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Bourbon Review: Off Hours Straight Bourbon

We review Off Hours Straight Bourbon, in which Buffalo Trace alum Ashley Barnes sourced high rye bourbon from MGP for this expression.

OVERALL RATING

9
$46.99
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Off Hours Straight Bourbon Whiskey (image via Suzanne Bayard)

Tasting Notes

About:

Aged at least five years in new charred oak, 47.5% ABV, mash bill: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley, SRP $46.99/ 750ml bottle.
Appearance:
The Off Hours Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a moderate amber in color.
Nose:
The nose is moderate in strength with notes of sweet pastries. I pick up aromas of maple and butter on pancakes, homemade vanilla buttercream frosting, and vanilla extract. The vanilla note seems to grow in strength over time. It’s rather beguiling.
Palate:
The mouthfeel is viscous and thick with a gentle peppery feel. The sweet vanilla carries through on the palate, becoming somehow more intense. It’s pungent, like freshly baked frosted sugar cookies with French vanilla ice cream. I pick up notes of freshly baked white bread, angel food cake, sliced yellow apples, homemade marshmallows, and clove. There are layers of vanilla and baked goods on the finish. The very mild sweetness and gentle astringency on the finish keeps this from becoming cloying. I would pair this with white chocolate, pastries, dried dates, or coconut desserts. This would be interesting with heavily spiced or white stews made with chicken or vegetarian.
Finish:
Comments:
Jake Ireland’s mission was to create a whiskey brand meant for the casual, modern drinker. The label design fits that demographics’ love of the paradox of minimalism: a carefully curated casual attitude. The stuff in the bottle, too, has mass appeal without being cloying or boring. Heck, it’s what crowd-pleasing should be: affordable and delicious without any divisive characteristics. So what’s inherently wrong with a well-made whiskey crafted and priced to appeal to younger drinkers and women? Nothing. So let’s pour a glass and sit with this a while: minimalist chic, vanilla frosting, MGP bourbon, and all.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Suzanne Bayard

Suzanne Bayard struck out to the West Coast with her now husband almost a decade ago to explore the intersection of wine and policy in its world-class wine regions. She manages a Portland, OR bottle shop by day as the wine buyer and newsletter editor. She is also the Director of the Deep Roots Coalition, an organization of 30 Willamette Valley wineries that educate on and promote dry farming and sustainable practices. She joined the Whiskey Wash to explore two other passions: writing and whiskey.

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