Bourbon

Bourbon Review: Hirsch Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

We review Hirsch Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It's a six-year-old bourbon released as part of Hotaling & Co's relaunch of the Hirsch brand.

OVERALL RATING

7
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Hirsch Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Tasting Notes

About:

125 proof; aged a minimum of six years in new American Oak; mash bill of 72 percent corn, 13 percent rye, and 15 percent malted barley; about $90.
Appearance:
Looks like grade A maple syrup, but backlit and tawny. Glazed yams.
Nose:
Slight chlorine. Not bleachy, though. More like how your skin smells after drying in the sun after swimming in a very clean pool. Also dried bananas, and pretzel salt at the bottom of a box of thick hard sourdough pretzels. led me to believe. It’s very peppery and dances on the
Palate:
A little more complex than the nose led me to believe. It’s very peppery and dances on the palate a bit, with slight black peppery carbonation.It doesn’t taste as high-proof as its 125 proof label would have you believe, but it will warm you on a blustery winter day, that’s for sure. This sort of straddles savory and sweet. It has some complexity like a wine that opens up throughout the course of your dinner. It’s also sweeter and less peppery on the palate as time goes on: It becomes more caramel apple, or baked cobbler.
Finish:
Comments:
I like this a lot. I think it’s an excellent showing for a first-ever single barrel. It’s not quite smooth enough for me to grant it 4 stars, and I would give it 3.75 if I could, because of its complexity. I wonder if more time aging this would have mellowed it out the touch more it needs to get to 4 stars. I look forward to seeing what’s next…

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.

Carin Moonin

Carin Moonin swapped a 5th-floor walkup in Hoboken, NJ, for a house in SE Portland a decade ago and hasn't looked back. She appreciates Portland's vibrant whiskey scene, finding it complements both the weather and her mood. Carin enjoys exploring the diverse world of brown liquor and its many facets. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Salon.com, DailyDot.com, Willamette Week, Portland Monthly, and others. When she's not indulging in whiskey or writing about it, you can find Carin running, reading, or on the hunt for free samples in grocery stores.

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