Review: Lazy K Bar Bourbon 8 Years Old

Lazy K Bar is one of the oldest ranches in Montana (Big Timber, to be exact), and now it’s also a whiskey. Be advised: They don’t distill it there. This is a blend of Kentucky bourbons, aged 8, 9, and 10 years old, from an unstated distillery. Did I mention Cole Hauser, who appears on Yellowstone, is part of the project? No? Well now you know.

Oh, the whiskey. Yes. It’s a beautifully presented bottle, with mottled glass clad partially in leather and topped with a heavy brass stopper. It cuts an amazing profile on the counter. But in the glass, let’s find out.

Lazy K Bar Bourbon 8 Years Old Review

On the nose: Lots of spice, like a lot of spice, in the form of cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, coming off dangerously close to what you’d expect from a flavored bourbon. Dark chocolate aromas percolate from there, coming across almost like cocoa powder, adding in a surprising pungency and grittiness. Time in glass helps all of this coalesce, culminating in aromas of cedar box, filled with cigars.

The palate shocks with an immediate sweetness that is difficult to place. It’s fruity but also filled with those spice cabinet notes, evoking a fresh bowl of stone fruits dusted with cinnamon and Tajin. Brown sugar soothes the throat from there, before more traditional notes of toasted corn and vanilla filter into the mix. Some toasted coconut lingers, chased away by some of the tobacco notes hinted at on the nose. The finish is sharp but remains quite fruity, with plum and cherry (especially) well-represented. Chocolate drips down and around the back end.

Bottom line: This is a wild little bourbon, and not at all what I was expecting given the burly Montana-focused presentation. I can’t really think of another product on the market you might even compare it to — and I imagine it will be extremely divisive among those who manage to track it down.

92 proof.

A- / $100

The post Review: Lazy K Bar Bourbon 8 Years Old appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider’s Guide to Good Drinking.