Beam Suntory brand Basil Hayden has announced the one-time release of Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke.
Beam family distiller, Freddie Noe says of this release:
We continue to honor my grandfather Booker Noe's legacy of pushing the boundaries of what bourbon can be with the debut of Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke. A showcase of the many ways in which our bourbon can be layered, refined and complex, yet approachable and inviting, Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke is reimagining how smoky spirits can taste.
For this release, the bourbon was put into a second barrel that was toasted and lighted charred. At that point, hickory-smoked chips are ignited at a constant feed to produce smoke, which is then pumped into the barrel. The secondary aging process goes on for 6 months and is supposed to result in soft, charred notes.
Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke is available markets, but not showing up on the State website for sale in Ohio. It has an MSRP of $49.99 for a 750ml bottle. No proof was provided, but most Basil Hayden products come in at 80, so I would expect this to be in that range. The tasting notes are:
Nose: Mellow smoke character with a hint of vanilla
Taste: Soft char with light sweetness reminiscent of butterscotch and maple
Finish: Crisp, yet delicate finish of smokiness with light toasted hickory wood
My Take
It seems like Basil Hayden is coming up with a lot of ideas lately... they started with the Basil Hayden Toast, which sounded great, but was meh. They also introduced Caribbean Reserve Rye, which sounded bizarre. I'm sure this is filling a need, but I'm not sure what that need is. There are already lots of smoky bourbons out there without having to through a second barrel process to add more smoke. Because of that, I think I'm going to pass on this one.
What do you think? Drop a note in the comments below.
Source: Beam Suntory
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