REVIEW: Buzzard’s Roost Barrel Strength Bourbon

Short and sweet folks, that’s why we call ‘em “shorts” instead of features. That being said, this bourbon from Buzzard’s Roost has an awful lot to say. Let’s begin with the process they use. They source aged whiskey from wait for it, MGP (no shame in that), which they then place in customized barrels that are engineered (not a bad word, keep up) to deliver specific flavor profiles. You can read more about their entire process here (remember, this is a short). Let’s get into it shall we?

We’d already purchased the smoked rye release prior to the media sample being sent to us. It was provided to us without expectation or requirement of us saying very nice things.

The 4-6 year cask strength blend of high-rye mash-billed bourbon registers a very nice 114.4 proof, which for the most part puts it into the relatively safe high-proof sipping realm, which makes sense because it’s toasted, which only serves to smooth the rough edges, and enhance some of the softer notes.

Nose- On first pour, and a slight rest, I detect some light tropical notes with a dash of toasted coconut and peach skins. I get some of the other more common bourbon notes as well, but I really loved the tropical scents. It isn’t in your face tropical like Seagrass is, but it’s there. The nose on this was so fun it helped me get through 15 minutes of suffering through a 90 day fiancé episode with my girl before I took a sip.

The full label designs are simply gorgeous. We particularly love that there are no horses, grandslappy’s, or “olds,” on them, we have enough horses already.

Palate- SPICY even with almost 30 minutes from pour to sip. This one gets a little slappy initially, (high-rye please try to keep up), so when you try it yourself you aren’t permitted to expect “smooth.” While the rye delivers everything you can hope for, it doesn’t overshadow some other interesting flavors- notably oak, not heavy, cinnamon, some slight dark cherry, and some espresso bean (on a good day we chew on ‘em). This goes sweet to astringent fairly quickly, a rush of flavors that seem to be in a hurry to get your attention. If you’ve known me for any amount of time, you know I typically despise astringency if it’s overly similar to witch hazel. This is not overly tannic or astringent at all, it’s there, but not domineering in any way, it’s a perfect balance between barrel tannins and the other flavors, practically a perfect union.

Side note about witch hazel From Wikipedia- “The main phytochemicals in witch-hazel leaves are polyphenols, including 3–10% tannins, flavonoids, and up to 0.5% essential oil, while the bark has a higher tannin content.” Hey, I want you to be well rounded and cultured while on your whiskey journey.

We know it’s not the right picture, but gawd it’s just so beautiful and media samples never photograph as well as a full-size.

Finish- the transition from palate to finish is not seamless, it has a definite point of separation here. The palate is spicy, but definitively sweeter than the finish itself which begins to dry out, almost like a glass of whiskey being left overnight, which brings the vanilla to the forefront. The toasted barrel shines mostly on the finish. The drying nature of the oak notes, paired with the vanilla, some nutmeg (maybe?), and very faint clove, delivers an excellent finish to a really well made experimental bourbon.

This should delight whiskey fans at large once they get their hands on it. That may take awhile though as they are currently only available in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Mexico, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alberta. While it is easy to become jaded at the trendy nature of whiskey these days, (everybody seems to have a toasted, or double-barreled offering that has landed in stores like a freshly cracked barrel of monkeys), don’t overlook this one. Buzzard’s Roost is deliberately working their barrels to provide something different than the rest. I’ve had plenty of excellent MGP whiskey over the years, hell we all have, and this is worthy of existing, as it is offering something fresh. I loved this release, and I think that you will too.

- Mickey Pinstripe