Bourbon Season 2020 - Part 1 // Eagle Rare 10 y/o
It’s the middle of November, and I’ve finally gotten round to starting the “Bourbon Season 2020” series I had been teasing on social media for a while. As a first expression to review, I decided to go with the 10 year old Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Saying its full name is a mouthful, tasting it is, well, is a mouthful of deliciousness.
Text by Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove
Photography is © Reinhold Podevijn
Why Bourbon Season?
Around the beginning of September, I asked myself the question why so many IG channels seemed to post about bourbons that I had never heard of. Obviously, if you are not familiar with bourbon, then it’s normal that this comes across as a ‘great unknown’.
Then again, I have been exploring the whisk(e)y community, both internationally and nationally, and can’t seem to shake the feeling that bourbon is not very popular in my country (Belgium). Is this because Belgians prefer Scotch over bourbon whiskey? Are they not popular because of a lack of demand? A lack of availability? Or is the demand or availability low because of bourbon not being very popular here?
The fact that puzzled me, is that 3 of our neighboring countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands) are in the top 10 of “countries that drink the most bourbon” (research by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, written about in a September 2016 article by The Whiskey Reviewer), obviously besides the USA. Belgium is slap-bang in the middle of those countries, but why do I get the feeling that we are not bourbon drinkers?
Rather than trying to explain the reason behind this feeling, I decided to do something about it. I planned to make some room in the publishing schedule in Fall 2020 to write about bourbon and review some expressions readily available in Belgium.
What you are about to read is the first part in a series of Bourbon Season 2020 reviews. In each review, I’ll also give some information about bourbon, focusing on a variety of elements. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it light-hearted. In this article: the difference between (bourbon) whiskey, scotch, and whisky.
Bourbon, Whisk(e)y, Scotch?
If you are into whisky, and why wouldn’t you, chances are big you have come across terminology such as “bourbon”, “whiskey’, '“whisky”, “scotch”, and plenty more. It is perfectly natural if you get those confused at first, but it’s best if we don’t stay uneducated. So here’s a short explanation of terminology.
Let’s start with the difference between “whiskey” and “whisky”. Wikipedia tells us that there is not really a difference, and that both words are used to describe “a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash” (Wikipedia). Those grains, which can also be malted, can be barley, corn, rye, wheat, or a combination of them. Lastly, whisky is aged in wooden casks, mostly charred white oak.
Now, this is where the fun begins. Besides the difference in spelling, the use of either can tell you something about the country of origin of the spirit you are about to enjoy: if the spirit originates from Ireland or the USA, it’s called whiskey. If it’s originating from Scotland, Japan, India, Canada, or a variety of other countries, then it’s “whisky”.
Scotch is used to talk about whisky originating from Scotland, and Scottish whiskies can only be called so when they are made with the specific regulations in mind.
Bourbon is a specific type of American whiskey which is made on American soil, and has to be distilled from a grain mash consisting of at least 51% corn. Furthermore, it must be matured in new charred oak casks, and bottled at at least 40% ABV (80 proof) but no more than 62,5% ABV (125 proof). A full overview can be found here.
Eagle Rare 10 y/o
As the first bourbon to review for Bourbon Season 2020, I was thinking about starting with an absolutely fantastic expression, namely Eagle Rare 10 year old. It is part of the portfolio belonging to the Buffalo Trace Distillery (more on that in one of the next parts), and together with the Double Eagle Very Rare and the 17 year old Eagle Rare, fits with my idea that bourbon is not always simple, straightforward, and cheap.
What immediately catches me as I pour myself a glass of Eagle Rare - and I’ve done so many times already since I got the bottle - is the absence of that ‘sharp nose’ that you often get when you want to have a bourbon. At 45% ABV, this is a warming, pleasant mélange of scents, making me think of vegetal notes, a certain wood element, with something resembling brown sugar and butter, right before it starts to turn into caramel, and even waxed leather couch in there (we used to do that when I was still living with my parents).
In the mouth, a slightly-stickier-than-water liquid, with a gentle nudge as the alcohol percentage pitches in. Nothing too overpowering, but noticeably there. Bourbon can be very smooth, but I prefer it to have just a brush of power still. With this Eagle Rare expression, I got what I wanted. There’s some chocolate powder in there, the kind you might want to use to cover a tiramisu. Come to think of it, there’s a little bit of that creaminess in there too.
The finish is long, but brought to a minimum. There’s a certain level of dryness in there, but it’s rather basic. This is a perfect bourbon to sip from all night long, on the condition that you keep your head straight. Don’t drink and drive, and use your brains while enjoying alcohol.
I would dare to pair this bourbon with a nice cigar, and I think I might do that exact thing either tonight or tomorrow night. Best place to be enjoyed? Outside on the porch, preferably when it’s a rather cold night. If you lack a porch, a balcony will do. If you haven’t got a balcony, just enjoy it wherever you want. You’ll figure it out.
Things to come…
In the next couple of reviews, I’ll be exploring 3 other expressions in the Buffalo Trace Distillery portfolio: Sazerac Rye, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, and Weller Special Reserve. The Buffalo Trace expression was store-bought from Marc’s shop called “Whisky and Such”, and the other 3 expressions were generously donated by Premium Spirits, the Belgian distributor for the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Many thanks!
