Hirsch Selection Small Batch Reserve is a lower priced offering in the Hirsch line of ultra high-end Bourbons. Some of the other offerings include a 16-year-old Reserve that goes anywhere from $400.00-$600.00 a 25-year-old that goes north of $200.00 and a few ryes that are well over $100.00, so the $35.00 for the Small Batch Reserve would be a more reasonable and not a stunningly dumbfounding price. Unlike its higher priced family members, the Hirsch Selection Small Batch Reserve has no age statement. Anchor Distilling distributes this bourbon but the label says it was bottled by Hirsch distillers in Bardstown, KY but does not say where it was distilled. Because “Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey” is on the label it has to have come from KY and aged more than 4 years in new charred oak barrels and has no additives other than good old H2O. Having said that, being labeled KSBW it’s also safe to say this whiskey is not from the famed Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown Pennsylvania where the much higher priced and older Hirsch whiskies were distilled, but I can’t find any info on this bottle’s origin. Anyway… While the bourbon isn’t bad by any stretch, I found it hard to really take to it. There is this overly nutty note that kept giving me the feeling of eating peanut butter that I just couldn’t escape. Not so bad that it ruined the whiskey, but enough that I’m not sure I’d spend $35.00 on this over another similarly priced bourbon. It mixes fairly well if you’re into that. I made a decent Old fashioned from it so it would have a place at a lower price. Seems somewhat obvious that this bottling is out there purely to draw those in who are aware of it’s higher priced and sought after cousins.
Aroma: clean, a little nuttyness, some caramel
Taste: nutty, young, burnt sugar, some dried fruit, more nutty nuttiness and some slight saltiness
Finish: medium somewhat hot finish
46% ABV Worth a try but not recommended at this price.
