You must be 21 or over to enter this website. If you're not old enough to drink, then you're not old enough to read Breaking Bourbon. Official Website. Adorned in upscale packaging with a small, understated side label and rounded shoulders offset by a copper medallion and heavy copper stopper, it feels different.
Like seeing a European sports car amid a range of more familiar pickup trucks, muscle cars, and the like. Rolling the bourbon around in the bottle I can see a healthy amount of sediment - a pleasing attribute as it typically means the bourbon has been minimally filtered. I later learned it was not filtered at all.
The bourbon is full bodied on the nose, with apple, summer fruits, and sweet caramel emanating from the glass. On the sip, it has a viscous, oily consistency. The spice is countered by sweet black currants. As the spice fades, a summer fruit sweetness comes into play on the lingering finish.
There are echoes of youth, but not in the same way you might usually describe a young tasting bourbon. Rather, the lack of typical barrel and wood notes suggests youth - there is an absence of typical higher aged elements as opposed to a presence of the typical lesser aged flavors.
The side label bears a small gold signature - Ray Walker. Intrigued by the bottle design and flavor profile, I was excited to speak with Walker about this inaugural release. His goal is exploration into the not-so-typical. The current batch of 12 barrels, with a 3, bottle yield, is the first of many. Walker seeks to experiment, and see where each release - the aim being keeping them small - takes him.
