Review #556 - Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch
Named for Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., was one of the fathers of the American whisky industry, this whisky brand from the Buffalo Trace distillery produces a number of bourbons and ryes. This Small Batch product is the entry-level bourbon; it's a bottled-in-bond product, meaning it must be at least 4 years old, though the bottle carries no specific age statement.
The bottling strength is 50% ABV (100 proof), again to comply with the bottled-in-bond regulations; let's see if this bourbon displays those typical sweet fruit and oak notes that we often get with Buffalo Trace products.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 75 (2025)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 50% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 8 months; bottles at 50%, 70%, and 90% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Sweet, with dark brown sugar and some oak to start; maybe molasses, too, and there's a subtle polish note with the oak. Then it's all dark fruit: cherry syrup, grape, overripe strawberries. It's a mellow nose, rounded and a bit mild.
Palate: A medium-thickness mouthfeel; quite sweet, though we again start with a decent amount of oak, hinting at a longer maturation than the required 4 years. Leather, sugar, toasted oak, then oversweet strawberry, dark grape, even grape syrup... blueberry jam, blackberries, just tons of dark, sweet fruit. A lot of grape especially, even more in the late palate.
Finish: Vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar - some baking notes start the finish, though it still leans quite sweet. Oak combines with brown sugar oatmeal, hinting at the grain, and the finish takes on a lighter complexion; the aftertaste holds vanilla, lemon curd, a soft floral flavor. There's a bit of grape, too - Welch's grape juice, and it's a medium length finish.
Final Note: Nice bourbon, a bit simple, but there's more depth here than some other 'entry level' bourbons that it's theoretically competing with. Then again, this is in a different price bracket, so we need to consider it separately; value around $70 to $75 is okay, but there will be a wide spread of prices that are paid for this bottle, depending on the location.
This definitely fits the Buffalo Trace profile; we would almost call is a quintessential Buffalo Trace bourbon, with tons of the red fruit or dark fruit notes in addition to a relatively strong oak influence. It's all well integrated and nicely put together; it just lacks a bit of strength or interesting flavor, which might drag it higher up the scoring chart.
Our Average Rating: 6.6 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.34
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other E.H. Taylor reviews:
Review #378 - Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Tailor Made'
