Early Times Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey 1000ml

Early Times Straight Kentucky was founded in Shively, Kentucky in 1860 by Jack Beam, uncle of Jim. The distillery’s core product was a bourbon up until 1983, when they decided to age the whisky in seasoned barrels instead of new charred oak, thus changing the label requirement to “Kentucky Whisky.” Fun fact: Early Times owns it own cooperage, so they have full control over the quality of the barrels used to age their whisky. Though there is no age statement on the bottle, this is aged a minimum of 3 years.

A very old example of Early Times Kentucky Straight Bourbon, which we believe to have been distilled in 1964 and bottled in 1968. While the label has sadly faded quite a bit, the bottle otherwise remains sound – a collectible piece from our Antique Spirits range.

Early Times Straight Kentucky is a Kentucky bourbon from the Brown-Forman portfolio. With a high percentage of corn in the blend, Old Reserve is light and sweet with rich caramel notes.

Made by Brown-Forman, who acquired the Early Times brand in 1923, with a high percentage of corn in the mashbill. Due to ageing in a mix of new and used casks, Early Times could not be sold in the United States as a ‘bourbon’, but we note our 2016 European sample is labelled as being a “Kentucky bourbon whiskey” (although not ‘straight’) and proudly states “matured in virgin casks” across the top of its front label.

Appearance:

Clear, golden amber.

Aroma:

Black pepper, amaretto, black cherry, vanilla rubbed new leather and char-grilled sweetcorn.

Taste:

Relatively light-bodied for a bourbon. Spicy – black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon – caramel, chocolate and buttery sweet grilled sweetcorn.

Aftertaste:

Spicy, burnt sweetcorn, vanilla and oak.

Overall:

Some might describe this light-bodied bourbon as being tad thin. However, this lightly spicy bourbon is an eminently approachable entry for new bourbon drinkers with amaretto notes, caramel, char-grilled sweetcorn, chocolate and vanilla.