Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select, the proper name of this magical elixir, is a
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey manufactured by Labrot & Graham Distillers Co., of Versailles, KY.
Despite
my lifelong love of bourbon - and the fact that Labrot & Graham has been around since
1812 - I had never heard of it until I saw it in
my favorite bar four years ago. It is, on the whole, less cloying than
Jack Daniel's (which, as any bourbon snob will tell you, is technically
Tennessee Whiskey,) and far, far smoother than
Jim Beam, my run-of-the-mill evening tipple. Even run up alongside
Maker's Mark,
Knob Creek or
Basil Hayden's, it has a long, deep finish. Yes, I am fully aware I'm veering dangerously close to
oenophile territory, but the stuff's so damned tasty that the tight-asses at the wine magazines are starting to review it. Bourbon! Manly drink! (
Food & Wine, I am mildly ashamed to admit I know, calls Woodford "gorgeous and full-bodied.")
At 45.2% (90
proof), it has more kick than our old 80-proof friends Jim and Jack. More flavor, too. It's closest in taste to Maker's Mark - also a 90-proof bourbon - but with less of a caramel taste.
It also comes in a cool square bottle that looks like an oversized
hip flask.