Trader Joe's High Rye Bourbon

Surprisingly good for the cost! Tastes young, but tastes older than 3 years. Nose is a little off-putting. Really reminds me of Scotch, but has a chemical/ glue-like smell on the back end that makes this smell much worse than it actually tastes. Doesn't really taste as spicy as some other high rye bourbons, and is very light and honey forward in taste. Really, really reminds me of Buffalo Trace in the way it tastes. For comparison, i am tasting this side-by-side with Buffalo Trace right now. Color is lighter than BT. The flavor profile is slightly different, but the quality is hard to distinguish from one to the other. After going back multiple times, the BT has a more full-mouthfeel, more caramel like quality, is sweeter, and has more depth. The Trader Joe's has a more chemical quality and is thinner.

Some fellow customer at Trader Joes told me this was a great value and suckered me in to buying this stuff. It's truly the worst bourbon I've ever had. I couldn hardly finish it even mixed to make an old fashioned. I'm going to try cooking with it and if that doesn't work, I'll pour it on on some overgrown bushes that I need removed. If you are considering this I suggest keeping your cash until a slightly cool evening and then lighting it on fire for warmth. In the end, you'll be better off.

Purchased Oct 2020. It does what it says - high rye - but doesn’t have anything else. The nose has a strong turpentine smell. The taste at least has a good high spice, but is quite harsh. Hard to find other flavors here. The finish lingers a long time, but it’s the bad aspects that stay. I’ll have to try this in a mix or two. Stay well away from it as a straight pour. After TJ’s offered a suprisingly good $15 straight bourbon, i thought this was worth a shot. Deep disappointment.

Strong taste of corn, but not the barrel charred corn you're probably usually used to from a bourbon. This is like feed corn mixed with silage. It really is a barnyard in a bottle. The rye shows up in the back of the throat and aftertaste, but it's always quickly followed by a dried corncob rammed through. Compared to their Kentucky straight bourbon, this is a travesty.

I know I gave this an average review when I first tried it, but since it's sat open, it's become more undrinkable with every consecutive return taste. This is currently the worst bottle in my collection, and I don't think I can possibly finish this bottle without mixing it into some cocktail or other.

This is rough. I hate wasting, so it won’t be dumped out, but it’s going to takes lots and lots of Dr. Pepper to cover up this mistake of a purchase