Chestnut Farms Bottled In Bond Whiskey

Distillery : Barton 1792 Distillery

Bottler : Distillery Bottling

Cask Type : Charred New American Oak

Strength : 50.0 % Vol.

I was looking for something special for my birthday, so I headed to Total Wine. An old friend from high school happens to work there, so I asked for a suggestion. He recommended this particular bottle, so I was pretty excited. Warning: Do the leg work before spending a good chunk of money towards spirits.

Neat

The weather outside was nice this particular evening, so I went out on the deck to enjoy some whiskey. I poured the spirits out into my new birthday glass and let it sit. The color is dark amber that shines gold at the top.

Nosing the pour, I sensed a subtle sweet oak. The scent quickly faded. There didn't appear to be much more fragrance than that quick hit of sweet oak.

I took a swig of the spirit, and there was an intense spice that hit the pallet right away. Definite hints of typical bourbon flavors. Vanilla. Caramel. The whiskey was rich and brought to mind fruits such as dates and figs. The flavors were just slightly on the sweet side.

I wouldn't say that the finish was smooth. Being this was one hundred proof whiskey, it was tame enough.

Opened Up

Added a small cube of ice and let it open the drink up. The water took a little of the zing out of the intense spice. The odor was sweeter and had hints of your typical oak with vanilla. A few sips revealed a lighter sweetness of brown sugar. The water helped the drink, giving the liquor a smooth traveling down the gullet.

Conclusion

Overall the Chestnut Farms Bottled In Bond is good whiskey. I don't feel the bourbon is worth the price point. A bottle of Bookers Uncut (made from the same distillery) has as good if not better flavors.

I feel Total Wine should be a little more transparent about their white-labeled spirits. Costco has some fine spirits and markets them under the Kirkland brand.

In the end, I have to give the Chestnut Farms a solid 90/100. It is an excellent bourbon that is not too sweet and has classic bourbon flavors.