Jesse James American Outlaw Bourbon

Nose: Very “shiney”, with a LOT of alcohol scents and maybe a little turpentine. It also smells of sweat socks. I did not enjoy the nose on this one. It definitely doesn’t say, “Drink me” when you sniff it. Palate: Well, it just goes to show you. This doesn’t taste anything like it smells. You do get some hints that it is a young bourbon (the label says “aged at least 36 months”) but it didn’t taste as “shiney” as the smell would lead you to expect. That said, you still pick up on it. It isn’t overwhelming and it isn’t awful. What you do get is a lot of corn, but a lot of it is more in a sweet way than a moonshine way. The mouthfeel, as expected, was pretty thin. The finish is short. It is not harsh and doesn’t have a burn. In fact, there’s really not much warming either. You feel a little in the back of your throat and as it goes down, but the finish is so short that it disappears quickly. After a few sips, I started getting a little rye spice, some oak, and some very light toastiness. This bourbon is an odd bugger because if you get a sniff as you bring the glass up for a taste, it tends to predispose you to expect a moonshiney taste….and sometimes get. But it really is hard to tell if it is from the actual taste or because of your expectation. Weird. Later sips became a bit chewy. Much as I want to, I can’t say this is “bad”. I also can’t say it is good…..but, at the price point, you really can’t expect too much. Is it a diamond in the rough? No. Is it so bad you should never try it…..uh, no. I doubt you will fall in love with it, but you won’t necessarily want to immediately pour it down the drain. Comments: 80 proof (or “Tavern Strength”, as it says on the label…..I’ve never seen (or, at least, noticed) that before.) This comes out of New Hampshire. What? New Hampshire? Yeah, not a state you would ever equate to “whiskey”, let alone bourbon. The good news is, this is cheap (I think I got it for at or near $20, maybe on the under side), so you won’t lose much if you get it and try it. Not that you should immediately do so….BUT, if you get it and don’t like it, I seem to think it would be a decent whiskey to use with a mixer. (I’m going to try that later in the week…..or, maybe this afternoon….) This was a brand new bottle that I opened today. I don’t know how much this may have effected things, but it will be interesting to taste this again in a while, now that the bottle is open. I’m curious how much it will change. (A lot of them do.) Bottom line, though, is I think you can find better stuff at the bottom end of the price scale than this. [NOTE: It looks like they also put out a Tennessee Whiskey Single Barrel….at $59, as well as some flavored whiskey (usually, NOT a good sign).]