Vintage Bourbon 23 Year - * * or * * * *

You know how bourbon reviews can be like wine reviews where they just rattle off a bunch of things that have the same COLOR of the drink in question but no real link to the taste? Like this review posted by someone on bourbonenthusiast.com: "Nose: Molasses, dark chocolate, coffee, pecan pie filling, dark fruit maybe plum, some alcohol, a little wet wood but no mustiness. Taste: Plum, molasses spice cookie, cinnamon toast." Give me a freakin' break. You couldn't place the dark fruit ("maybe plum"?) but nailed pecan pie filling? And it smelled like wet wood (not the musty kind!) but tasted like cinnamon toast? I'm waiting to see "burnt Cheez-It" cuz hey, that's brown too!

Anyway, I bought the Vintage Bourbon (most horrible name for a bourbon) 23 Year because of its description on the price tag at Beverages & More. It had the most un-bourbon-like description I had ever seen, written possibly by the staff at the store. The exact wording eludes my memory, but I recall it mentioning tobacco, old leather, and oil (I got the distinct impression they meant used motor oil) and being thick & chewy.

Guess what: it tastes EXACTLY like that. My first sip sparked a vision of some crazed Distiller stirring a cauldron of alcohol and leather seat-cushions from a couch that spent 50 years in the back room of an auto mechanic's shop where on weekends it hosted long nights of smoking and card playing.

Do I want to taste that? No, I don't. But it was like a bad accident: Did I really just taste a chair right out of The Godfather? .... sip ... yes I did. 2 stars.

So here's a $100+ bottle of bourbon, clearly masterfully created, with an inescapable allure, which is pleasing in spite of and possibly because of its perfectly rendered distastefulness. What to do ...

Add a splash to the Van Winkle 12: oooo! Interesting!
Add a splash to the $13 Corner Creek: hmmm! That's a whole new deal right there!

You know how adding salt brings out food's hidden flavors? The Vintage Bourbon 23 Year is bourbon-salt. It turns your collection of 10 bourbons into 20. And THAT is a nice way to make $100+ bottel last quite a while. 4 stars for adding so mch to my enjoyment of my other bourbons!