Jefferson’S Bourbon Review
Whiskey Review: Jefferson’S Ocean: Aged At Sea Bourbon
Jordan Morris Bourbon Lifestyle, Jefferson’s Bourbon’s co-founder Trey Zoeller aged three barrels on M.V. Ocean, where they spent four years tagging sharks and conducting research.
The four-year experiment revealed that temperature fluctuations, salt water air exposure, and constant motion of the ship created a unique flavor profile for the bourbon. Jefferson’s describe the result as dark Bourbon with caramel flavours reminiscent of dark Rum and salt water air that is similar to an Islay Scotch.
Jefferson’s was able to expand the Ocean product line from its three-barrel start after the initial release’s success. Now, Jefferson’s commercialized the process by shipping hundreds of barrels around the world.
For a typical barrel, Jefferson’s states that the barrel crosses the equator at least four times and visits over 30 ports on a voyage. Jefferson’s releases Ocean Bourbon regularly due to the increase in volume. Some bars and liquor shops even stock single barrels, including some caliber releases.
entered a deal with Kentucky Artisan Distillers in 2015, Jefferson’s traditionally sources its bourbon from different distillers. With that in view, Jefferson’s Ocean’s releases contain the Kentucky straight bourbon design, while some other releases, including the topic of this review, have only the straight bourbon (no Kentucky reference). Let’s get to the real issues.
Tasting Notes: Jefferson’S Ocean: Aged At Sea Bourbon
Vital Stats. The Jefferson’s Ocean batch 14, number 14 in this review clocks at 90 proof. Since this batch only has the straight bourbon label, it’s safe to suppose that there was at least some non Kentucky whiskey in this batch. Jefferson’s Ocean is available for purchase at $80-$90.
Appearance: Jefferson’s Ocean looks medium honey brown in a glass.
Nose. Jefferson was a source of Bourbon. However, the nose for this particular batch lines up with rye grain recipe bourbon with strong floral notes that balance with salted caramel. I thought Jefferson was making marketing claims about a similarity to Islay Scotch, but there are definitely soft salt and light smoke notes that I don’t recall ever tasting in other Bourbons.
Palate. To confirm my suspicion that Jefferson’s Ocean contains mostly Rye Grain Mash Bill Bourbon, I found the first of the palate to be floral with citrus notes, light black pepper spice, and some citrus. In the mid palate, those flavors taper off and the bourbon sweetens with caramel driving most of the flavor. Like the nose and palate, the flavors combine softly with caramel and smoke. Finally, the taste ends with a subtle dry oak note, which is combined with the dominant caramel.
To me, the nose seemed to give off more of the possible characteristics derived from aging the barrels at sea than the palate. In addition, the smoke and salt notes were more pronounced upon opening a fresh bottle. These notes seem to have diminished after 15 minutes of sitting in the glass.
Overall Rating
Taken neat or on the rocks, this is a pretty solid bourbon that performs well. However, there are many whiskeys on the marketplace that perform equally well. Here, a company seized spirits from other distilleries. Then they put their own labels on the spirit and then charged extra for the privilege to taste it.
Jefferson produces other varieties of spirits, some with unique aging process like Jefferson’s Ocean. Although they are more valuable than the traditional whiskey equivalent of giving someone else their homework, those add something that makes the experience even better.
Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Jefferson’s Pernod Ricard Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Price: $49.99/750ml Product Site All reviews will be evaluated in the context of each spirit’s specific classification, as stated above.
Click here for similar spirits to those we reviewed.
Overall Rating: 2.5/5 If the whisky was made in-house, this would make it a solid 3-4 star whiskey.
Jefferson’S Bourbon Twin Oak Custom Barrrel
Jefferson’s Twin Oak Custom Barrel Bourbon Jefferson’s is taking maturation technology up a notch with Jefferson’s Twin Oak Custom Barrel.
The brand’s newest release marks the result of a six-year project with Independent Stave Company The small-batch bourbon producer, famous for their innovative small batch blends, has partnered with Independent Stave Company (ISC) to develop a new Jefferson’s barrel. After six years, the Zoeller Jefferson’s new barrel created an unusual and creative environment that allows Kentucky Whiskey to mature. Jefferson’s barrel uses grooved staves, which increases the barrel’s surface to allow more Bourbon to contact the oak for the best flavor. The barrel is toasted to a specific time and temperature recipe and then flash charred. The result is a tremendously full-flavored, complex, balanced bourbon from a seasoned, double-barreled whiskey.
Trey Zoeller, chief executive officer and founder Jefferson’s Bourbon became a barrel cook for a day as a way to work closely with ISC’s cooperation in Lebanon. Zoeller learned more about the preparation of barrels for wine and spirit after dozens upon dozens of tests. ISC and Zoeller tried many different methods to prepare the barrels for wine and spirits. Zoeller finally settled on the use of a grooved barrel that gives the whiskey a mocha taste. This barrel was then used as a finishing barrel (for four months) and will be used in the production of 10-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey.
“We are really excited to collaborate with Independent Stave Company for this innovative new bourbon,” remarks Trey Zoeller, CEO and founder of Jefferson’s Bourbon, “By increasing the surface area of the barrel, we’ve been able to impart so much more of the barrel’s flavor into our whiskey, creating a unique taste unlike many of our previous Jefferson’s products.” To learn more about the Jefferson’s line of spirits, please visit www.jeffersonsbourbon.com , or follow the brand on Instagram (@jeffsbourbon) Facebook (Jefferson’s Bourbon) Twitter (@JeffsBourbon) . Jefferson’s Twin Oak Custom Barrel retails for $79.99
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Jefferson’S Very Small Batch Bourbon Review
Scroll down for the content. Located 20 minutes from Louisville Kentucky’s Kentucky Artisan Distillery in Jefferson’s, Jefferson’s was created by Chet Zoeller and Trey Zoeller in late-90’s. Jefferson’s started as a producer of whiskey but is now a distillery. The company blends the whiskey stocks from various Kentucky distilleries to make their different whiskeys. Although Jefferson is their founder father, they have been named after him. This was due more to not having enough marketing funds than to any historical connections to Jefferson. The Zoellers were forced to think outside the box and chose a well-known historical figure as their symbol. We’ll be forgiven for this, and it still works for them 20 years later.
Jefferson’s Whiskies is unique in that it allows them to source, bottle and label (openly). Trey and Chet Zeller are able blend different recipes from different distilleries. It’s an art form in its own right. Not prepared to just bottle what’s inside the barrels as single barrel offerings, Jefferson’s take the time and effort to create blends that showcase the finest elements of all their constituent parts, a task that is easier said than done – trust me. Jefferson’s claim to be a ‘Very small batch’ is actually based on the fact that every batch is made up of just 8 barrels. They are made from 4 different recipe whiskeys and 4 different ages. For consistency, one barrel makes up 55%, while the other half is used to add complexity. Jefferson’s is one of my favourite brands and I keep at least one bottle. Jefferson’s Very Small Batch Bourbon is their most popular product. (Try it and find out how many times that you can say the mouthful before giving up. Pour yourself a good measure.
Name: Jefferson’s Very Small Batch bourbon (Batch# 500 Bottle# 855) Age: NAS (suspected to be a blend of bourbons ranging from 8 – 12 y.o) Proof: 82.4 (41.2 ABV) Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Mashbill: Internet says 60% corn, 30% rye, and 10% malted barley – but this might be different depending on the batch Producer: Kentucky Artisan Distillers (Sourced from undisclosed KY distiller(y)ies) https://jeffersonsbourbon.com/ Glassware: Glencairn Review Appearance: Ruddy gold Nose: The nose opens with notes of dry black tea (weirdly specific – I know), baking spices, intense caramel, and dark fruit, fading to earthy oak, slight citrus and floral vanilla Palate: The palate is silky, complex, yet light with notes of sweet burnt caramel, more baking spices like cinnamon and anise, dark fruit and leather, and old earthy oak asserting its influence from the back with a kick of spice Finish: The finish is a long grand finale dominated by dark fruit, old astringent earthy oak, intense caramel again, vanilla beans, and rye spice which fades to a tannic cherry aftertaste in the mouth.
Lower proof bourbons have a lot to offer, and I am more open to trying higher proof whiskeys. I am always impressed by the balance and complexity this whiskey can achieve for only 41.2%. Jefferson’s truly hit the mark with this whiskey. The whiskey appeals to an extremely wide range of whiskey drinkers and is only a small introduction to what Jefferson has to offer. Jefferson’s entry-level whisky is excellent. It has both the simplicity and complexity that novice whiskey drinkers need, while also offering seasoned whiskey connoisseurs big flavours from more mature whiskeys. When reviewing an entry-level brand, one thing that I always remember is to not compare it with other brands’ entry-level expressions (e.g Bulleit Bourbon, Jim Beam white label) and to avoid comparing this to premium releases which was never intended to rival. Jefferson’s entry-level whisky is clearly used to showcase Jefferson’s full capabilities. Kentucky Artisan Distillery will soon be producing their own distillate. A brand with a huge following has built up not only for its flagship whiskey, but also their other limited and experimental whiskies. These include their wine cask finished reserve bourbons, their ocean aged bourbons, and let’s not forget their Presidential Reserve bottlings which have featured stock from all-star distilleries such as Sitzel-Weller.
Try or Buy?
Is Jefferson’S Bourbon Smooth?
Jefferson’s Very Small Bourbon offers an elegant sipper with character. For moderately-priced bourbon, Jefferson’s Very Small Batch has the perfect balance between sweetness and subtle spice.
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.Jefferson’S Bourbon Review
