April 27, 2024
By Wayne McBrayer

Last Saturday, my wife Rebecca and I spent part of the afternoon doing a tasting of the 10 different recipes of Four Roses Bourbon based on the 10 different yeast strains that they use. It was a fun tasting and I was able to pick up a lot of different tastes and scents while we were doing it. It caused me to reflect back to the very beginning of my bourbon tasting and how things have changed for the better.

It was 2021 and I was sitting on our back porch looking over our lake and Rebecca and I were tasting the very first release of W.H. McBrayer. My cousins had resurrected the family bourbon and had released 900 bottles of which we acquired 2 of them. As I nosed the bourbon, all I could pick up was alcohol and when we tasted it, my throat and mouth were on fire! I was beyond frustrated and told Rebecca I’ll never be able to appreciate this or drink it and it has my last name on it!

She encouraged me to not give up and that it was a process. In this case, I stuck it out and she was right. For months, I would only drink my bourbon on ice and slowly I began to like it. The problem for me was that it became way too light and watery. One day I was tasting Maker’s Mark and decided I was going to drink it neat and wow, it wasn’t bad! It didn’t burn and I picked up wheat as a flavor! My nose and palate finally combined to find this once fire juice to be outstanding and worth my time and effort.

Patience is hard, and I find it difficult at times to be patient. This time it paid off and now that once fire juice of W.H. McBrayer Batch No. 1 is pleasant with caramel on the nose and a vanilla and cinnamon on the finish. This 103.6 proof that almost knocked me out of my chair is now almost too low for me. For what it’s worth, W.H. McBrayer No. 4 is coming out soon and my cousin has told me, “the best is yet to come” and I believe him. It’s great bourbon. Be sure to check out their Legacy Club if you are interested.

You may be like I was and not enjoy it. It may to be too hot, taste awful, smell bad and look weird. I encourage you to stick with it. You’ll find that it’s not that bad and you might even find out that you’ll end up loving it.

Enjoy your bourbon journey –
Wayne

Photo credits: Rebecca Herman McBrayer

Note: Wayne McBrayer is not affiliated with McBrayer Legacy Spirits. They are cousins, friends, and great people. We support their bourbon journey and respect what they are doing to resurrect a 150-year-old brand that is part of their family lineage.