Belle Meade Single Barrel 10 Year Old Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey (750ml)

High-rye content, never cut to proof, hand selected from one exceptionally flavourful barrel after a minimum 9 years of aging and never chill-filtered to retain maximum flavour...these are the key criteria for any Belle Meade Single barrel Bourbon. The high proof and high-rye blend aims at versatility: A bourbon that shines whether served neat, with a splash, or on the rocks but it’s also outstanding in a well-made cocktail. The Belle Meade brand is the work of Charles and W.A. Nelson, great-great-great-grandsons of Charles Nelson, a pre-Prohibition legend who, reportedly, made the first Tennessee whiskey in Robertson County. He was a German immigrant grocer son of a soap- and candlemaker. Charlie adds, “Stories are what propagate cultures, and this is in my mind the American story,” he says. “I just love so many aspects of it. The things that he was involved with were at the core of human culture” — soap, candles, meat, coffee, whiskey — “the basic things that are also the great things.” This is a sourced whiskey, contracted with MGP in Lawrenceburg, Ind. The first offering from the reincarnated Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery will be on the market at some stage. The beautifully presented historic label features a book-ended pair of thoroughbred racehorses rearing up over a stack of barrels.

Tasting note: Minor nose prickle; issues aromas of orange zest, fresh sawn oak, chocolate box and an emerging minty-herbal rye lift. Follows through with a supple, juicy delivery including flavours of spiced peach, honey, nectarine and light sarsaparilla, with caramel, oak shavings and cocoa through the finish. Excellent balance. A lively, vibrant and fruity Bourbon. 52.3% Alc./Vol.