Jan 25thFirst Bourbon Review on BVVA!!!

I’m a brown sauce fan.  Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, Blends, Aged Tequila, Rum, I love them all.  While Scotch and Rum hold a special place in my heart, Bourbon is my number one.  I figure what better way to get the brown sauce reviews started, then to start with my all time favorite: Blantons.

Lets start with the cons, as there is actually only one for me.  Price.  At about $50, I think its a fair but high price.  I love everything else Blantons.  To me, there is no more quintessential bourbon.  It has all the flavors I associate with good bourbon:  caramel, wood, vanilla.  The flavors are obviously more complex, but I’ll let you decide on the specifics yourselves.  The only criticism I’ve ever heard of Blantons is that it is too sweet (though I do not share said opinion).

If you’re fairly new to bourbon, or on a budget, I’d recommend Elmer T Lee (first picture, right side).  ETL is similar to Blantons in that they are both from the same Buffalo Trace mashbill (#2, 15% rye).  Its about half the price, and twice the value.  I think they have a fairly similar taste profile, and both are single barrel expressions of their common mashbill.  That said, Blantons is far and away my favorite.  In the second photo of this post, you can see that there are eight collectible stoppers.  Once collected, a stave or horseshoe can be acquired to display the stoppers, which when placed in order, show the different parts of a horse’s gait.  I think I’ve got about 4 or 5 stoppers to go.