On New Year's Eve, I went and visited John and Linda and was joined by Marvin Franz. Now Marvin has one of the best noses and palates I know. The only one I would say is superior is his wife Evelyn's. One of the bourbons I took with me was a miniature bottle of Pride of Nelson bottled about 1938. We opened it a tasted it and I scratched down a few notes I thought I would share with you.
1/10 pint
Pride of Nelson
100 proof
2 years old
Fairfield Distillery, Bardstown, Ky.
circa 1938
Nose: Caramel and vanilla with lots of corn and a hint of oak wood.
Taste: Sweet corn and vanilla so strong it is almost a marshmellow flavor.
Finish: Long and sweet with vanilla
Now these are my notes. I will say that Marvin and I agreed on most things, he did get more alcohol fire in the taste than I did. John shas always refrained from tasting notes claiming he is bad at descriptors, but he agreed with the strong vanilla.
Now this was a two year old whiskey because it was made in the early years after prohibition. There was not any aged whiskey to sell for most companies, and those with aged whiskey prefered to use them in blends because they were too woody otherwise. Even at 2 years old, this was an excellent whiskey. I would buy this today if it was available. It had a pleasant taste and really more maturity than many four year old bourbons sold today.