Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr., Barrel Proof (batch 14)

Secured this for $80 at the Logan Utah DABS store during a statewide allocated liquor release in December 2025. The etched numbers are difficult to discern, but appear to be: 1 00:57 12025 / 13:46 D VT 15C. Online research for EH Taylor suggests this is Batch 14, 2025, bottled at 63.6% ABV, 127.2 proof. Tasted neat. Appears bright copper with average coating legs in the glass. The aroma is sweet grain and vanilla, grassy, with a faint whiff of spice in the background. On the palate, brown sugar is followed by a rush of ethanol and mint. The ethanol subsides with subsequent sips, yielding to sweet, tannic vanilla oak, some dark fruit, dark chocolate, and then baking spices with a mint tingle. It has a full mouthfeel, lightly oily and chewy. The finish is long, continuing with tannic, spicy, pepper, and a tingling mint. It's dry and sweet, not sour. Very enjoyable. An ice cube softens the ethanol and oak tannins, resulting in a smooth, sweet/spicy sensation. It has some bite at 127 proof, more so than some other sweeter, less astringent barrel-proof whiskies. A score of 4.25, but considering it's still a "unicorn" out West, it gets a 4.5. It's fantastic to experience how the other Taylors taste at full proof. I'm pleased to drink and appreciate this today and hope to get fortunate in Utah's "allocated lottery" next year. Here's to that!

The aroma is oily almond, rye-touched oak, and grape candy. It's balanced and substantial. Flavors include almond extract, nougat, sugar from grain, cashew oak, seared rye, and barrel spice. As anticipated, it's a reinforced iteration of the small batch. The finish provides a friendly Kentucky embrace.

Quite enjoyable and flavorful. Another excellent barrel-proof offering from EHT!