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Even Licor 43 isn't actually 43% ABV, but here comes Evan Williams' Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey with its solid 43%. I have opined previously about the seeming artificiality that I feel comes through when a whole line of beverages seems to hit an arbitrary number and stops. Maybe they're just following a working model - the ratio of cream to whiskey for our cream is exactly right when it's 17.0%, so we'll just do that with all of them - kind of thing. Sometimes, they just know the market says, "Hey, your crappy lemonade should be 5% ABV like Zima."
After I took the pictures for this review, I went ahead and added ice. I'm not sure I like the look of ice (and I may pick up some of those chill cubes in the future) in the glass, so I left it out for optics. Still, I prefer whiskey with ice in it. Not even sure if it's the cold or the water from the melted ice that's doing it for me. The aroma is, entirely predictably, whiskey.
First sip is a strangely localized alcohol burning. I say that, as I really expected a Kentucky hug the whole way down. Expected? Heck, I was looking forward to it, but it burns in the mouth, instead. It's not a deal breaker, but it is depriving me of one of the little joys when drinking whiskey of any type, and I certainly expect it from a bourbon. I mean, why else do they call it a Kentucky hug?
Subsequent sips are a mixed bag. The caustic nature of a 43% ABV beverage is quite forward until the ice melts and waters it down to a manageable and kind of mellow taste. Should I judge it based on the worst that it is or the best that it is? Well, I'll split the difference.
Bottom Line: Honestly, just not outstanding.
2.5/5
