Hayes Parker Reserve Original Bourbon: MINI

Nose: This one has a decently heavy scent of corn and, like its cousin, it borders on moonshiney, but isn’t full on. It also has an antiseptic, almost cleaning product smell. I did not find it appealing and wanted to stop sniffing it. So I did. Palate: This tastes a lot like it smells. It has a very corny sweetness to it, that for a micro-second isn’t bad, but then it immediately goes south, and a harsh bitterness kicks in. Along with that, you get a blast of heat that adds to the harshness. The mouthfeel is pretty watery. The finish isn’t especially long, but the heat and a bitter aftertaste last well past it. And when I say WELL past it, I mean that MINUTES later you still taste this bourbon in the back of your throat. Unfortunately, it isn’t a pleasant taste, so it is not a good thing. Comments: I saved a little bit of the other Hayes Parker from two days ago to try along side this and I couldn’t tell much of a difference between the two. If anything, the other one tasted a bit more moonshiney. They APPEAR to be different products, but who knows? This one is also 90 proof and will run you $1.49 at a Total Wine store (and only there, it appears). The labels are very similar (but different colors) and this one says “Original”, while the other one says “Small Batch”. While the Small Batch states it is “aged at least six months”, this one states “aged a minimum of six months in new oak”. The one thing I like about these bourbons are the labels. Unfortunately, that is ALL I like about these bourbons. You won’t miss anything if you take a pass on either.