1792 Small Batch Review
Listen I’m like everyone else that likes to find a bottle that has been aged for 99 years in the arms of the virgin Mary and only uses the tears of E.H. Taylor, Pappy Van Winkle and Elijah Craig as the water used to make this bourbon. It also will cost as much as the national debt. So, the next most exciting thing is to find a bargain whiskey that punches over it’s price tag. Let’s find out if 1792 small batch can do that.
Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.
NAME – 1792 Small Batch
PROOF – 93.7
AGE – non-age stated
COLOR – auburn hair (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)
NOSE – Vanilla custard, raisin, caramel, cinnamon, oak and a slight bread yeast.
TASTE – The nose doesn’t lead you astray. Same things come through with vanilla custard, raisin, caramel/brown sugar, baking spices and that yeasty note. Oak plays a stronger role on the palate than it did on the nose. The noticeable thing is the creamy mouth feel that is not usually found in sub-100 proof bourbons. Very pleasant.
FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. A toasted oak stave with vanilla and cinnamon slide to the very end.
REVIEW – The thing I always have liked about this bourbon is the way it is able to do a three-way balance of sweetness, spice and wood notes. None overpowers the others, but I would say that the sweetness may slightly tip the scale more than the others. It’s a straightforward bourbon that is anything but boring. Obviously, it doesn’t get much shine compared to its siblings Full Proof, Bottled-In-Bond, Single Barrel or even Sweet Wheat but if you would do a blind lineup of all of those, I know for sure it would beat out some of those that you wouldn’t think it would.
FINAL COMMENTS – The sad part these days is it is increasing difficult to find a $30 or less bourbon that is more than a one trick pony. The whiskey craze has driven up prices and driven down age and quality just to meet demand (by the way, my contacts with the various distilleries tell me prices are getting ready to go up again). To find a bourbon that has really good balance, not an overwhelming complexity but certainly no one trick pony, pleasant sweetness and mouth feel for $30, in these days it is punching over its weight. Now add that it comes in a pretty sharp bottle and stopper and it certainly is one that can easily find a space on your shelf.
