Bourbon Review Round Up: Rock Town Distillery Bourbons

Blazing-hot served neat, with heavy wood and a little spice. With water added, cinnamon, ginger, and more dark fruit prevail, and the mouthfeel is pleasantly tannic. It’s still, however, fairly woody, especially on the finish. Score: 84/100 Tasting Notes: Arkansas Bourbon Nose: Dessert-sweet—butterscotch and banana pudding. I also get a wet cardboard note. Palate: More butterscotch, caramel, and custard notes, with an oily mouthfeel. A hint of baking spice and some light oak. Score: 77/100 Tasting Notes: Arkansas Three-Year-Old Bourbon Nose: Sweet vanilla and honey are balanced out by wood and smoke. Palate: Cinnamon, black cherry, and salted caramel. Score: 82/100 Conclusion: Tasting these bourbons side-by-side is like an experiment in aging time and barrel size, albeit with a limited sample size. While all are fairly sweet, the Arkansas Bourbon is positively cloying—a dessert in a glass, with a slippery, insubstantial texture. The Single Barrel, if anything, goes a little far in the opposite direction, with its woody finish, although it’s still my favorite of the three. The Three-Year-Old Bourbon, finally, is somewhere in the middle, not quite custard-like but definitely heavy on vanilla and caramel. All in all, it is an interesting start to exploring a distillery with a huge range of American whiskies.