Review: Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon 12 Years Old Solera Reserve

The Blade and Bow brand, under the oversight of Nicole Austin, recently launched a new expression that’s unlike anything else in its lineup to date. The concept involves multi–vat solera finishing and blending of the outfit’s (new) Stitzel-Weller distillate, the whiskey spending time in a variety of finishing casks that include Cognac, Bordeaux, Moscatel, and Port wood. (The standard Blade and Bow expression uses a solera method, but it’s only made with regular bourbon barrels.) Details are scarce on how the solera system works in this release except for the fact that all these finishing vats are “large-format” in size. We also know the whiskey carries a 12 year old age statement, though there are no details on how long any of the solera cycles are.

This offering is a limited release, but it’s one that appears annually (likely with an character that will evolve over time).

Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon 12 Years Old Solera Reserve Review

There’s immediate evidence of the wine-soaked wood in this release, hitting promptly on the nose. Sherry is dominant, with a citrusy oloroso bent, undercut with notes of coconut husks, cloves, and dried raisins and figs. If none of that sounds like anything you’ve tasted in the world of bourbon, that’s intentional. While there’s a certain vanilla-caramel character deep in the background here, the wine influence here is utterly dominant. If I nosed this blind and you told me this was an aggressively finished Scotch, I’d believe it.

It isn’t, however, an aggressively finished Scotch, and the palate is where the more traditional bourbonness of the experience starts to reveal itself. While the sherry-driven wine elements hit first, again heavy with a tannic spin on orange oil and well-roasted nuts, the underbelly of vanilla chews and pecan log points squarely to Kentucky.

While there’s no shortage of flavor in this whiskey, it’s not something that  comes across as completely balanced. The sherry notes spin a bit out of control on the oversized finish, the various wine elements evoking a surprising level of tannic bite.

All told it’s quite the ride — and a rare experience compared to what you’re probably used to our of bourbon country.

104 proof.

B+ / $65

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