Imbibe // Colonel E.H Taylor Single Barrel: A Coming of Age Story
Nose: Intense tobacco, caramel, vanilla, musky aftershave.
Mouthfeel: Campfire; Yosemite or Joshua Tree.
H2O: Holds its own to ice, opens up beautifully, like a young Sharon Stone circa 1992.
Verdict: Intensely layered, sweet, woodsy, yet refined. A dapper lumberjack. Spine-stiffening, comforting if you have a complicated relationship with your barber.
We took Colonel E.H. Taylor out for a night of drinking, LA style. The following events are entirely fictional. Alcohol, after all, can’t write.
I’ve never been a morning spirit. What the hell happened? I should probably start talking before I forget the rest of the night. I’m not even sure how I got here, face down in a garbage parking lot off of Sunset, a shell of my former self, insides scattered across every bathroom stall and bar countertop in Hollywood. The promise of fame and fortune and cocaine fueled parties with aspiring supermodels and rehabbed B-listers. Besides, I spent a barrel-sheltered life for over 11 years, it was about time I got out of the proverbial box and lived a little. Time that I dropped the Kentucky act and joined the multitudes of thirsty star struck groupies and bottle service aficionados crowding every corner of every black-lit bar on The Strip.
Since the Taylor moniker means about as much in Los Angeles as racial sensitivity does at a Trump rally, here’s a brief history lesson: Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. was the adoptive grand-nephew of former President Zachary Taylor. He is widely considered to be the father of modern bourbon, and was essentially responsible for the Bottle-in-Bond Act of 1897, dictating that bourbon be bottled at a throat-warming 100 proof. That’s a delightfully pleasant 50% Alcohol by Volume for those of you that don’t speak liquor. Lot’s of heritage, legacy, and tradition out the window in one night. Seven or ten drinks in, I lost my phone, got in an unmarked limo with Andy Dick, and somehow ended up here. You might be lucky to find whatever’s left of my dignity at your local celebrity-studded watering hole, or sticking to Yeezy's Adidas on the floor at the Chateau Marmont.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel Bourbon is made by the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Other hits include Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year, Blanton’s Single Barrel, and something called White Dog.