Old Hickory Blended Bourbon Whiskey
40% ABV
$29.99
Website
What the Bottler Says:
Old Hickory Black Label is a meritage of bourbon and whiskey distilled at 80 proof and blended to deliver classic flavors for traditional bar mixing or sipping straight. Amber in color, this crowd pleasing bourbon is bright and spicy with attractive aromas of cherry custard, pistachio gelato, and almond nougat. With a silky medium-to-full bodied taste, Old Hickory Black Label exhibits a tingling, engaging finish with lingering flavors of white toffee, dried cherry, and honey custard.
What Gary Says:
Nose: Young, malted corn and vanilla.
Palate: Sweet with a hint of malted chocolate and caramel, and a wisp of wood; very tame and “smooth”.
Finish: Medium, but forgettable.
Comments: Compared to the Old Hickory Straight Bourbon, I like this better – the nose has more balance and more sweetness; although the palate has little wood and is primarily sweet. Despite being a lower proof, this is darker as well. According to the back label, this blend is comprised of 89% whiskey aged 4 years; 11% minimum aged 2 years – which I do appreciate them putting right on the label. They list this as a blended bourbon, not a “straight bourbon”, which means it COULD contain flavoring or coloring. This is darker than the higher proof Old Hickory Straight Bourbon (which is 100% 4 yrs or older), so I would suspect this is the case.
Rating: Probably Pass
What Richard Says:
Nose: The nose comes out with a nice mellow creaminess that’s heavy on the corn. Sweet corn pudding with a little back note of vanilla and cinnamon.
Palate: Very smooth, mellow, and easy to swallow (not drink 😉 ).
Finish: It finishes a little hot but still pretty mellow.
Comments: First off, this comes in a very nice, solid bottle. Plus, there is an artificial cork. Regular Whisk(e)y Apostle readers will know that is a bonus for me. But putting a pig in a nice dress doesn’t make you want to take her to the dance. “Pig” is a bit harsh. There’s nothing wrong with this whiskey. There just isn’t much going on. Usually, when you read whiskey notes and you see “smooth” and “mellow” with not much else you can really read that as “bland” and “flavorless”. This isn’t that toned down but there’s really not a lot going on. This is not a slow sipper for the aficionado or the connoisseur. This is clearly more for the mixer and those who want “whiskey” but don’t really like the taste of whiskey. But at $30 it’s a bit too expensive for that. For those interested, this is an MGP made whiskey.
Rating: Average
We would like to thank Double Diamond Marketing & Communications for sending us a sample to review.