Smoke Wagon Straight Bourbon Whiskey

• Distellery – Nevada H&C Distilling Company
• REGION – Las Vegas, Nevada
• AGE – NA (On the younger side)
• STRENGTH – 46.25% (92.5 proof)
• MASH BILL – 60% Corn, 36% Rye, and 4% Barley (mash bill from MGP)
• MSRP – $35

GLANCE

Has a very nice dark golden color with medium viscosity.

NOSE

On the nose you get notes of raisins, brown sugar, golden sweet cornbread and sugar cookies. A very nicely rounded gentle nose. After letting it breathe a bit, I sometimes picked up floral notes.

TASTE

The mouthfeel is quite relatively smooth and creamy. I got pleasant notes of milk chocolate, vanilla ice-cream, Danish pastry and the proof punch towards the end. Overall it tasted well rounded like the nose but nothing too complex. There was hints of baking spice sprinkled throughout the taste profile, which gave it a nice subtle kick.

FINISH

The finish is nothing extraordinary. Here the low age impacts the development of the finish. Its a medium length, with the baking spices and burnt brown sugar lingering around until all the flavors fall off.

CLOSING REMARKS

I feel this bourbon achieved it’s goal, in being what it was supposed to be. We can’t expect it to be at level of BTAC George T. Stagg (2020) but for the price and the smoothness you get, it more than fits the bill for being a great daily sipper. Nevada H&C Distilling founded by Aaron Chepenik and J. Hensleigh founded the company and in 2016 released their Smoke Wagon Small Batch. In a short period of four years they have become one of the top bourbon selections out there. There uncut unfiltered which I will review as well, is spectacular and still at an affordable price of $65 while at well over 100 proof. Nevada H&C Distilling are doing something very special and their introductory budget friendly offering, is a great representation of what they can offer. Though this is a younger bourbon (not age stated but dictated by tasting and reports online), it offers a lot for the price. The nose is a joy to smell and the palate doesn’t disappoint! I also appreciate the design of the bottle. The whole cowboys and roses theme makes it really pop and looks great on your shelf! It was a sugar and spice fusion which I think would be amplified with higher proof, but overall a very solid choice for a daily sipper.