Editor’s Note: The Whiskey Wash welcomes Wendell Britt to our review team!
Lexington Bourbon Whiskey is conceived by Western Spirits Beverage Company, best known to our readers already from our recent reviews of their Calumet Farm and Bird Dog bourbons. This sourced whiskey is branded as being loyal to the Kentucky bourbon tradition, unabashedly emphasizing sweet and vanilla notes without any of the nuance to be expected from more top-shelf bourbon varieties
The bourbon’s name comes from a horse named Lexington: “The Stallion that Sired the Duke of Magenta” one of the most successful sires of the 19th century. The spirit is billed as having been “patiently aging for years in Kentucky’s finest charred white oak barrels.” While the fact they are a relatively young company sourcing their whiskey – and their choice to draw so directly from the visual aesthetic of “authentic” Kentucky Bourbon – may give prospective drinker pause, this alone doesn’t necessarily make for a bad whiskey as there have been many fine whiskeys produced through a similar model. At the end of the day, while the packaging gets their point across, I’m most concerned with the taste.
In the end, this bottle left me with more questions than answers. While I didn’t hate it, and I would be overjoyed if someone happened to bring this out at a BBQ, cookout, or other casual hangout, this is not a bottle I’d necessarily write home about.
Tasting Notes: Lexington Bourbon Whiskey
Vital Stats: 86 Proof, no age statement.
Color: Light amber
Nose: A little sickly sweet smell of caramels and dates with a mild alcoholic burn. A few minutes into the pour it mellows out into more of an oaky smoothness. There are also hints of smokiness that peek through.
Palate: Starts off very mild and smooth on the first few sips. The taste seems to want to evaporate almost immediately, but weirdly, not in an entirely unpleasant way. The initial tastes of sweet and spicy then transform into two distinct flavors: butterscotch, and alcohol. The flavor makes a third transition into strong bourbon spiciness that follows all the way down the throat.
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Final Thoughts:
The experience of drinking Lexington is akin to drinking a moderately priced piece of furniture from Ikea. It’s attractive in a sort of utilitarian way and definitely gets the job done. It’s whiskey – and for the price and design aesthetic alone, it may be a little more interesting to have on your shelf than, say, a Bulleit, Makers Mark or something more ubiquitous. That said, anyone who has a true passion for the drink will, at best, find the offering to be a little ham-fisted; at worst, for the more discerning drinker, a straight up affront to the palate.
At it’s price point (~$27), I wouldn’t call it a best buy by any means. That spot is still reserved for Elijah Craig Small Batch and Evan Williams Black Label. That said, it’s distinctive bottle and it’s good enough attitude saves a place for it on select shelves.
If you’ve got a friend who’s just turned 21, Lexington is a whiskey that will look great on their shelf, and could potentially impress non-whiskey drinkers. It wouldn’t be a bad addition to some standard cocktails, but it won’t impress somebody with a deeper knowledge base.
Final Score: 71/100 [SHOP FOR A BOTTLE OF LEXINGTON BOURBON]
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