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Bourbon

Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Bourbon

$35.00
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OVERALL
RATING

6

Bourbon Review: Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Bourbon

We review Woodford Reserve's flagship Distiller's Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
  • Carin Moonin is a Portland-based whiskey enthusiast and writer.
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Tasting Notes:

About:
Appearance:
Reddish gold, the gloss of a well-loved Irish setter, rich mahogany.
Nose:
Very sweet, bordering on lightly creamy. Caramel, orange sponge cake, but also with an undertone of paint drying. This isn’t off-putting, though; think more like the clean and fresh scent of something clean, new, and fresh and ready to go. Another one: chocolate covered oranges.
Palate:
It starts out soft and balanced with a strong caramel apple vibe to carry you through to the finish, which completes a little prickly, like red hots. It’s definitely got sweetness on the palate with a fiery end. Kind of fizzy, too, with hints of POP ROCKS. And afterburn like a tipsy Looney Tunes St. Bernard. (Imagine my disappointment in college when I tried skiing in Colorado for the first time, got stranded on the mountain, and didn’t encounter a bartending canine.)
Finish:
Comments:
This is good…but not great. I think it’d be best in a mixed drink, like a bourbon ginger, which would play well with its carbonated peppery vibe. I’d be more inclined to drink it like this than to sip on its own, which would be a little astringent. It’s not bad but it would welcome some friends. Think of it like the first step of a multi-part skin care program. It’s fine if you just use this, but it’s complemented by other components.

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.

It had come to our attention that for all the hundreds of brown liquors we have reviewed here at the Whiskey Wash, we haven’t reviewed one of the more familiar whiskies of the more familiar brands: Woodford Reserve.

Of course, while my esteemed colleagues have shared their thoughts on the Woodford Reserve Toasted Oak Rye and the Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Cherry Wood Smoked Barley, we realized it was time to go back to basics—without being basic.
Woodford Reserve itself is noted for being a historic national landmark, befitting of an older distillery such as it is in Kentucky. It is home to a 500-foot-long gravity-fed barrel run,  copper pot stills and 100-year-old cypress wood fermenters. Said to have one of the only heat cycled barrelhouses in the world, those behind this operation claim a balance of historic heritage and modern practices in how they produce bourbon.
image via Carin Moonin/The Whiskey Wash

Tasting Notes: Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Vital stats: Mash bill of 72 percent corn, 18 percent rye and 10 percent malt; 90.4 proof; about $35

Appearance: Reddish gold, the gloss of a well-loved Irish setter, rich mahogany.

Nose: Very sweet, bordering on lightly creamy. Caramel, orange sponge cake, but also with an undertone of paint drying. This isn’t off-putting, though; think more like the clean and fresh scent of something clean, new, and fresh and ready to go. Another one: chocolate covered oranges.

Palate : It starts out soft and balanced with a strong caramel apple vibe to carry you through to the finish, which completes a little prickly, like red hots. It’s definitely got sweetness on the palate with a fiery end. Kind of fizzy, too, with hints of POP ROCKS. And afterburn like a tipsy Looney Tunes St. Bernard. (Imagine my disappointment in college when I tried skiing in Colorado for the first time, got stranded on the mountain, and didn’t encounter a bartending canine.)

Carin Moonin

Carin Moonin swapped a 5th-floor walkup in Hoboken, NJ, for a house in SE Portland a decade ago and hasn't looked back. She appreciates Portland's vibrant whiskey scene, finding it complements both the weather and her mood. Carin enjoys exploring the diverse world of brown liquor and its many facets. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Salon.com, DailyDot.com, Willamette Week, Portland Monthly, and others. When she's not indulging in whiskey or writing about it, you can find Carin running, reading, or on the hunt for free samples in grocery stores.

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