Review #82 - Jefferson's Reserve Pritchard Hill Cabernet Cask Finish

Cabernet Cask Mini-Series: Part 3 of 3

We're wrapping this series with a bourbon, this one hailing from Kentucky Artisan Distillery, home of Jefferson's Reserve and Jefferson's Ocean. This is a brand known for being more of a premium whisky, while still being available; the standard Jefferson's reserve is not age stated, but is thought to be around 7-8 years old, so it has some real flavor development. The Ocean side of the brand, which has both bourbon and rye, is famous for the fact that the barrels are aged at sea, adding effort, expense, and unique flavor - the prices seem to match that line of thinking. Are these good value? We'll let you be the judge of that, as it ranges from palate to palate.

This specific bottle is on the bourbon side, but after the usual new charred oak cask aging, it spends about 12 months in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon casks from the Chappellet Winery in Napa Valley, California. How will the addition of the extra oak aging affect the final flavor? The European oak will likely add some spice, so we could be looking at a more tannic, well-aged experience, but we'll be on the lookout for the red fruit flavors from the wine as well.

One random note - we don't put much stock in color due to the different types of barrel aging that different products undergo, as well as practices of adding color in some industries like Scotch, but the color of this whisky is absolutely lovely. It's this fantastic shade of red mahogany, very unique when compared to other bourbons, or other whiskies in general. Our picture doesn't do it justice... not even close.

Jefferson's Reserve Pritchard Hill Cabernet Cask Finish

USA - Bourbon

Current Locally Available Price: USD 69 (2023)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 45.1% ABV

Cask Makeup: Finished in Cabernet Sauvignon casks from Chappellet Winery

Details: Single barrel product

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 5 months; bottles at 100%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Red wine and red fruit: cherry, or cherry juice, it's semi-sweet and semi-tart, and the complexion is generally dark overall, with some sugary molasses and brown sugar. Lots of your classic bourbon notes here, too: decent amount of oak, rich caramel, vanilla, and just a hint of a sharper tannin as well. Past the sweeter notes, there are actually some more unusual bits here, like mild herbal funk, a hint of earthiness, even a buttered popcorn note. We finish with some sharp orange.

Palate: The red wine influence is a bit more heavy handed on the palate: more oak, with some bitter tannins, and a lot of red fruit of under-ripe strawberry and cherry. It's sort of spicy, almost like a Malbec wine, which is dry and heavily spiced in our experience. The palate is more tart and dry than the nose, but there is still light brown sugar, as well as a bit of a syrupy cocktail cherry, or maybe a cherry lozenge. There are trailing herbal and straw notes, some richer molasses, and the mouthfeel is medium.

Finish: There's dark cherry, almost a cherry cough medicine here, and some candied orange slices. While the fruit side of this is somewhat mellow, there's definitely a bit of prickly oak and some dry vanilla, even some sawdust. The palate was more dry and sharp, but this finish is turning sweeter once more, with dark brown sugar and round red fruit notes.

Final Note: Not bad, but the wine cask maturation here is definitely a bit heavy-handed. If you enjoy your strongly finished whisky, that could be a point in its favor, but we would like a little bit more balance. The finish is a bit short, too; still, there are nice sweet fruit and brown sugar tones that are a good addition to just about any bourbon. Value is okay - that may come down to whether or not this style of whisky is your preference.

Our Average Rating: 6.5 / 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: 6.14