Bulleit Frontier Whiskey

Bulleit is marketed as a "Frontier Whiskey", meaning plenty of rye influence without actually being true Rye Whiskey. And there is definitely rye in the mix.

This is an aggressive whiskey that is not shy. It makes no bones about who it is.

There is lots of rye and spice throughout, from start to finish. And you don't have to go looking for it. Along with it, there are touches of caramel and corn.

This whiskey is full of contradictions. It is very "bourbony" but not nearly as polite as your dad's bourbon. And it has a light character while at the same time being full-bodied. Go figure.

If you like your bourbon with a little attitude while being exceedingly classy, this could be the ticket.

Rob's Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Kentucky Gentleman Bourbon

This bourbon can be found in the bargain section of some liquor stores, but it really deserves higher status.

It doesn't overwhelm you with it's character and taste, but still has many redeeming qualities.

Medium-bodied, with caramel and light spice in the initial taste, along with some oak influence.

The finish is a tad shy, but if you know how to work it on your tongue and palate, it is there with oak, rye and corn. But you have to work it to experience it.

At around $10 a bottle, this is a no-brainer for whiskey-lovers. Enjoy!

Rob's Rating: 7 out of 10

Kentucky Gentleman

Continuing through the wide variety of whiskeys in the house, we're reviewing another bourbon.  I should preface this by saying that the Kentucky Gentleman was bought to be mixed in with a batch of homemade eggnog.  Alas, the party was cancelled, but the bottle remains.

Up front this has a slightly smoky scent with a little wood overtone.  Since I'm a big fan of smokiness in my bourbon, I had higher hopes for this one than the price of the bottle.  As it opened up a bit, the smell was consistent, with a pleasant earthiness.

Kentucky Gentleman starts out just like a gentleman should, with a sweetness up front, which lures you in.  It then leads into that masculine harshness, that is just right in a bourbon.  Per Rob's prodding, I tried the breathing while drinking again, and found that pleasant "bubble-burn" that he associates with rye.  This one had a full mouth burn after a few sips and definitely let you know that you were drinking whiskey.

This is a harsher bourbon, but not undrinkable.  It would serve very well as a mixing liquor with coke, eggnog, etc..  For the very affordable price, I would keep it in the liquor cabinet for those guests who feel obligated to add something to their bourbon.  It even serves well straight up or slightly chilled.

LB's Rating: 6 out of 10

Jim Beam Choice - Aged 5 Years (Green Label)

This is an underachieving whiskey----it doesn't make a strong first impression, but gets better as it goes.

It comes across initially as mild and relatively flavorless, but once I got the PPP (proper palate placement) right, more of the whiskey's character began to shine through.

You have to sort of glean the character out of this dram, by working it correctly in your mouth, by holding it for the right amount of time in your mouth, and passing it across the palate in the right way. After that it became much more enjoyable for me.

The initial taste is of caramel and toffee and some corn influence. And then, a mild but tangible explosion of rye fizz on the tongue when the dram is given the proper chance to express itself.

It's not as aggressive as say, Wild Turkey Rare Breed. No , this version of Jim Beam is a little more on the shy side and needs a little more coaxing to come out of it's shell. But with the properly trained palate, this is a whiskey well worth its very reasonable price.

Rob's Rating: 7 out of 10

Jim Beam Choice - Aged 5 Years (Green Label)

I've been trying to become more of an informed whiskey drinker.  To that end, I've attended scotch, bourbon and whiskey tastings with my husband.  When considering bourbons that would be included in one of those tastings, I don't think this one would make the cut.

When first poured, it has a light, sweet indistinct smell - none of the wooded cask that I associate with bourbons.  It struck me as remarkably nondescript, and I assume it would be difficult to pick out of a line of bourbons.  Light and sweet at first, but more complex as it opened up (but not by much).  The addition of a capful of water did little to change the scent.

The first couple of sips had a slight pear overtone with a little burn on the sides of the tongue.  A few sips into it and there was more character, but there again nothing too exciting.  My husband is a big fan of "breathing while drinking" and while trying to employ this technique in my novice way, I did find that there was a "bubble-burn" on my tongue.  This was the most excitement that I had when drinking this one.  The addition of a cap of water did not really change the taste.

One nice attribute is that there is no throat burn - it's all in the mouth.  This does make it easy to drink, even if less than exciting.

Overall, not a bad bourbon, but too light and sweet for my personal taste.  Might be good for someone looking to have something with a different label in their liquor cabinet as it is very inoffensive.

LB's Rating: 5 out of 10