E.H. Taylor JR. Single Barrel – Paragon Spirits

Laser Code: L222690112:58J (2022 Release)

A stark reminder of the pitfalls of picking up a single barrel blindly

DISTILLERY	Buffalo Trace
REGION	Frankfort, KY
AGE	NAS
STRENGTH	50% ABV (100 Proof)
MASHBILL	Undisclosed (Buffalo Trace’s Mashbill #1, speculated to be 10% rye or less)
MSRP	~$65-80

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GLANCE

Clear with a dark copper hue

NOSE

Clean with pronounced intensity. Right away I got notes of menthol, cough syrup, eucalyptus and pine needles. Further nosing brought along aromas of vanilla, caramel, sweet oak, candied cherry and bubble gum.

PALATE

Mouth-filling texture with pronounced intensity. I love the mouthfeel, oily and coats the palate well. Dark cherries, cherry cough syrup with spearmint and menthol (these components were tuned up high). I found the caramel, and vanilla turned down. There are notes of dates and freshly shaved coconut towards the end of the palate. The oak then kicks in creating dryness at the end of the palate.

FINISH

Long and simple. Tannins from oak, cherry cough syrup, menthol and some earthy notes.

CLOSING REMARKS

This is my first time trying a single barrel expression from the E.H. Taylor lineup. I have enjoyed the small batch expression, so when I had the opportunity to pick up the single barrel for not too much above MSRP – I pulled the trigger. This one surprised me. This one felt the most off profile compared to the other Buffalo Trace products I have tried. If you want funk, this one has ALL of it. I appreciate quirky or funky flavor profiles but this one is funky on steroids. The nose doesn’t hide the fact that you are going to be in for a wild ride. The herbal, menthol forward note with cherries made me double check my nose was working!

Now on to the palate. I have revisited this bottle a few times as you can tell by the level in the bottle. The neck pour I enjoyed significantly more. The flavors felt more balanced and less bitterness. Which I find odd. Usually, flavors start to mellow when you let the whiskey open up a bit in the bottle in my experience. When I assessed the spirit after “breaking” in the bottle, I found the menthol, cough syrup and tannins from oak really began to overpower the rest of the flavors. The funkiness I enjoyed from my initial sips of this single barrel were now just over funky. I would be very curious to compare this to another single barrel but reviewing this single barrel on its own, I will have to rate it below average unfortunately. Single Barrels carry their level of risk, and I struck out here it seems. When I consider the E.H. Taylor Single Barrel is most often found at much higher than MSRP and not as accessible as other SB bourbons – there is lot more at stake when taking a gamble on one. This won’t stop me from chasing other E.H. Taylor Single Barrels, but this time I will be a bit more selective on where exactly I am acquiring one. Cheers!

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