NV EH Taylor Four Grain (50%)

This nose is an unashamed tease. The sheer, naked beauty: were I an old Kentucky spinster from post-bellum Frankfort, during the time of Mr E H Taylor, I would be getting the vapours and swooning at the wanton lasciviousness of this bourbon, the way it slowly undoes its buttons to reveal more and more of itself as it slowly oxidizes and increases in temperature. Is that a kind of a chocolate roast malt? Are those muscovado sugars teaming up with a flash of rye to suggest something fruity? Are those vanillas, or maybe butterscotch, freshly fondled by liquorice? I thought that was a flash of spice, but maybe attached to barely perceptible ulmo honey…; oh, oh, oh…! If the nose was good…then this delivery…! Soft, succulent, kisses; soothing yet exciting fingers of corn oil and lightly crisped rye softly touching, the palate fully aroused by the most sensual tips, all of them dark but none of them burnt. Yes, that ulmo honey hinted on the nose but enough only to complement the deeper manuka honey and liquorice notes which have themselves been dried enough to allow the cocoa and hickory to warm with a quietly warming spice and slowly hardening texture…; just a slow, lightly oiled, gently spiced chocolate fade which goes on…and on…and on…and on…; unquestionably one of the greatest whiskies bottled worldwide in the last 12 months, simply because of the unfathomable depths of its complexity. Every aspect of great whiskey making clears its respective hurdle with yards to spare: brewing, distilling, maturation…the nose and taste confirms that a team of people knew exactly what they were doing…and achieved with rare distinction what they set out to do. Forget about the sheer, undiluted beauty of this bourbon: for me, it is simply a true honour – and a thrill – to taste.