Review: Buzzard’s Roost Founder’s Select Barrel Strength Bourbon 7 Years Old
Review: Buzzard’s Roost Founder’s Select Barrel Strength Bourbon 7 Years Old
The latest Buzzard’s Roost release is a true rarity, a seven year old bourbon made from just 2 barrels of whiskey, born of a mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley and featuring a secondary maturation in 18-month-seasoned Level 1 charred barrels before being bottled at cask strength. Just 260 bottles were produced, all exclusively sold at the Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience in downtown Louisville.
We got a sample to check out, so let’s dig in.
There’s a curious smokiness on the nose here, increasingly insistent notes of charred wood melding with butterscotch and buttered pecan notes. Layers of green and black pepper spice things up, though they add a distinct herbaceousness to the proceedings. Had I not known otherwise, I’d have guessed there’s a lot more rye in this than 21%.
The palate continues with a somewhat dissonant quality, evoking notes of peanut butter and barrel char, a grittier spice note, and finally more of that butterscotch character. Notes of almonds and vanilla caramel give the whiskey a baseline sweetness but something underneath comes across as harsh and a little industrial, increasingly beefy with time in glass. The finish carries a bit of a petrol punch, weighting things down further.
It’s fun to see Buzzard’s Roost creeping into formal age statement territory, but I’m not sure these were two specific barrels to do it with.
113.4 proof.
B / $150 / buzzardsroostwhiskey.com
Buzzard's Roost Founder's Select Barrel Strength Bourbon 7 Years Old
$150
