Review #336 - Rebel Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Lux Row Distillers, based in Bardstown, Kentucky, produces a range of brands: Blood Oath, David Nicholson, and Ezra Brooks, to name a few. Here's the entry level bottle from their wheated bourbon line, Rebel, which is bottled at the minimum 40% ABV (80 proof).
They call this a 'straight' bourbon, and since there's no age statement on the bottle, we can surmise that it's at least 4 years old; based on the entry-level price point, we're guessing the barrels used aren't much older than that, either. Though it isn't stated on the bottle or the brand's main website, a blog post by Lux Row reveals that this bourbon is made using a mashbill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley.
Rebel Kentucky Straight Bourbon
USA - Bourbon
Current Locally Available Price: USD 15 (2024)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 40% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 1 month; bottles at 100% and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Soft and leaning a little dry - not too sweet. Notes of peanut and vanilla, as well as some drying oak and hints of grain; cinnamon oatmeal and a dusty character arrive in time. A mild, rounded profile.
Palate: The mouthfeel is thin, and some youth is evident from the start; the flavors are generally in the baking spice realm, with brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon, and vanilla appearing across the tastings. One-off notes included grain and a nondescript nuttiness.
Finish: Lots of cinnamon and vanilla - those are the strongest flavors. We do get hints of soft oak and some oats, and this is sweeter now in the finish; it's medium-short and a bit mild.
Final Note: A mild entry-level bourbon - not going to offend many, but it doesn't offer much complexity or density of flavor with the low bottling strength. It's fine, and it showcases that softer vanilla-grain side that we sometimes get with wheaters.
Value is quite good, as this is a very cheap bottle - we can get it around $15 in our area, which makes it even cheaper than other wheated bourbon budget options like Maker's Mark and Larceny.
Our Average Rating: 5.0 / 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: 8.11
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
