Colonel E.H. Taylor Warehouse C Tornado Surviving

Colonel E.H. Taylor Warehouse C Tornado Surviving

Half a Million!!!

So we opened up our trusty Blogger console this morning and saw this:

It's truly humbling to think that we've had half a million articles read since we started SmokyBeast two years ago!  Thanks to everyone for their support and love and to all the great people we've met along the way.  To celebrate, we're reviewing a pretty special bottle today, Colonel EH Taylor "Tornado Surviving."

Colonel EH Taylor is great stuff.  Their Single Barrel and Straight Rye are some of the best widely available bourbon's on the market right now.  The Barrel Proof is one of our current favorites.  We actually got to pit it against some 1970's Old Taylor (granted a lower proof version) and it held up remarkably well.

Photo from http://www.longmanandeagle.com/

I Don't Think We're in Kentucky Anymore

For all the redonkulous marketing hype that's going on in the whiskey biz right now, by all accounts the story of Tornado Surviving is legit.  And it's pretty cool...

"On Sunday evening, April 2, 2006, a severe storm with tornado strength winds tore through Central Kentucky, damaging two Buffalo Trace Distillery aging warehouses. One of the damaged warehouses was Warehouse C, a treasured warehouse on property, built by Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. in 1881. It sustained significant damage to its roof and north brick wall, exposing a group of aging bourbon barrels to the elements. That summer, the exposed barrels waited patiently while the roof and walls were repaired, meanwhile being exposed to the Central Kentucky climate. When these barrels were tasted years later, it was discovered that the sun, wind, and elements they had experienced created a bourbon rich in flavors that was unmatched. This was truly a special batch of barrels, and though the Distillery does not hope for another tornado, it feels lucky to have been able to release this once in a lifetime product."

Tasting Notes

Nose:  Wow that's a really badass nose.  Lots of wood, vanilla, leather, cinnamon sugar, nutmeg.  It's a total winner.  Love it.

Palate:  The dry punchy woody nose turns into a sweet taste with honey, nougat, chocolate covered cherries, and little explosions of oranges, peaches, and tangerines.

Finish:  The finish may be the weakest part of this bourbon since there's a little bit of overripe peach going on.  But this is a minor criticism.  It still stays with the awesome wood, sweetness, and richness, if slanting a bit towards overly sweet at the end.

Review:  We've heard a lot of people talk about how overrated this stuff is and we couldn't disagree more.  It's straight up awesome.  Maybe not in the same league as some of the ultimate beasts of all time (Old Pappy 20, BMH 14, Parkers 27), but it's way up there in terms of most of the bourbon we've tried.  Extremely good.


That's all for now, we're finally getting some real spring weather here in NYC, so you'll find us outside enjoying some great whiskey in front of a long sunset with friends.  Look us up if you're in town!!