Belle Meade Reserve Vs. Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea Cask Strength.
I am really excited to try these together. These are both cask strength, are both sourced products, and both blends.
Belle Meade) Sourced from MGP. A blend of barrels and each batch is a little different. Aged 7-10 years, $65, 110.4proof.
-The Nose is powerful, and classic bourbon. There is oak, vanilla, corn-sugar, some baking spices, and a hint of orange.
-The Palate is full-flavored with classic bourbon notes. The initial sweet-corn is quickly joined by oak spice, vanilla, caramel, orange peel, slight anise, and a hint of mint.
-The medium-long Finish has black-pepper spice, oak, brown-sugar, and some baking spices.
Overall I think this bottle is an incredible value. It is nothing super unique. But is just a very good, cask strength, flavorful pour of classic, balanced bourbon notes.
Jefferson’s) They have started distilling their own product, but this is still a blend from unnamed Kentucky sources. Aged 6-8 years, then 6mo at sea, $95, 112proof.
-The Nose is beautiful, with a maple-syrup sweetness, along with vanilla, pepper, oak, some tropical fruits (coconut, pineapple), and just a hint of salty air (I swear! ;)
-The Palate is slightly buttery, with flavors of molasses, rye spice, clove, dark cherry, oak, and sea-salt (again, I’m serious! :)
-The finish is only medium in length, with some black-pepper spice, oak, brown-sugar, and lingering saline.
Overall I really like this bottle. It does have some unique flavors that I can only assume come from the ocean voyage (sea-salt is in the barrel!). The only negative is the unimpressive finish, and the price.
VERDICT) It’s hard to have a winner here. I will always keep both of these stocked. The Belle Mead as an excellent cask-strength everyday drinking bottle, and the Jefferson’s as a very tasty, robust pour with an interesting story. If I take cost into consideration I think the Belle Meade would be the bottle I would choose. But, strictly from flavor I would choose the more complex, interesting flavors I get from the Jefferson’s. Fancy Glencairn jumped on that statement and crowned herself the winner!
I was very surprised at this since I have never been a huge fan of the “regular” Ocean releases from Jefferson’s. The Cask Strength is definitely a different league!