#colonel taylor

Realist colonel Taylor laying it on the line and pulling no punches.

Colonel Taylor Rye BiB Whiskey Review

So, what some of y’all may know from my Disney/Pixar’s Cars inspired cocktails post is that I’m a liquor aficionado. 

Over the course of the past year or so, I’ve been getting more proficient at discerning tasting notes, so without further ado... it’s review time!

The Nose: The nose is subtly sweet yet discernably hot. I pick up floral notes, dried fruit (specifically apricot and peach) and some toasted sugar slowly caramelizing. The nose is pleasant but certainly indicates the proof. 

The taste: For a rye, this goes down easy. Really easy. The spice of the rye is forward, giving it a pointy, peppery impression, almost like you seasoned a pasta by dumping from a spice jar of pepper instead of grinding to taste.

It’s not unpleasant though, as I quite like pepper, at least in my food. 

There’s an underlying sweet to semi-sweetness, that’s similar to black licorice. It actually does a really good job of lingering past the other whiskey flavors. If you were to press me, I might stand by it being the exact same aftertaste as Australian-style black licorice. 

You get a lot more of the caramel on the nose than on the palate. There is a caramel note, but it seems to quickly transition to more of a barrel-aged spice, unlike a lot of bourbons where the caramel takes center stage. 

I may not like “smooth” as a liquor descriptor much, but I do have to admit, especially for a rye, this is smooth. The liquor doesn’t complain at all going down; it’s very harmonious with the rest of the drink. I know this is a very well regarded rye so it may not be the most apt statement, but if more ryes were like this, I’d drink a lot more rye. 

gimme

gimme

GIMME

Zelmer: So am I Colonel, I was very close to finishing

Colonel Taylor: Well you can resume your studies when you come back, after this all blows over

Zelmer: Is that what you really think sir? Do you think that this thing might blow over and that it could turn into something more serious?

Colonel Taylor: Now you make no mistake solider, this is a serious set of events that could escalate into something unfortunate...I'm sorry to have to say this to you.

Zelmer: I asked you for the truth, that's what you gave me.

So is there anything I can do for you, anything at all?

Can you get me out of it?

Colonel Taylor:..Zelmer

Zelmer: I don't think I can do this sir. I really don't.

Colonel Taylor: Zelmer I can't do anything -

Zelmer: I'm a Black man in the prime of my life. I'm just now starting to live. Just starting to taste. To know who I am. To know what I'm supposed to do with myself. Feeling good about myself. My accomplishments. I can't blow out the candles now, not now. I'm just starting to see. It's not fair Colonel

Colonel Taylor: No it's not fair.

[pauses]

Colonel Taylor: I wish to God I could tell you something to make you feel better.

[pauses]

Colonel Taylor: I uh...have a friend. Very bright, painter. One day he went blind. Just like that, some freak of nature. Ten years he was in and out of hospitals, finally he got some of his sight back but he never could paint the same though he never stopped trying. Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself, I think about him. He doesn't know it but he's my inspiration.

Zelmer: That story didn't really help me too much Colonel.

Cross-Country With Cats: Nowhere Near the Bourbon Trail

When I woke up I realized that it was my first day in over a decade where I no longer live in North Carolina. This was obviously not a surprise, but nonetheless it felt profound. And significant. A whole lot of life lies ahead of me, and none of it will take place in North Carolina. — I don’t remember much about Kentucky. Not that it isn’t memorable, I am sure it is, but because I was very…