Inaugural HF Meeting: Blind Tasting

I think we can safely say the first High Flight Bourbon & Cigar Club meeting was a success! Thank you all for joining us - we hope you enjoyed yourselves this evening. It is all too easy for big brand names to sway our perception. For this reason, we decided to start our club off with a blind tasting to remove the brand bias! 3 mystery bottles remained in their numbered paper bags while we sipped, which were revealed after scoring. The following 3 bourbons were thoughtfully selected by President Greg:

#1 - Horse Soldier Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey

• HF Score - 3.22

• 95 Proof / $72

• Nose - butterscotch, ginger snaps, toffee candies, vanilla, pepper, cherry

• Palate - vanilla amps up, followed by buttery toffee, cracked pepper and black licorice

• Finish - Pepper and ginger as heat levels off, fading to vanilla and dry wood.

#2 - Jack Daniel's Single Barrel TN Whiskey Barrel Proof

• HF Score - 3.32

• 129 Proof / $70

• Nose - Swinging early, wallop of sweetness, maple syrup, toffee bark, and ethanol heat. Think classic Jack Daniels, but cranked up to 11.

• Palate - Similar to nose, maple sugars with wood character and barrel char. Second wave consists of strong vanilla, caramel, toasted creme brûlée. Strong sweetness cutting through the heat.

• Finish - Long robust finish, vanilla with lingering spice, maple, and wood.

• Club description: Rocket Fuel!

#3 - Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

• HF Score - 3.80

• 90.4 Proof / $65

• Nose - Toolhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies, baked goods, butterscotch brownies, sweet oak.

• Palate - Thick and rich, chocolate baked goods, banana bread essence. Beautiful tannins with seasoned oak and sweet tobacco.

• Finish - Very sweet oaky barrel char. No bitterness. Maraschino cherries with a lingering melted butter aftertaste.

After a quick tally and average, Woodford Reserve Double Oaked came out on top by a pretty decent margin! I will say after revisiting #2, Jack Daniels "Rocket Fuel", I think I would have scored it higher. An ice cube/sphere really mellows out the heat and allows those flavors to blossom. Don't sleep on Horse Soldier either, as it is still some respectable stuff. There's some left, so feel free to give these another go as an appetizer at the next meeting - these bottles belong to the club!

Our next meeting will take place Thursday March 14th, 6 - 8:30pm. Looking forward to seeing y'all there.

~ Logan