at $70-$80 dollars big let down ."

Wood! Oak! Wood! Some how they made this oak bomb uniquely enjoyable! Sweet oak on the nose, with some heat, vanilla and burnt sugars coming though. Palate is sweet oak spices. The finish is long as it goes from those sweet spices to oak tannins and tart.

John O’s Liquor barrel 28 bottle 237. A very “traditional” bourbon flavor from Jefferson’s. A little heat and spice on the top of the tongue. Caramel and nutmeg on the end. Leaves a burn in the mouth at the end. And just a slight warmth to the chest.

I hold Jefferson to a fairly high esteem. This over the top production did very little for me. Fell flat, was very one dimensional. Much like the 6ers right now. Chucking up 3 pointers like they’ll make em. 6ers in 6 over the Nets.