June 12, 2024
By Rebecca Herman McBrayer
Wayne and I anticipated the release of W.H. McBrayer Batch 4 and were excited when we got the email saying it was ready for ordering. We were unable to complete the pick up at Revival Vintage Spirits this time so we had it shipped to us. It arrived pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I was unable to sample it because of recent knee replacement surgery. Aye! We had to wait about ten days. Needless to say, we were very excited when I could partake and we didn’t waste any time popping the seal on one of the bottles we purchased.
Please be sure to read our approach to Tasting Whiskey if you haven’t already.
W.H. McBrayer Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch 4
Mashbill – 88.4% Bloody Butcher Corn, 5.8% Heirloom Rye, 5.8% Malted Barley
Age – NAS; a blend of 5-7-year-old barrels
Proof – 106
Price Paid – $100
Color – Medium Amber
Aroma – Burnt caramel, vanilla cream, honeysuckle, cherry, oak, nutmeg, and leather.
Tasted Neat – It drinks like a mature bourbon and carries a lot of complexity. Cherry, tobacco, vanilla cream, and oak. The finish was cinnamon, black pepper, leather, and oak.
Tasted with dried cranberry – The cranberry brightened up the overall taste of it by bringing more fragrant notes such as orange zest versus the deep dark notes when tasting it neat.
Tasted with a pecan – The pecan was similar to drinking it neat except that there was the addition of a hint of dark cocoa and the spice level was higher.
Tasted with dark chocolate – Very rich and reminiscent of a dark chocolate turtle. The spice is somewhat reduced and the finish is tobacco and nutmeg. Very nice.
General Notes: Neat remained our favorite way to drink it but the dark chocolate was excellent as well. In addition, the brightness that the cranberry brought forward was very nice. This batch is super flavorful overall and would be excellent with a steak dinner before or perhaps afterwards with a nice cigar.
Comparison of W.H. McBrayer Batches 1-4
Bill McBrayer asked for our opinion across the four batches. We explained that we only had one unopened bottle of Batch 1 and we were holding onto it for sentimental reasons. He was kind enough to send us a small sample of Batch 1 so we could taste and compare all four batches.
This was several days after our original tasting of Batch 4. We nosed and tasted each batch. We then waited 15 minutes to allow them to open fully and nosed and tasted them again. The notes below are from the final tasting.
| Batch 1 2021 Aged 4 Years, 4.5 Months 103.6 Proof | Batch 2 2022 Blend of five 4-year-old barrels and one 5-year-old barrel 100 Proof | Batch 3 2023 Blend of six 5-year-old barrels, two 6-year-old barrels, and two 4-year-old barrels 103.5 Proof | Batch 4 2024 Blend of 5-7-year-old barrels 106 Proof |
| Nose: *Wayne: Butterscotch, creamy vanilla, baking spice *Rebecca: Carmel, vanilla cream, leather, baking spices | Nose: *Wayne: Vanilla, honeysuckle, baking spices *Rebecca: Caramel, honeysuckle, baking spices | Nose: *Wayne: Honeysuckle, leather, vanilla *Rebecca: Cherry, caramel, cinnamon | Nose: *Wayne: Honeysuckle, vanilla, leather *Rebecca: Cherry, vanilla cream, leather, baking spices |
| Nose Rank: *Wayne: 4 *Rebecca: 2 | Nose Rank: *Wayne: 2 *Rebecca: 4 | Nose Rank: *Wayne: 3 *Rebecca: 3 | This was our favorite nose! |
| Tasted Neat: *Wayne: Tobacco, butterscotch, cinnamon *Rebecca: Caramel, vanilla cream, leather, nutmeg | Tasted Neat: *Wayne: Tobacco, cinnamon, black pepper, leather *Rebecca: Vanilla, honey, tobacco, cinnamon | Tasted Neat: *Wayne: Leather, tobacco, pepper, cinnamon *Rebecca: Cherry, apple, cinnamon, leather | Tasted Neat: *Wayne: Tobacco, vanilla, leather, black pepper *Rebecca: Cherry, vanilla, tobacco, leather, cinnamon, black pepper, oak |
| Taste Rank: *Wayne: 3 *Rebecca: 2 | Taste Rank: *Wayne: 4 *Rebecca: 4 | Taste Rank: *Wayne: 2 *Rebecca: 3 | This was our favorite taste profile! |
Throughout the tasting process, we nosed and tasted one at a time. We wrote our findings individually and shared with one another afterwards. We have found that sharing too soon can overly influence one another.
Discussion and Final Notes
We weren’t surprised that we selected Batch 4 overall. It has had more of an opportunity to mature. Each batch of W.H. McBrayer has been outstanding and Batch 4 simply raised the bar a bit with its additional maturity. The original heirloom mashbill creates a bourbon that is unlike others on the market today. If you appreciate a complex flavor profile as indicated in our notes, you will most likely enjoy this as well.
As with any tasting, it is strictly opinion on a particular day. We each struggled with determining a ranking because there was something in each batch that we really enjoyed. Ultimately, it came down to what we enjoyed “most” at that moment in time. We could do this again next week or next month and have somewhat different results. This is one of the things that we truly appreciate about bourbon.
The bottom line, McBrayer Legacy Spirits treat their brands like family because it is part of their family heritage. They have taken it slowly and carefully as they entered the highly competitive spirits market and have a terrific long-rang plan. In addition to W.H. McBrayer, they also offer a Bottled-in-Bond (Old McBrayer Bourbon) and Cedar Brook. These brands are not currently distributed but you can simply join their Legacy Club to be alerted to each bottle launch where you will have an opportunity to purchase it online. As of this posting, there is currently availability for Old McBrayer BIB 2023 and W.H. McBrayer 2024. We sincerely hope you will have the opportunity to taste the heritage of this brand.
Cheers,
Rebecca
Photos by 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.
Spirit Requirements
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Such whiskeys have all the requirements of bourbon: Made in the U.S, distilled at <= 160 proof, barreled at <= 125 proof, aged in new, charred oak containers, bottled at >= 80 proof.
Straight bourbon means it is aged at least 2 years (and must have an age statement if less than 4).
In addition, to be Kentucky Straight Bourbon, it has the additional requirement that it must be produced and aged at least 1 year in the state of Kentucky.
For additional information on bourbon requirements, please read this post – Bourbon Whiskey.
The bourbons in this review were purchased by us. We were not compensated by the spirit producers for this review. This is simply our opinion based on what we tasted on this day. Please drink responsibly.
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