![]() On the swirl this bourbon has big thick oily legs. They probably added maybe a thimble of water to the whole barrel. The color on this is much darker than the bonded, owing to how very little water they added when they proofed it to 125. A $23 bottle of close to cask strength bourbon is unheard of. So it is fitting they have added a 125 proof bottling to the Benchmark lineup. If this ultimately becomes something I can get all of the time I could see this being my everyday cocktail hour bourbon.īenchmark Full Proof – Sazerac has really made full proof one of their go to products in the 1792 and Weller lines. At 100 proof this would be a go to for a cocktail. Yes, this $20 screw top bottle of bonded bourbon is perfectly quaffable neat. On the finish, vanilla and clove linger and linger, although there is a slight youthful bitterness of the finish. On the palate, the citrus notes are met with brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, and some nice baking spices. On the nose is lots of caramel, some vanilla, and citrus notes. On the swirl is a thin film but with very slow almost gravity defying legs. The color on this is a medium amber, with some shimmers of straw and mahogany. ![]() The bonded designation also assures that this whiskey is four years old. In other places you might see these marked up a little bit, but probably no more than $30.īenchmark Bonded – The label reminds us of an element of the Bottled in Bond Act, meaning that the whiskey must be distilled by a single distiller during a single season, which now means a year. The Bonded was no kidding $20 and the Full Proof was $23. What is absolutely stunning is the price. Hokus Pokus recently got some of these new releases in, and being the proof hound I am, I bought the Bonded and Full Proof. Now there is Top Floor (86 proof), Small Batch (90 proof), Single Barrel (95 proof), Bonded (100 proof, of course), and Full Proof (125 proof). In line with Buffalo Trace’s expanding warehouses and even the addition of a new still, they have expanded Benchmark from a single bottle to a collection of different bourbons. Benchmark is labelled as a straight bourbon whiskey, meaning that if there is no age statement, it is at least four years old. Even at 80 proof, it has a lot of great bourbon flavor. I used Benchmark when creating my Bourbon Baller daiquiri recipe. Until recently, it had only been offered in an 80 proof version. Benchmark is made from the same low rye mashbill for which Buffalo Trace and Stagg are famous. They recommended Benchmark, which is a bourbon they own, while Ancient Age, like Blanton’s, is owned by the former owners of the distillery, Age International. After I got introduced to the good folks at Buffalo Trace by a friend who worked for Sazerac as an accountant, I had asked them which of their low end bourbons they would recommend, Benchmark or Ancient Age. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)ģ | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)Ģ | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)ġ | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co.Benchmark has been by go to cheap mixable bourbon for a long time. Overall: The full proof doesn’t disappoint and is definitely my favorite of the vertical (although the SiB and BiB both put up good showings).ġ0 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)ĩ | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)Ĩ | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)ħ | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)Ħ | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)ĥ | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)Ĥ | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Mouthfeel is oily, creamy, and very filling, with spice that keeps developing but never detracts from the flavors.įinish: Finish keeps the spiced chocolate going, tingle continues for quite awhile - mouthwatering. Cherries, chocolate, tip-of-tongue heat that rolls over the tongue. Spiced chocolate develops into Mexican hot chocolate. Nose: Spice drop candies, fruity, especially orchard and stone fruits. The “Full Proof” (like with Barton’s 1792) refers to the maximum proof at which distillate can be barreled in the US, not to be confused with barrel strength/cask strength, barrel proof, or similar terms.Įye: Amber-honey, thin rims and medium legs. Of the 6-part vertical, this was my favorite, with the bottled-in-bond coming in second. What can I say…I’m a high proof lover, and this was no exception.
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