Distillery: Beam Suntory
Proof: 180
Age: NAS
Mashbill: 63% corn, 27% brown rice, & 10% malted barley
BACKGROUND: Basil Hayden Toast is the newest of Basil Hayden's permanent collection. The “Toast” line is one of the first expressions to come since Basil Hayden Re-imaged their brand, and man do these bottles look great on the shelf. Master Distiller, Freddie Noe, decided to change it up and use US brown rice instead of the traditional rye mash, due to its sweetness to balance with the toasted spice. Once the bottle is aged it is blended with brown rice & placed in level 4 charred barrels to give it a rich vanilla & toasted notes.
NOSE: Beam Suntory could not have gone with a better name than toast! From the moment you raise the bottle to your nose, an explosion of sweet campfire scents rush in with flavors of sweet molasses, cinnamon, caramel, & a delightful smokey toasted vanilla. (23/25)
PALATE: Like the nose, this expression is incredibly balanced. A very oily mouthfeel rolls around filled with sweet notes of butterscotch, caramel, almond, leaving behind a
smoky spice that marries all the flavors together. (33/40)
FINISH: As the dram goes down the light spice left behind slowly starts creeping up going from a light cinnamon spice to a hot, smokey, leathery feeling that warms up your chest, begging you to take another sip. (22/25)
VALUE: For $50 this is an absolute must buy. The epitome of what a toasted bourbon should taste like. Sweet, spicy, with just the right amount of heat , while still being loaded with flavor. (8/10)
Overall: 86/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: The best way to describe this dram is balanced. Between the sweet vanilla, smoky oak, and warm campfire flavors it is hard to not fall in love at first sip. I have never been the biggest Basil Hayden fan, but this bottle is most definitely going in my back room stash for special nights!
Slightly Better Whiskey: Michter's Toasted Barrel
Equal Whiskey: Garrison Brothers Balmorhea
Slightly Worse Whiskey: Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away