So our new website launched two weeks ago with the ability to post blogs, and we are both excited about it. I finally have some time and am sitting down to write. One of the items we thought we would use the blog for is to post reviews of many of the samples we’ve received. So last night I was looking over my samples and settled on E. H. Taylor Seasoned Wood. This was a sample sent to me by Ron McCoy (@rmccoymfd) on Instagram. All I knew of this whiskey was what was written on the label of the sample bottle “EH Taylor Seasoned Wood.”
I resisted the urge to research the Seasoned Wood before I tasted and went into the sample without even knowing the abv or what the “seasoned wood” stood for. The nose was average. I got the usual dusty oak, cinnamon, brown sugar, and whipped cream. I nosed this for awhile trying to get more, but couldn’t.
The palate neat was very good. Very creamy reminding me of whipped cream, cinnamon, oak, caramel, brown sugar, and maple. I really enjoyed the finish on this as it seemed to hang around for awhile. With water some of the sweetness started to come which was more of a light citrus or honey. A slight astringency showed up with the water as well. I really enjoyed this sample and thought to myself it would have definitely been worth picking up. I thought the abv was probably around 46% and also figured this was a $70-80 bottle knowing E.H. Taylor.
Once I was done with the sample I did a little research to find out more. I found several reviewers who were not impressed with this release from E.H. Taylor. I found out it is a wheated bourbon and was bottled at 50% abv. The “seasoned wood” was the result of an experiment Buffalo Trace did with a variety of processes including soaking the barrels in an enzyme rich bath and then aging the staves at different lengths (thats my Cliff Note version). Were some of these other reviewers impressions tainted by all the marketing? Had they tasted it more “blind” what would they have thought. Overall I was impressed with the E.H. Taylor Seasoned Wood and scored it a 90.
Thanks to @rmccoymfd for the sample.
Very good read and great write up, Scott. Now, it’s Bart’s turn. Winky winky. Terviseks! – The Beard ,”oh.”
Thanks Beard! My first write up! Turtle sex.
Awesome. The more blind the tasting, the more honest the outcome. Great way to share your samples Scott.
Thanks Roy. It was hard to resist the urge to research before the tasting.
Great blog post. Been trying to get a taste of this. Guess I’ll keep looking.
I looked it up online and unless you want to spend $500 you’ll have to find a dusty bottle sitting in a store somewhere. Here’s to the hunt!
Cool write up. Liked the review being done cold and then the follow up after researching the juice.