I’d like to thank the folks at William Tarr Distillery for providing this review sample with no strings attached.
Oh my goodness. Christmas is right around the corner. That means that there are only about two weeks left out of the 17.93 years that have been 2020. Now I know that the world will not suddenly get better at the stroke of midnight on January 1st, but it is nice to have an agreed-upon date that we can all point to as a possible turning point.
Like the rest of the country, my wife and I have basically been a pair of shut-ins for the last I don’t even know how many months. So we’ve spent most of December ordering food and drink to be delivered to the house. We ordered things like pizza and bagels from New York City, hot chicken from Nashville, and of course food from local restaurants as well. We’ve also been accepting a lot more review samples since we are unable to go on our usual cross-country booze shopping trips.
This brings us to tonight’s whiskey: Old William Tarr Manchester Reserve. I got a press release for this one back in October. It sounded interesting. A whiskey created by history buffs who happen to be whiskey fans. They sound like my kind of people.
According to their website, Old William Tarr Manchester Reserve is a blend of 8-year-old rye (37% corn, 51% rye, and 12% malted barley) and 7-year-old bourbon (75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley). The bottle is age stated at 7 years and the whiskey is bottled at 114° proof. Let’s see how it tastes.
Old Wm. Tarr Manchester Reserve
Purchase info: This sample was graciously provided by the distillery for review purposes. I see that Liquor Barn in Louisville is selling this for $79.99 and that the Party Source (across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) has it for $76.99 per 750 mL bottle.
Price per Drink (50mL): $5.33 (Liquor Barn)
Details: 57% ABV. Aged 7 years. Blended whiskey: blend of 7-year-old bourbon and 8-year-old rye (per website).
Nose: Red fruits, rose petals, cinnamon, and honey.
Mouth: Red fruits, cinnamon, and caramel.
Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium length. The rye really comes through on the finish with notes of cedar, cinnamon, and honey.
Thoughts: I'll be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this one. But I really like it. The rye notes really come through on the finish. I wish I lived close enough to where this was sold to snag a bottle for myself. Maybe in 2021, I mean it doesn’t take that long to drive to Louisville and back. Does it?
Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.
Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.