Vintage Bourbon 17 Review

I first came across the Vintage Bourbon 17 Year at a favorite local bar of mine just about 2 years ago. It was love at first sip. As soon as I tried it I was on the hunt for some bottles. Sadly, my search began in vain as it is not sold in Michigan (a painfully re-occurring theme for certain bottles). Over the course of the next 6 months I was able to find a mere 2 bottles. If I had found 10 I would have bought all of them. Needless to say, I am going into this review with a bit of bias.

As far as info on the juice itself goes, there isn't a whole lot out there. The label claims it is chosen from the rarest of barrels and the bottlings are limited (amongst other things to boost the confidence of any potential buyer). From what I have been able to find, this is a wheated bourbon and a non-distiller product from our friends at KBD (Kentucky Bourbon Distillers). There are also 21 and 23 year old versions of this bourbon, though I've never seen them on a store shelf and only once in a bar.

Vintage Bourbon 17 Year Old - Tasting Notes

Vintage Bourbon 17

Nose: Very sweet nose. Candied dark fruits with caramel and vanilla present as well. A little bit of oak if you look for it but the sweetness really overpowers everything else.

Palate: Light mouthfeel, but not too light as it gives a brief coating. The initial taste mirrors the nose, with a sweet start followed by dark chocolate... and my mouth is literally watering. This mixes with a little cinnamon spice and a bit of oak towards the end. The combination of these flavors is absolutely TNT (dynamite!).

Finish: Nice and smooth, annnnnd my mouth is still watering from the palate. The candied fruits stick around for a long time and any spice from the palate dissipates quickly. The lingering notes are caramel and vanilla and these two stick around for a good minute or so. Solid overall finish

Proof: 94 (47% ABV)
Price: ~$70-100

I tried to be impartial, but this stuff might be my favorite bourbon on the market. I may have to put it up in a blind taste against some Jefferson's 18, Pappy 15 & Pappy 20 to see which wheater I like the best (might even throw the Very Old Scout 19-year or Elmer T. Lee in the mix too). Regardless of how the tasting turns out, this will definitely be a bottle that I'm always on the lookout for
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Vintage Bourbon 17 Rating: 9.7/10