David Nicholson Reserve is a sourced bourbon put out by the folks at Luxco, though as a brand it has a long history that supposedly extends back to 1843. The story as it’s told is that David Nicholson was a grocer who started to distill his own whiskey in 1843, but as Chuck points out it it’s far more likely he was a blender than a distiller.
The signature whiskey, David Nicholson 1843, was around before prohibition and after prohibition it was made by Stitzel-Weller. Thought it was not one of their more widely known brands due to its limited distribution which has historically been around St.Louis and today is still mostly within Missouri and Illinois.
The traditional DN 1843 was, and still is, a wheater but this David Nicholson Reserve, a new addition to the line, is a sourced bourbon using rye as its secondary grain. Wheated and now traditional, if they add a high-rye to the line-up they’ll complete the bourbon trifecta.
David Nicholson Reserve Info
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Un-disclosed
Bottler: Luxco
Mashbill: Corn, Rye and Malt
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: NAS
ABV: 50%
Price: $40
David Nicholson Reserve Review
EYE
Bourbon brown
NOSE
It’s not a deep aroma, but it is a nice one. Notes of peanut butter, toffee, nutmeg, hazelnut and a bit of oak waft out of the glass along with some light notes of vanilla, dark fruit and waxy cocoa wafer cookies.
PALATE
Like the aroma the flavor isn’t deep, but what’s there is nice. Peanut butter again leads the way followed by notes of toffee, nutmeg hazelnuts, oak and griddle cakes. Light bits of maple, cocoa and vanilla show up now and then.
FINISH
Long spicy fade of toffee, peanut butter fudge, oak and hazelnuts.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good sense of balance, medium body and a nice easy feel.
OVERALL
I quite like the David Nicholson Reserve, It’s not the most complex bourbon on the block, but it’s balanced, cohesive, aromatic and pleasantly flavorful. Despite being a bit heavy on the peanut quality it holds up as a strong representation of a decent bourbon and I could easily see myself picking up a bottle if distribution makes its way West. In the mean time I’ll just have to settle for taking my time with the bit that’s left in this bottle that was left by a friend with good taste.
SCORE: 86/100 (B)