I picked up the whiskey for this bourbon review at K&L a while ago and when I first saw the price I thought it was a typo. While the Doc Swinson’s 15 Year Rare Release Bourbon is nowhere near cheap at $155, it’s also far less than you’d expect to see a cask strength 15yo Kentucky bourbon these days.
For all the details about this particular release I’ll let David OG from K&L do that below. As for the company, well they don’t have a whole lot about them or the origin of their name on their site so I’ll just link to that from here and say they’re a group of whiskey-loving folks who look for unique offerings. And with that, take it away D.O.G.
Doc Swinson’s 15 Year Rare Release Bourbon Review: Details and Tasting Notes
“Bourbon is absolutely on fire. Anyone with any interest in alcohol is aware that old bourbon is next to impossible to get. Even if you get access to whisky over 12 years old, it’s likely valued by the seller at several multiples above the retail price. Most of the time those old whiskies aren’t even from Kentucky. When they are actually distilled in Kentucky, their value goes even higher…
Add the fact that it’s cask strength, real small batch and sold exclusively at K&L in California and you’ve got a recipe for an absolute legend. The parcel is less than 20 barrels, mingled together before leaving KY to protect the identity of the manufacturer. The mashbill gives us a few clues to the source: 78-79% corn with near equal parts of rye and barley… Great old Kentucky Bourbon at retro prices.”
Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Undisclosed (listed mash is similar to Heaven Hill Distillery)
Bottler: Doc Swinson’s
Mash Bill: 78-79% Corn + “near equal parts of rye and barley”
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: 15 Years
ABV: 59.1%
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Release: 6
Barrels: 18
Bottle: 1991/2664
Price: $155
Tasting Notes
EYE
Ruddy oak
NOSE
Oaky, leathery and nutty notes dominate with notes of baking spice, menthol, citrus, cherry heavy dried dark fruit, cocoa and bits of olde candy dry sweetness.
PALATE
An oaky, leathery and darkly sweet character gets broken up by notes of cinnamon heavy baking spice, peanuts, vanilla, cocoa, grain sweetness and a touch of earthy farmy qualities.
FINISH
Med-long -> Oak, dark sweets and dark fruit.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Perfectly balanced, rich heavy body and an oily feel.
Doc Swinson’s 15 Year Rare Release Bourbon Review: Overall and Score
Aroma is exactly what you want in a heavily oaked bourbon that gets balanced with bold and complex sweet profiles; Palate follows the same track with some bolder peanut and spice notes; Finish is a tad underwhelming but carries a nice balance of oak and sweetness. I could sniff and sip this all day any day.
This Doc Swinson’s 15 Years Rare Release Bourbon is fantastic, it reminds me of some of the old high aged whiskeys like Martin Mills with its oaky leathery delivery that opens to dark chocolate covered cherries before fading back to leathery oak. It’s dry without being heavily tannic and rich without being cloyingly sweet. It’s the baby bear’s porridge of bourbon: decadently sweet, wonderfully rustic and delivered perfectly.
SCORE: 4.5/5
Doc Swinson's 15 Years Rare Release Bourbon Review $155
Overall
4.5- Nose (4.5)
- Palate (5)
- Finish (4)
- BBF (4.5)
User Review
0 (0 votes) Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)Doc Swinson's 15 Years Rare Release Bourbon Review Summary
A near-perfect balancing of richly sweet and more savory rustic profiles delivered softer than you’d think for 118.2 proof but with no lack of boldness.
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