Strong on marketing, Diageo has not spared IW Harper from a heavy-handed branding push. Advertisements from the history of the whiskey lined the tasting room, with a live artist painting another as the tasting commenced. No official tasting notes were initially conveyed during the evening, much to the annoyance of bartenders like Joe Frade, of Portland’s The Fields restaurant. He was there, he said, “for the knowledge, not so much the marketing. We [bartenders] are here to learn how to use the whiskey.” Thanks to a hard sell on the origins of this Louisville spirit, it was the whiskey that had to do the teaching.
Despite its past, though, IW Harper is no longer a bottom shelf spirit. Although official tasting notes found in booklets later in the evening were of the copy/paste variety – think vanilla swirling with caramel that could describe (albeit obtusely) almost any bourbon, the four year old, as I tasted it, showed up with surprising nuances.
The color was light straw, bordering on primrose. On the nose, green apple and jasmine played with a hint of citrus peel and ginger. Sweet little legs predicted the palate would be sweet, and true to form, vanilla dominated with nutmeg, apricots, brown sugar and soft wood rounding out a surprisingly complex little number. The finish was on the shy side of medium, with lingering hints of toasted coconut.
The 15 year was much more in keeping with standard aged bourbon. Old gold in the glass, with longer legs, and tobacco and crème brulee on the nose, with a hint of honey and hay. On the palate, cinnamon, heavy oak, dulce de leche and chardonnay all played even hands, and the finish delighted as the oak softened to damask rose.
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Whatever their reasons for leaving the American market, and despite the rather maudlin angle chosen for its reintroduction, IW Harper Kentucky Straight bourbon is welcome back to a rather large and magnanimous pack of old and new, craft and corporate, very good American whiskey.
