Two Taylor (E.H.) Throwdown......... and more..

[Mike]

I took the two E.H. Tayor bourbons I have on hand and put a small amount of the Bottled in Bond (100 proof, as BIB bourbons always are) and a small amount of the Barrel Proof (134.5 proof) which I cut to a bit over 100 proof. In color the BP is darker....... probably because it is not filtered.

These are both exceptional bourbons...... they have rich barrel sweetness, great depth, great balance twixt the sweet and the spice and a wonderful lingering finish that justifies all the components. The tannins are not forward in these guys, and if I could alter them in any way, it would be toward me own palate preferences and give them a while yet in the barrel.

Even though they are more like brothers than cousins, the Barrel Proof expression, at about very nearly the same proof is, in my opinion, a slightly richer and more full bodied bourbon.

These boys are playing in the Big Leagues of Bourbondom, or else I don't know shit about bourbon........ and if I be wrong about these fellows, I don't want to know no mo.

Howsomever, out of curoisity, I am moving this game to a different board. I have some excellent Armagnac (a more robust and earthy cousin to Cognac) that I want to use to tame the 134.5 proof Taylor Barrel Proof. Armagnac, in some respects, is as close to great bourbon as it is to great Cognac. What I know and love about Cognac is its supremely floral, and paper thin delicacy. Armagnac, in worthwhile contrast to Cognac, does not aim at delicacy, but at an earthy hardiness.

If Cognac is the drink of the Aristocracy, Armagnac is the drink of those whose sensibilities have not been sharpened to the point of a daggar-like single killing thrust..........or, of those who, like Talleyrand, an expert on Cognac, have an exquisite sense of how best to survive in the midst of a French Revolution ..........and its aftermath.

Twenty percent E.H. Taylor and thirty percent excellent 80 proof Armagnac yields a spirit of 101.8 proof............. in what I would call the sweet zone for a bourbon.......

This makes for a great spirit for the American palate............ a decided, but not solely from the barrel, sweetness, and a considerable earthy edge........ and a lasting finish.