Blade and Bow 30 Year Bourbon Is Just Too Old

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. Sure, you can use donuts instead of a bun to make a fried chicken sandwich, or you can go barefoot on an airplane, but that doesn’t mean you should do either of these things. Or just because you have some 30-year-old barrels of bourbon sitting around your warehouse, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should put the liquid in a bottle. Alas, the temptation for brands is just too strong sometimes, as was the case with the new Blade and Bow 30 Year Old—a bourbon that, unsurprisingly at this age, just doesn’t taste all that good.

That being said, the woman behind this whiskey is one of most talented people working in the American whiskey industry today. Nicole Austin holds the lofty title of Diageo’s director of American whiskey liquid development and capabilities, as well as running the show over at Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. where George Dickel Tennessee whiskey is produced—or rather, was produced, as the distillery has been shut down for months now. Before the pause, Austin was responsible for truly reviving the Dickel brand with the release of some fantastic whiskeys, including the bottled-in-bond series and a couple of older age statements that teetered on the verge of becoming overly oaky but pulled back just in time.

According to the press release for Blade and Bow 30, this new spirit was bottled from 42 barrels that were distilled in 1993 and aged for a time at the famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery, which was once the home of brands like Old Fitzgerald before it closed in 1992. Given the timing, clearly the whiskey in this bottle was not distilled there, and while the source isn’t revealed, it is said to be made from a rye mashbill. At some point during the maturation, barrels that were nearly empty because of evaporation (a.k.a. the angel’s share) were consolidated in the hopes of preventing them from becoming overly oaky . . . but in my opinion this tactic did not work. The whiskey was bottled at 54.5 percent ABV without chill filtration.

Look, I get it. Despite many whiskey drinkers getting onboard with the philosophy that age doesn’t necessarily equal quality, especially when it comes to bourbon, a high age statement still goes a long way in terms of marketing, not to mention what it does to the price tag. Just last summer, Diageo released I.W. Harper 34-Year-Old, a bourbon that was sold at auction to benefit a good cause, but was also just truly difficult to actually drink. Blade and Bow 30 is marginally better, but overall it’s just too tannic and woody, despite some positive notes popping up as you sip. Let’s focus on the good news first: Flavors like grape jelly, vanilla, butterscotch, and leather are present, along with a hint of banana that you might associate more with Jack Daniel’s. But these are, unfortunately, overpowered by notes that are unappealing, like tannic oak, bitter licorice, wet tobacco, menthol, and—not to be too rude to the whiskey or to anyone’s pet—the smell of wet dog.

This is all subjective, of course, as is always the case when it comes to any whiskey review. You might try this bourbon and think it’s fantastic. Of course, you might also really want to believe it’s fantastic if you purchase a bottle, considering that the price has skyrocketed from the original $1,200 to nearly four grand at some secondary retailers. I hope I get to try more bourbon at this elevated age, and I hope that bourbon is really, truly delicious. Blade and Bow 30, however, is not that bourbon.

Score: 81

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