Review #801; Bourbon #166: Castle and Key Bourbon Small Batch #2

This comes to us from Castle and Key distillery, a Kentucky distillery formerly known as The Old Taylor Distillery that was abandoned and reclaimed with operations starting up in 2018. Now we have here in 2022 their first Bourbon release, a 4 year old bourbon with a mashbill of 73% White Corn, 10% Rye, and 17% Malted Barley. With a batch size of 80 barrels, let us see how this effort turned out.

ABV: 49.5%

Nose: Vanilla Sweetness, slight bread, hint of grass, faint green apple

Palate: Medium mouthfeel, slight green wood, Vanilla, Slight Bread

Finish: Medium length finish, Vanilla, Bread, grass, faint green apple, slight greenwood

Rating: 4/10

Overall, this isn’t bad. It has some interesting flavors going on that I think could develop nicely but its just missing something here, and the faint greenwood note and graininess really show the youth. Its not offensive in any way, but I was hoping this would be a bit better.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect