Blade & Bow
“A man who is ‘of sound mind’ is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.”
Let's ignore the Stitzel-Weller connection and the Solera system. Let's also ignore the fancy bottle and the free key, and just ask - Is this bourbon good enough to stand on its own? Or does it need all the marketing that surrounds it?
The simple answer from the Gents is that this is a very good bourbon. Sure, the story and the marketing may help it sell to the casual buyer who needs that to differentiate it from all the others on the shelves. However, from the Gent's point of view, bourbon needs to hold up when it's just the liquid in the glass. Plus our scoring system doesn't take hype or a good story into account, which is lucky as this dram doesn't need it.
It's a fruit bomb, as Mr Pie put it when we were tasting it for review. The nose is alive with light fruity aromas. Not too strong as to overwhelm, but lite enough to keep you coming back to inhale them again. This has quickly become one of Mav's favourite noses. The fruit also follows through on the palate and adds a touch of mint and apple for good measure.
It's the finish where this bourbon might be a little divisive, because there isn't one. Now this is odd, and at first, when we tried Blade & Bow we were surprised, then a little disappointed. Upon reflection though Mav is convinced this doesn't matter. There are bourbons out there that have great big finishes, so if you're in the mood for one of those then you are covered. Equally, if you fancy something a little lighter and smoother this fits the bill nicely. Do you always need a big finish bourbon? We say no, and thus have not marked this dram down because of it.
