Fox & Oden Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Batch #18, Bottle #2631, bottled 2/23. I had Fox and Oden a few weeks ago at a restaurant. I enjoyed it very much, and the manager offered to buy me a bottle and sell it to me at cost (my first purchase from the bar!). Today, I picked up my bottle after dining there... Color: Medium copper-amber. Aroma: Raisins, prunes, cherries — a very fruity aroma! Taste: (Drank with an ice cube) Initial sweetness on the tongue, featuring a return of the cherries from the aroma. Slight tongue tingle and mild chest warmth going down. Subsequent sips reveal some spicy oak. Finish: A pretty lengthy finish with lingering cherry (like cough syrup), and a nice dose of oak tannins. A very good bourbon. For some reason, I was under the impression that this was a Kentucky bourbon. But not so! Distilled in Indiana and bottled in Michigan.

The taste is decent, lacking greatness and smoothness on the way down. However, it hits the tongue with initial heat. Overall, it's above average but doesn't justify a $90 price tag. During a second tasting, I found it slightly hotter than I recalled from the first time.

Very smooth. The aroma is darker, featuring oak, caramel, and toffee. The taste enters smoothly, with a touch of sweetness but ample flavor. It transitions into a bit of spice with a pleasant, long finish. I'd like to compare it directly with JM.

It's quite good, but I'm not sure if it justifies the price for me.

Neat: very good