Bourbon Reviews

Review: Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream

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Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream

If you’re a fan of cream liqueurs and you haven’t tried this product yet then you are seriously missing out!  It is a unique, versatile, great tasting, and fairly priced liqueur.  In fact, it is so good that we used to always bring a couple bottles back from our distillery visits before it was available in Michigan.

Product Details

  • Producer: Buffalo Trace Distillery
  • Location: Frankfort, Kentucky
  • Name: Bourbon Cream
  • Classification: Cream Liqueur
  • Proof: 30
  • Michigan Minimum Shelf Price: $19.99

Tasting Notes

The initial impression upon smelling this liqueur is that it will be very sweet.  Strong scents of vanilla are present for a moment, before giving way to a smooth and delightful Bourbon smell.  All these scents eventually give way to the smell of alcohol to let you know it will hold its own.  Taste is exactly as you would expect with flavors of vanilla, caramel, and rich cream showing through.  They mix wonderfully with the Bourbon taste, without any one flavor dominating the palate.

Since this is a cream liqueur, it would not be fair to compare it directly to Straight Bourbons.  As such, we will refrain from scoring it in favor of offering some of our favorite ways to enjoy it:

  • This is without a doubt our favorite cream to use in our morning coffee.
  • It is smooth enough to stand on its own and enjoy over the rocks.
  • “Buffalo Float” – one of the ways we were introduced to during a distillery visit, that has now made its way onto the official product webpage:

Buffalo Float – The grown up Root Beer Float!

  • 2 oz  Buffalo Trace Distillery Bourbon Cream
  • 4 oz root beer

Combine in glass and serve.
For extra richness, pour over 1 scoop vanilla ice-cream.

Be sure to leave a comment and let us know how you best enjoy your Bourbon Cream!

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Review: Traverse City Whiskey Co. Straight Bourbon XXX Whiskey

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Traverse City Whiskey Co

With this being our inaugural review, and taking the growing Michigan Bourbon landscape into account, it is important for us to feature one of the many offerings from our home state!  Without further ado, let’s get into it:

Product Details

  • Producer: The Traverse City Whiskey Co. (sourced from MGPI)
  • Location: Traverse City, Michigan
  • Name: Straight Bourbon XXX Whiskey
  • Classification: Small Batch & Hand Crafted
  • Specific Characteristics: Batch Number 006
  • Age: “Four years or more”
  • Proof: 86
  • Michigan Minimum Shelf Price: $29.99

Tasting Notes

Smell: Sweet corn immediately dominates the nasal passages, giving way to savory spices. Rose petal aroma is present after a couple of minutes, as is only a minor alcohol scent indicating its relatively low proof.  Overall, a fairly balanced yet not very complex aroma that doesn’t overpower the palate.

Taste: Like the aroma hinted at, this Bourbon is sweet first, but not overly so.  Spicy flavors from the rye quickly catch up and balance the taste, with an earthy pecan-like flavor mixed in. Flavors of orange, caramel, and cinnamon are also present.

Summary 

Despite not being very old or complex, this Straight Bourbon is balanced from the time the bottle is opened and moves around the mouth as one would hope for.  It is noticeably sweet first on the tip of the tongue, bitter for a only a moment, and then moves to the sides of the tongue for a lingering salty and slightly sweet finish.  As a seasoned Bourbon enthusiast, this is what I would expect for the market around the $30 price point. Although it wouldn’t personally be my first choice of sipping Bourbons in this price range, it is better than I expected from a relatively new brand.  My wife, who is a little bit less of a Bourbon drinker, found it to be enjoyable and commented that it is “very good” and “smooth.”

Recommendation and Score

Recommendation: I would not hesitate to recommend this Bourbon for use in higher-grade cocktails, or as a sipping Bourbon for those new to drinking Bourbon.

Score: 84 out of 100 overall.