American Whiskey Review #2: Old Overholt Bonded

Distillery: Jim Bean

Region: Kentucky

ABV: 50%

Age: 4 Years

Price: $28

Color: 1.3, Russet / Muscat

Nose (according to the wife): Smells like something out of chemistry lab. There’s a lot of strong ethanol burn with a bit of rye spice. Not particularly pleasant.

Palate: Slightly sweet cereal mash with distinctive roasted rye grain notes. A bit of caramel and then something that reminds me a lot of banana Laffy Taffy.

Finish: Medium to long. Lots of the rye grain notes along with a strong alcohol burn. There’s some more caramel and then some polenta. With some water, the alcohol burn goes away making it a bit more pleasant.

Conclusion: Rye whiskies were my introduction to American-made whiskey. A good friend of mine loves Old Fashioned’s, particularly those made with rye. I picked this one up on a whim. If you ignore the nose, it’s not too bad. The roasted rye somehow works well with that bit of fake banana and isn’t too bad to drink. The finish is decent, especially after a bit of water is added. Not overly complicated and seems like it would be a decent mixer (I’ll have to try making an Old Fashioned one of these days with this). Would I buy another? Probably not, I’d rather spend a few extra dollars on a bottle of Templeton, but not one I’m going to pour down the drain either.

Final Score: 70

American whiskey review #2, Rye review #1, Whisky Network Review #51