Kentucky Gentleman

ose: The nose is very light with hardly any noticeable scents, but I seemed to pick up on a little bit on menthol. Palate: The first sip gives the impression of your standard inexpensive whiskey. The mouthfeel is light, the finish is on the short side and although there is a little bit of heat that kicks in on the finish, it isn’t unbearable. Whiskey like this is a bit hard for me to review because it is so “average” or “meh” (as other reviewers state….and I’ve stolen it from them!). There’s nothing that stands out as unique and the flavor profile is just straight up “whiskey”. On later sips, I realized that there was a pretty healthy dose of vanilla going on. The heat in the short finish is warming but doesn’t even travel down your throat very much. Comments: I’ve actually been wanting to try this for a long time, because it is cheap. I’ve also put off trying it, for a long time…..because it is cheap. I had very low expectations going into this one. It is an odd duck as well because, although it states “Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey” on it…..it ALSO states “A blend of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and spirits from the finest grains". That is clarified (somewhat) on the side label, which states, "51% straight whiskey aged at least 36 months, 49% grain neutral spirits”. SO….it is what it is. I’m not crazy about blending anything with “grain neutral spirits” but I suppose if you have barrels of whiskey in the rickhouse that really aren’t suited for anything, you might as well ATTEMPT to salvage them. That said……you can often find minis of this “on sale” (perpetually, it seems) for .69 cents or 2 for $1. And….that ain’t bad. If I was on a plane ride and mixed this with Coke, I would be perfectly content. If a mixer was mysteriously unavailable, I could even drink it straight without too much pain. It clocks in at a believable 80 proof and comes from Barton (who also put out the 1792 recently reviewed). Total Wine sells a big 1.75L jug for….$13.99. You almost can’t buy booze that cheap without getting into some really horrible stuff. Which….this isn’t…..BUT……having tried it, I won’t be rushing out to get a bottle, even at that price-point. BUT…if offered it in someone’s house, or as some cheapskate's treat at a bar, I wouldn’t hesitate to accept it. So….I’m glad I finally got to try it. I will say that this would be a great whiskey to sneak into a blind tasting….BECAUSE….we all have our biases and KNOWING that this was cheap MAY have altered my opinion of it. I SUSPECT that if I had tasted it blind, it probably would have scored higher. In fact, if you’re ever in the Flying Aces and get involved in a blind tasting, don’t be surprised if this is one of them. Lastly, just remember…..this is a blend…..with grain neutral spirits (which could be anything from vodka to moonshine, I suppose). For those of you who put stuff up in those little mini-barrels to further age it, however, this might be an interesting choice to at least try to see what it would do to it. If nothing else, it would be a cheap experiment.