Buffalo Trace first released its E.H. Taylor series in 2011 and added new releases in 2012. The series is, of course, named for
Colonel Edmond Haynes Taylor, Jr., the distiller and proponent of whiskey quality controls for whom Old Taylor bourbon is also named.
The E.H. Taylor series is sort of a hodgepodge without much in the way of underlying themes. Most but not all are bottled in bond, most but not all are bourbons and most but not all have some unique story or claim.
Some of these can't be readily found anymore, but the rye, small batch and single barrel (as well as single barrels done for specific retailers) seem to be available. The prices for the E.H. Taylors are in the $70 to $80 range, except for the Small Batch which is around $40.
E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash, BIB, 2002, 50% abv
The first release of E.H. Taylor, the Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon used an older method of souring the mash, using time instead of spent grain (for more details about the sour mash process used than I care to report, see
Scotch & Ice Cream).
The nose has very nice oak and honey notes. The palate has a strong burst of rye followed
by some acidic notes. The finish leaves
you with orange rind and spice.
This is
a good bourbon with some spice to it. I was surprised how much I liked it given
the almost universal lukewarm reviews it received at the time of its release.
E.H. Taylor Single Barrel, BIB, 50% abv
As the title suggests, this is a single barrel offering, but there is no barrel number, so you can't track different barrels unless you have one that was bottled for a specific retailer.
The nose has some nice oak, baking spices and some toffee
notes. The palate starts with caramel,
then moves to butter but flattens out at the end with cereal notes and a
cardboard finish. It’s decent, but it
doesn’t hold up.
E.H. Taylor Warehouse C Tornado Surviving, BIB, 50% abv
This seems to be the most sought after of the series and comes with the backstory that Warehouse C at Buffalo Trace was hit by a tornado and this bottle is the product of barrels that were in that warehouse and left out in the elements while the roof was repaired. Why that makes a good bourbon, I don't know, but let's see how it is.
The nose on this is really nice with lots of caramel and oak. The palate immediately hits me as heavily acidic. There's plenty of oak, some candy and rye in there, but the astringency of the acid remains at the forefront. The finish is pleasant with a bit of rye spice. Overall, I didn't care for this one, finding it too acidic and out of balance.
E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof, 67.25% abv
This is the only bottle in the series that isn't BIB and also the only one which is unfiltered. The nose is on the candy side of the spectrum with some soapy notes. The palate starts in with thick molasses, coffee, anise, leather and tobacco with a syrupy mouthfeel. The finish has gingerbread, molasses and oak. Despite the high proof, water seems to throw it off balance, bringing in some acid and some bitterness. Sip it straight if you can.
This one is great. The flavor is complex and pretty unique with the heavy molasses/gingerbread notes.
E.H. Taylor Rye, BIB, 50% abv
The most interesting thing about this rye is that it's a new mashbill that differs from the other Buffalo Trace ryes (Sazerac and Handy) in that it doesn't contain any corn, just rye and malted barley. Presumably, this is going to be very high rye, since the proportion of malted barley in any American whiskey is usually just there to assist with fermentation and is almost never more than 15%, if that.
This has a great high-rye nose with sandalwood and wood polish; it's much more similar to an old Pennsylvania rye than an LDI (which is also a rye/barley mashbill). The palate also has that sandalwood note as well as some pepper. It's very spicy and pretty dry, having just a touch of sweetness. It's a nicely done rye and fairly distinct from anything on the market today.
E.H. Taylor Small Batch, BIB, 50% abv
As we know, "small batch" is a pretty much meaningless term, so it doesn't tell us much about this whiskey. This one has a light but pleasant nose. It's a pretty typical Buffalo Trace nose, sweet with a hint of spice. The palate on this has a very good balance of sweetness, oak and spice. It's a very easy drinker and has a nice bit of spice late on the palate and into the finish. You know all those people who say they want a "smooth" bourbon? This is for them.
This was an interesting tasting. The conventional wisdom on the EH Taylor series is that it's mostly bad except for the Tornado. The Tornado was my least favorite. The Barrel Strength was easily the best, but I thought the rye was great and really enjoyed the Small Batch; the Sour Mash wasn't bad either.
I've actually heard the least buzz at about the small batch, maybe because it was the last release and people were burnt out on the whole series, but it's a great, balanced, very easy drinking bourbon, and it's $30 cheaper than the others, making it the best deal.
The biggest problem with this series is the price, which (except for the Small Batch) is roughly the same as Buffalo Trace's Antique Collection, but these whiskeys mostly aren't in that league. Even the cheaper Small Batch is more of what I'd expect for a $25 or $30 whiskey. There is definitely some good whiskey to be had here, particularly the rye and barrel proof which have fairly unique flavor profiles, but the price is a significant hurdle.
