Beautiful Bourbon | Bourbcast 211 | Benchmark Bonded | Review

beautifulbourbo...
Keeping it going, we're trying the 4th in the line of Benchmark bourbons, from Buffalo Trace distillery. The proof and the price keep going upwards, but so has the quality. Will Benchmark Bonded be the best Benchmark yet? We'll find out in this bourbon review.
This is a "rebroadcast" of our Facebook Live "Bourbcast". Better than a podcast, the bourbcast is a live video broadcast, interactive, and can be seen LIVE each Thursday at 7:00pm EST, at beautifulbourbon
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Music used via license from Digital Juice
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[@WhiskyForBeginners]

I'm subscribed to several whisky channels, but the Bourbcast is the one I really look forward to each week. Great job, KC. 👏
6:34 I like the White Dog. I've found that in a glass it's smells and tastes (to me) like it's rotting, but if I drink from the bottle it's really good. Because it's so simple, and so dense with grain flavors, I just have a few sips on any given night, but it's good stuff.
9:51 I'm doing it tonight with a glass of Balcones Baby Blue corn whisky. For me, digging into the nose and the palate and the finish are what make drinking whiskey fun. And there are some whiskies that I've been learning about for two years or more without getting everything out of them - this Baby Blue is one of 'em. 🥃
16:34 We define bright and dark the same. I like brightness in moderation, but I *love* dark notes. What really makes the Lineage Texas Single Malt from Balcones Distilling is the semisweet chocolate - a dark note - that comes in on the finish.

[@beautifulbourbon]

One of these days I need to get my hands on Balcones, since you like it so much.

[@whatsup914]

17:37 I think the high barley content could be amplifying the rye spice, giving it more Scotch-like characteristics and complexity. I think you were spot on with the orange note. I get an orange note from Buffalo Trace but have not tried the Benchmark Bonded yet. 23:33 Lmao! Please tell me you are going to add the "Ooh Mommy" clip (23:33 - 23:38) to the intro!

[@beautifulbourbon]

Ha ha! I actually had to go back and find that clip so know what you were talking about. I often don't remember half of what I say... it's an old DJ's plight. And ya know, you have a point there about the malted barley content possibly amplifying the rye spice. Normally I wouldn't associate barley notes with a sense of spice because it tends to add a fruitiness to a pour, but in this case it could be amplifying the fruit side of the rye a little, which could explain that flavor I wasn't able to identify. New Riff explains the flavors from malted barley this way: "Malted barley can help bourbon taste nutty, smoky, and chocolaty." If I got any of those from Benchmark Bonded, it might be the smoke, because I do remember thinking it was decently oakey.

[@tcup3946]

This one is really different. I am getting a dark tea. A slight peach note and a synthetic grape soda note. In other favors as it mellows is a Dole fruit cup. Very interesting whiskey. I don't find it too harsh but then again, I drink old grandad bonded. I get this feeling, and I know it is similar but I get an Ancient Age vibe.

[@beautifulbourbon]

You’re talking about a whole lot of different notes here. OGD and the new BT are not even likely to be comparable.
In your tasting notes I can accept dark tea, even if it means I have to revisit that bottle. (Wink)