Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby 145 45.2% abv
This is the standard Woodford Reserve in a specialty bottle for the Kentucky Derby. This year happens to be the 20th Anniversary of the “Derby Bottle”. Woodford is a premium bourbon that often gets overlooked. I suspect this could be due to the price. This bottle was around $50 which puts it in a price range where you can get much better bourbons (Four Roses SB, Bakers, Bookers, Stagg Jr - just off the top of my head) and that I my only issue with Woodford. I really think they would do better pricing this around $30-$40. If Woodford was priced less it would be a staple in the home bar but at $50 I’ll have my pick of better bourbons.
Smelling this is nice but light - sweet corn, mint, rye spice, brown sugar, fresh grass
The taste is typical bourbon - Brown sugar, vanilla, spice/pepper, caramel, sweet corn
The finish is similar to the taste - Brown sugar and caramel, spice
As mentioned above my only issue with this is the price point which will be reflected in the overall grade. The actual bourbon is pretty good and would recommend it all day if priced right.
Overall Grade: C
