Bourbon

Bourbon Review: Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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Bourbon Review: Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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Item: Bourbon Review: Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Rating: 8
Author: Phil Dwyer

Woodford Reserve Bourbon was launched in 1996 and has become one of the most dominant names in the American whiskey world. A bourbon that is affordable from a consumer and bar perspective, many bars use this whiskey as their house bourbon pour.

by Phil Dwyer
April 11, 2025

Phil Dwyer is a freelance whisky writer, YouTuber, and former manager of The Whisky Shop Manchester, UK.

Tasting Notes:

About:

One of the oldest distilleries in all of America, despite the fact that continuous production hasn’t always occurred at the facility. Woodford Reserve can trace its lineage back to 1812, but the current distillery can source its building back to 1838. Woodford Reserve Bourbon was launched in 1996 and has become one of the most dominant names in the American whiskey world. A bourbon that is affordable from a consumer and bar perspective, many bars use this whiskey as their house bourbon pour. Many different super tasters have fawned over Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon for the depth that it has on both the nose and palate, having had over 200 separate flavours listed from this every day bottle of bourbon.

Appearance:

Dark Brown.

Nose:

The ultimate and classic smell of bourbon. Tons of vanilla, caramel, toffee, coconut, mango, passionfruit, rye spice, cardamom, dried chilli, fudge, raisin, milk chocolate and sweet oak.

Palate:

A bigger balance of spiciness coming through now. More of the rye elements of the mash bill, it’s spicy, green and a little driven by things like nutmeg and cinnamon. The vanilla is bouncing off some profile of mint, also being provided by the rye. The it all comes back around to sweet cherry, milk chocolate, coconut and mango.

Finish:

Full of rye spice, cocoa, espresso, mint, passionfruit, coconut, vanilla and toffee sauce. It honestly takes you on a huge ride of flavour across the board of what bourbon can offer. Genuinely delicious.

Comments:

A bottle that I’ve literally grown up with over the years of my whiskey adventures. Woodford was readily available form when I first started buying whisky and it’s been a constant on my shelf since.

It’s such an amazing house bottle for neat pours, ice, cocktails or long drinks for both yourself or when you have people over. It’s affordable, available, very consistent and delivers so much flavour across the board. It does lean sweet, naturally, but it has so much other stuff to offer when it comes to depth and complexity for price.

This does make a very tasty and somewhat industry standard level for what an Old Fashioned is, but what it can offer to the whisky drinker in a time of increasing prices and the scarcity of many different types of whisky across all styles, this is a constant and never fears to go away or have its price driven up to an insane point. This, arguably, is part of the house that the modern demand for bourbon has been built on.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer is a freelance whisky writer and consultant. With a decade of experience in whisky retail and nearly as long running Whisky Wednesday on YouTube, Phil is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow whisky lovers. His goal is to make whisky accessible and enjoyable, dispelling the jargon and complexity that can sometimes surround the spirit. In addition to his online presence, Phil managed The Whisky Shop Manchester, where he curated an impressive selection of some of the finest drams available.

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