Basil Don't Bite
Written: Aug 27 '08 (Updated Aug 27 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: mellow, mellow, and more mellow
Cons: lacks the characteristic bourbon bite
The Bottom Line: Another fine bourbon from Jim Beam's small-batch collection, Basil Hayden's may be the mellowest bourbon I've ever tasted.
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| scmrak's Full Review: Basil Hayden's Bourbon 8 Yr. 80 |
I belong to that fraternity who believe that a good whiskey (and even more so, a good whisky) must never be adulterated by mundane substances. Early in my "career" as a sipper of fine single-malt whiskies, a woman in Heathrow poured me a sample of a 12-year-old Balvenie Single-Barrel and added a weeeee dram of still water. "Only enough that you can see the fairies dance," she told me. And that's been my watchword ever since: you order your shot neat with a water back, and shake an ice cube over the top of the glass. And then you watch the fairies dance.
Tonight, though, I'm not drinking a whisky; I'm drinking a fine American Bourbon Whiskey. It's one of Jim Beam's family of small batch bourbons, Basil Hayden's 8-Year-Old Kentucky Bourbon. It's the lightest of the four small batch offerings from Beam (along with Baker's, Booker's, and Knob Creek), both in personality and in chemistry. At a "mere" 80° proof (40% ABV), it comes with a milder kick than its 100° proof brethren, and it's also the palest of the group.
Basil Hayden's takes its name from Kentucky pioneer Basil Hayden, Sr., who crossed the Appalachians in 1785 to a spot near present-day Bardstown, where he established both a Catholic church and a distillery – a true Renaissance man, eh? The modern version of Basil Hayden's uses a recipe Beam claims is true to the original, adding more rye to the mash than traditional recipes. The result is a lighter and mellower bourbon that's excellent for sipping. I tasted mine by pouring a generous shot in an Old Fashioned glass and adding at most half a teaspoon of cold water.
Tasting Notes:
The Pour: Basil pours a pale gold with tints of amber but none of the ruby tints one finds in many bourbons. It's pretty much the difference between a honey blonde and a strawberry blonde.
The Nose: I get a faint hit of mint and honey with just the barest hint of something spicy. The aroma is mellow and smooth, with an admirable balance.
The Taste: Very light and mild, sweetish for a bourbon with touches of honey, vaguely spicy as well. Smooth as a baby's butt, and so mellow that it's almost too mellow. Scary mellow, even. Virtually no bite; if it were sweeter and syrupy it could be Southern Comfort. At 80° proof, though, Basil still packs a punch.
The Finish: Smoooooooth. Short and dry and clean as a whistle.
The bottom line on Basil Hayden's is light and mellow, a fine Kentucky Bourbon that is gentle on the palate and doesn't bite back. The lack of a bite could be considered a lack of character in some quarters, but not around my house it isn't (I prefer Labradors to Dobermans, for instance). A fine sippin' whiskey that deserves to be enjoyed with just a few drops of water - if you insist on ice, one small cube. Anything else, and Grandpa's gonna pull the shotgun out from under the rockin' chair...
Recommended:
Yes
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