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15 Stars First West Extra Aged Bourbon Review

What happens when you give this 100-proof bourbon time to breathe? 15 STARS First West Extra Aged 8-Year reveals surprising depth you won't want to rush.

OVERALL RATING

7
$75
  • Charles Steele is an attorney and whiskey enthusiast with a penchant for the peculiar.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Award-winning bourbon maker 15 STARS has unveiled First West, a new collection featuring three Kentucky bourbons. The lineup includes Small Batch, Toasted Oak, and Extra Aged 8-Year-Old expressions, marking the brand’s first use of its own distillate in a blend. The Extra Aged expression blends 8 and 9-year-old Kentucky bourbons, retailing at $79.99 (£63.99) and bottled at 100 proof. This premium offering delivers orange peel citrus and cherry aromas, with a palate featuring cherry and seasoned oak followed by orange marmalade.

“Our goal with 15 STARS First West was to create the same high-quality, award-winning whiskey at an approachable cost to our consumers,” said Ricky Johnson, co-founder of 15 STARS. “In place of double digit age statements seen with 15 STARS, we are able to bring extra flavors into the First West lineup with our heritage grains and continue to use our process of Flavor Proofing™ to create never before crafted blends.”

The bottle designs draw inspiration from the first bottles crafted in Kentucky for whiskey storage. This historical reference connects modern bourbon drinkers with the early pioneers of Kentucky distilling. All three expressions suit both neat sipping and cocktail mixing
Appearance:
Golden hue with quick thin legs.
Nose:
The nose is subtle overall. Vanilla, caramel, warm bread, mandarin oranges, light oak and green apples.
Palate:
Nice char up front with wood sugars, bakers chocolate, fresh turned soil, it opens as you go and I found melon fruit almost as sweet as watermelon. Touch of caramel and pipe smoke at the end.
Finish:
Oily mouthfeel (slightly viscous) with pepper and some warm spicey ‘pops’. Medium hold.
Comments:
This one needs time to breath because as it does you really get to dig in and see some depth and complexity. This is one to sit with. Get a cigar going, or your favorite book, and let the whiskey open up before getting into it. You’ll thank the whiskey later. It is fun, spicey, with enough sweetness to really show off the craftsmanship. I found it to be the best of the three I sampled, but I am also partial to older whiskey. So take that for what it’s worth.

Overall, fun and enjoyable.

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.

Charles Steele

Charles Steele, a Portland-based attorney, is a native of the Pacific Northwest. His legal background provides him with an analytical approach to understanding whiskey and other aged spirits. Primarily a legal writer, freelancing for The Whiskey Wash offers Charles a unique opportunity to showcase his versatility as a writer. Although his preference lies with whiskey and whiskey-based cocktails, he has a profound appreciation for all unique and unconventional liquors, from Malört to Ojen - if it's peculiar, he's intrigued.

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