American Whiskey Review #11: Duke Grand Cru Founders Reserve 9 Year Bourbon

Distillery: O.Z. Tyler

Region: Kentucky

ABV: 44%

Age: 9 years.

Cask Type Finished in French Oak ex-Cabernet Barrels

Price: $12 for a pour during happy hour.

Color: 1.8, Old Oak.

Nose: Lots and lots of cherry, a hint of cabernet. There’s old wood furniture and a bit of wood polish as well.

Palate: Very thick and rich mouthfeel. It starts off a bit savory-sweet with some salted caramel. This gives way to a really rich, dark cherry flavor that dominates. After the cherry comes a bit of oak, a hint of cola, and a little bit of something nutty (I thought salted, roasted peanuts).

Finish: The finish goes on for seemingly forever. It starts with more that rich, dark cherry flavor along with some vanilla and crème. Some more of that salted, roasted peanut flavor comes out as well with a hint of the a bit of oak and rye. It ends with something that reminds me of cherry soda.

Conclusion: Whisky finished in ex-Cabernet casks. That just sounds like it’d be fun from the start and this one did not disappoint in the least. It’s rich and full of fruit flavor, basically all cherry, along with some really lovely savory-sweet notes in salted caramel and salted peanuts. The finish is so much fun starting the cherry, vanilla, and crème, going on to a bit of rye, and finishing with cherry soda. Would I buy a bottle? Yes. My only regret is I didn’t stick around to try the rye version of this one but I imagine I’ll be having it soon enough.

Final Score: 89.

American Whiskey review #11, Bourbon Whiskey Review #10, Whisky Network Review #145

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.