Down Home Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

A little background

If you haven’t heard of Down Home, don’t worry, I hadn’t either until I saw a post on Instagram from an online retailer. I went ahead and purchased a bottle based solely on the stats of this first batch, a 5 ½ year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey clocking in at 122.6 proof caught my eye. While the source has not been disclosed the mash-bill has been publicized as 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% barley. If you’re curious where this whiskey is sourced from, a quick google search will likely give you a good idea. Retail price of $80.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Medium Gold

Nose

Definite heat on the nose but more complexity than expected with roasted pecans coming through first and behind that a sweet and tart cherry jelly doughnut filling. Coming back after a few minutes of air exposes a nice chewing tobacco note.

Palate

The complexity of the nose is dialed back substantially on the palate with with the cherry and tobacco being replaced with corn meal that blends decently with the still present pecans.

Finish

Tobacco returns along with a bit of barrel char on the finish. The complexity gets dialed back again but what is here is pleasant.

In conclusion

This bourbon was a pleasant surprise, without a doubt. Sure, with a few more years in the barrel the complexity of the nose would carry through to the finish, but what’s here is darn good and I would purchase it again. The price is the only thing that has kept me from buying a backup bottle, but for sourced Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey bottled at cask strength I understand where the extra cost is coming from. If you have the chance to buy a bottle, I suggest you do yourself a favor and grab one!