Well, we survived Hurricane Delta luckily unscathed and I decided to celebrate by popping the bottle of Col. E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof I picked up last weekend at Hokus. I just love fall with the many limited release bourbons that come out. Moreover, I have seen a number of pictures of this bottle on my national and Louisiana bourbon groups on Facebook, so it seems there is a good bit of this out there.

This one is a hefty 130.3 proof. This is the highest proof in the last four years. Interestingly they are no longer putting the proof on the tube.

And, of course, I verified the laser code to confirm this is a 2020 bottle.

So this was actually bottled last spring. The color is a gorgeous deep amber; this is likely a ten to twelve year old bourbon. On the swirl is a thick oily film and legs. On the nose is lovely caramel corn, freshly popped with the rich and dark caramel being still hot, some vanilla and oak. On the palate is a rich and luscious mouthfeel, with big rich caramel up front, hints of vanilla and clover honey, dark fruit, spicy rye,and clove. The lingering finish accentuates the clove and adds baking spice.

This is a big, bold amazing bourbon. I had a little of the 2019 release last night, and, by comparison, this one has a little less rye on the palate, so I think this batch has a little more Buffalo Trace Mashbill No. 1 than 2 in the mix. But this year’s release is definitely richer in flavor and more velvety on the palate.

It’s one of the very few things that has gone right this year.