Review #174 - Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Review #174 - Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Made at the Jim Beam distillery, Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon is a high-rye bourbon, made with the intention of being as smooth and welcoming to the category of bourbon as possible. It's bottled at the minimum 40% ABV (80 proof), and the brand says that we can expect flavors like vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and black pepper.
While this bourbon previously carried an eight year age statement, there's no official statement about how long it's 'artfully aged' at this point; because of the 'straight' designation on the label, and the lack of an age statement, we can surmise that it spends at least four years in the barrel.
Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon
USA - Bourbon
Current Locally Available Price: USD 30 (2023)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 40% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 18 months; bottles at 70%, 40%, and 20% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Balanced between sweet and dry, and the overall feeling is a bit light and thin. The sweeter scents are vanilla, caramel corn, and a hint of cherry; the spice comes in the forms of clove, black and white pepper, semi-dry oak, and a hint of anise.
Palate: A little more dry on the palate; the mouthfeel is thin, a bit watery. Light salted caramel and some vanilla add accents of sweetness, but this is mostly wood spice, black pepper, blanched almond, and a bit of chemical acetone. Later, tart cherry and clove arrive.
Finish: Medium-short in length, and still mostly woody notes - dry, slightly salty, not too warm. Dusty corn and soft caramel linger, and a soft aftertaste of vanilla and salted nuts comes later.
Final Note: This really suffers from the baseline 80 proof presentation. We actually like that it isn't too sweet, but there isn't a lot of flavor development in general - just general flavors/sensations like 'dry' and mild baking spice. The thin palate doesn't really help the experience, and around the $30 mark, there is a lot of competition.
Our Average Rating: 4.3 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.68
