Buzzard's Roost Char #1 Rye Whiskey Review

Steve Coomes -

BOTTLE DETAILS

STEVE'S NOTES

SHARE WITH: American whiskey fans.

WORTH THE PRICE: Even in today's market, $60 seems a bit steep for a 4-year-old product.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: It's undeniably tasty, but try a pour at the bar before you commit to a full bottle.

OVERALL: When you live in Louisville, Ky., you learn that it's arguably the biggest small town in the country. If you're even halfway sociable, you'll make friends and know them for decades.

A good example is when I met Buzzard's Roost cofounder Jason Brauner 34 years ago when he owned a great deep-dish pizzeria and bar called Cliftons. That spot shared the same neighborhood as Bourbons Bistro, a terrific restaurant he founded two decades ago and which bourbon lovers have visited forever on their pilgrimages to Kentucky.

At lunch several years ago, he shared his itch to leave the restaurant business and "do something with all this experience and knowledge I have of bourbon." Apparently my suggestions found no purchase in his brain, and then next thing I knew, he was working on launching a whiskey brand.

He eventually sold Bourbons Bistro to focus fully on Buzzard's Roost, which he created with his business partner, Judith Hollis Jones, who lives about a quarter mile from me. That's Louisville in a nutshell.

Buzzard's Roost is a whiskey company which, since it sources and contracts its whiskies, makes them distinct with cooperage and blending. As this bottle's label mentions, the barrels in this batch are Char #1: three char levels lighter than Wild Turkey, two less than Heaven Hill, if you want a comparison. All Buzzard's Roost barrels are toasted prior to charring.

The nose finds soft aromas of fresh plums and peaches before brighter aromatics such as citrus and cedar move in. The expected rye guys–dill and spearmint–arrive later. To find toasted bread with honey butter and baking spice, you have to hunt around the margins of some potent ethanol. If you leave it alone in the glass for a bit, you'll return to find surprises like leather, clove and strawberry taffy.

When I first tasted it one evening, there was modest amount of stone fruit, Demerara, oak, black pepper and baking spice, but not a lot more. A day later, its spice and pepper characters not only intensified, they brought notes of orange, caramel, creamed corn and bruleed brown sugar to the party.

I've had the good fortune of helping pick a 5-year-old single barrel of this same whiskey and barrel combo, and the complexity evident in that is much more apparent than in this younger version. Still, this is a solid pour even at 4 years old. It's a reliable call if you see it on a bar somewhere.

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Check out our other Buzzard's Roost reviews and stories.

BRAND NOTES

Our very first product to hit the shelves and on-premise superstar. This whiskey was designed to deliver a plethora of different flavors. When making this blend, we sometimes use up to 4 or 5 different types of flavor-specific barrels which yields an incredibly complex product that holds up to a cocktail. On its own, you will find that our Small Batch Rye always leads with a sweet and spicy nose complemented with notes of toasted oak. The palate is spice forward and the finish is long.

All of our Buzzards Roost Products have been aged in proprietary barrels that we create with our cooperage partner. Each barrel has a unique individual flavor that is used somewhat like a spice rack to complement our whiskeys. We pride ourselves on delivering new and interesting profiles for each release. Our products evolve and change but one thing is for certain, they are always delicious.

• Nose: Pleasant notes of wood, sweetness and citrus. Upon further examination, there are deeper notes of dark chocolate and dark fruit.

• Palate: Warm and full of confection and caramel goodness.

• Finish: Long with a bouquet of sweetness and spice, finishing with some notes of toasted oak.

Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.