Mile High Bourbon and Rye is Celebrating one year of whiskey reviews on November 20th! We happened to get a very special bottle, that was a perfect review to celebrate a year’s worth of reviews, including one of those reviews being published in “The New Single Malt” in October! This bottle is from Jefferson’s, and it is the Presidential Select 21 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon from Total Beverage. This is an amazing bottle, great all the way around, so let’s go ahead and get right into it.
(Quick edit here. As far as I know, this is not currently being made. We were lucky enough to receive this as a gift, and I would like to emphasize lucky. I know that Total Beverage is definitely trying to get Jefferson’s to do another batch.)
Color: Copper, and extremely clear.
Nose: This bourbon has lots of wood, leather, hints of honey and orange zest. There are notes of some other dark fruits, and nuttiness, like pecans.
Palate: My goodness this is smooth. Honey up front with sweetness and vanilla, moves into spicy flavors with some black pepper notes. The finish is woody, nutty, with some brown sugar and sweetness. The oak and wood notes are apparent throughout the entire sip, which just adds layers to every part of the sip. The flavors stay long after the sip is gone, for a terrific finish that lingers for a long time.
We added just a couple drops of water to the glass, and it opened up a couple of flavors. This bourbon does not need anything to help it however.
W/Water Nose: More of the nut/pecan notes come through, and a bit more sweetness. There is still tons of heavy oak, but the orange and honey are little less noticeable.
W/Water Palate: The front of the sip really explode with the vanilla and honey flavors, moving into the black pepper spices on the mid palate. The oak influence is noticeable through every part of the sip still, which really adds complexity to the entire palate. There are some dark/dried fruit notes that come through, and the finish is nut/pecan, brown sugar, and lots of oak. The entire sip is complex and layered, and extremely smooth.
Ratings:
Angela: 91/100
Zach: 98/100
Overall: 95/100
This is easily one of the best whiskeys I have ever had, remarkably complex and layered, full of different flavors that mingle together and seem to compliment each other perfectly, really making it an amazing sip.
Where did you find it? Been looking for over a year
It was given to us as a gift. I don’t believe they are currently making it.