The next contestant in our “budget” bourbon tastings is Early Times Bottled in Bond. This one has popped up on my feeds quite a bit in the last few weeks, so I had to see what it was all about.
Some quick history. Early Times, at one point, was the top selling whiskey in the United States. The majority of their products are called “Kentucky Whiskey” instead of bourbon, as they age in used oak barrels and we know that to be classified as bourbon, it must age in new oak barrels. The Early Time Bottled in Bond, however, meets all the requirements to be BiB, therefore, it is bourbon.
Enough history. On to the tasting.
NOTE: This is a fresh cracked bottle, so a future tasting will be in order to see what some breathing does to it.
Nose: Right off the bat, vanilla comes at me hard and strong. Getting some classic caramel, some green apple and some smokiness. Nice, balanced nose once you get past the vanilla.
Palate: Seems a bit thin for being at least 4 years old, but those caramel and green apple notes meld nicely together to create a…wait for it…caramel apple flavor, but not as sweet as you might think. Some grass notes come in followed by some oak. Overall, nice flavors that, while they don’t blow you away with the complexity, are very satisfying.
Finish: Very oak and smoke forward finish with slight bits of char. Fairly short finish, unfortunately. The final memory of this pour is some dark chocolate. Some nice notes, but a bit unsatisfying.
As with others in the “budget” category, the classic flavors and nose you would expect in a bourbon. A classic profile of caramel, vanilla and oak, makes Early Times Bottled in Bond a solid pour in the sub-$25 range. Will be interesting to see how this one tastes after being open for a bit. If it is along the lines of others in this class, the solid pour will become a very good pour and that I am looking forward to.
Early Time Bottled in Bond
6.8
Pros
- Classic bourbon profile
- Nice, balanced palate
Cons
- Fairly short finish