November 3, 2024
By Rebecca Herman McBrayer 

Wayne and I decided to do a “bargain” tasting based on a request by a friend. We love having friends over to try new bourbons and they tend to really enjoy doing that. But one brought to our attention that they wanted to find decent bourbons to have on their shelf at home or that they might request as a mixed drink in a bar.

This blind sample includes five bourbons, all are 100 proof, at least four years old, and under $30.

This table documents our blind nosing and tasting experience.

	Sample A	Sample B	Sample C	Sample D	Sample E
Appearance	Light in color, golden honey	Light in color, golden honey	Light in color, golden honey	Light in color, golden honey	Light in color, golden honey
Nose	Wayne: Plum Rebecca: Caramel, apple	Wayne: not as hot Rebecca: light, very little coming forward	Wayne: slight vanilla Rebecca: light, bright, berries, toffee	Wayne: very light Rebecca: light, butter	Wayne: limited Rebecca: creamy vanilla pudding
Tasted Neat	Wayne: bitter, spicy Rebecca: a bit hot, caramel, red hots	Wayne: zest, cinnamon Rebecca: orange zest	Wayne: oak, cinnamon Rebecca: oak, toffee	Wayne: chili powder Rebecca: nutty, peanut butter, chili	Wayne: rye grass Rebecca: rye spice, darker tasting
Finish	Wayne: black pepper Rebecca: fairly long, black pepper	Wayne: black pepper Rebecca: long, black pepper	Wayne: black pepper Rebecca: medium, pepper	Wayne: chili pepper Rebecca: long, oak, nutty, pops of chili	Wayne: NA Rebecca: medium, black pepper
First Impression	Wayne: so-so Rebecca: OK	Wayne: OK Rebecca: OK	Wayne: OK Rebecca: OK	Wayne: Nice Rebecca: Good	Wayne: No Rebecca: so-so
Top Nose		Wayne #1	Rebecca #2	Rebecca #1	Wayne #2
Top Taste		Wayne #1	Rebecca #1 Wayne #2	Rebecca #2
Top Overall		Wayne #1	Rebecca #1 Wayne #2	Rebecca #2

Please watch this video for more information on the entire blind tasting process and experience.

The table below shows the details and results of each bottle.

Name	Age	Price	Mashbill	Revealed Sample Letter	Results	With Diet Coke
Bench-mark Bonded 100 proof	Bottled-in-Bond; At least 4 yrs by rule	$17.99	Un-disclosed	C	Rebecca #1 taste & overall, #2 nose Wayne #2 taste & overall	Rebecca & Wayne = No!
Evan Williams Bonded 100 proof	Bottled-in-Bond; At least 4 yrs by rule	$23.99	78/C, 10/R, 12/MB	D	Rebecca #1 nose; #2 taste & overall	Rebecca & Wayne = Very Good!
Old Forester 100 proof	KSBW; at least 4 yrs by rule with NAS	$29.99	72/C, 18/R,  10/MB	B	Wayne #1 Nose, Taste, & Overall	Rebecca = Very Good; Wayne = No
Old Grand Dad Bonded 100 proof	Bottled-in-Bond; At least 4 yrs by rule	$25.99	63/C, 27/R, 10/MB	E	Wayne #2 Nose	Rebecca & Wayne = No!
Very Old Barton 100 proof	KSBW; at least 4 yrs by rule with NAS	$16.99	75/C, 15/R, 10/MB	A	N/A	Rebecca & Wayne = OK

This blind tasting was very enlightening. When you remove your background knowledge, experience, and expectations from the equation, it really helps your mind, nose, and palate be open to new senses. For us, it is unlikely that we will drink these neat; however, we have a much better understanding of which ones taste better with a Diet Coke (our mixer of choice) and this will be beneficial for selecting a bargain pour in various establishments.

If you have an idea for another blind tasting match-up, please let us know. We are always looking for new challenges!

Spirit Requirements: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey & Bottled-in-Bond