Early Times - Bottled In Bond - Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey
$22
Early Times – Bottled In Bond – Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 100
Age: 4+ Years (NAS)
Distillery: Early Times Distillery Co (Sazerak Co)
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Mash: Estaimated (79% Corn, 11% Rye, 10% Barley)
Website: Early Times Distillery Co
*Disclaimer: A score of 5 is the midpoint for my reviews. Above 5 I like it. Below 5 I didn’t for some reason. Most of my reviews are between 4-7. It takes something really really special to go above 7 or below 4. See the methodologies for rating at the end of the article
Nose: Caramel, Oak, Light Barrel Char, Pipe Tobacco, Mild Citrus – Orange, and very Mild Pepper.
Taste/Palate: Medium heat with a little bite. Charred Oak, notes hit first followed by sweeter notes of Vanilla & Caramel combined with some dryness in the midpalate and light spice. I really don’t get a lot of fruit in this through the midpalate.
Finish: The sweet notes stay in the background with Oak and Tobacco present. The Citrus and Spice come forward a little more and the overall finish sticks around for a decent amount of time.
Value: At $22 for a 1 liter bottle (that’s 1000ml vs your standard “firth” that clocks in at 750ml) the price point puts this on the bottom shelf, but it’s certainly more complex and balanced for it’s price category.
Verdict: This is a very drinkable bourbon with mature notes, a solid balance, and sweeter character traits. Its in the top tier of value buys. If you were to pour this for me and I didn’t know what I was being served I would have guessed 7-10 in age based on the mature notes that came through. It’s missing a couple quality characteristics that would put it in the premium category, but for this price you can’t go wrong if you pick one of these up.
The Story: This brand wasn’t on my radar until I got into some bourbon forums. People had good things to say. Later, I was searching the aisles for something that peaked my interest and I came across one bottle of Early Times BiB. There was no pricetag, but I decided to give it a go anyway. After tax the bottle was under $25. I thought they made a mistake. Nope. That was the price. The low price scared me a little bit. I cracked open the plastic twist top and gave it a go. I was pleasantly surprised. That day I decided not to do a review. I wanted to make sure. Fast forward to today and I return to this pour. All of my previous impressions of this bottle were consistent upon my return to it.
The Distillery’s Story: “Jack” Beam started Early Times Distilling just outside of Bardstown pre-prohibition. During prohibition production was shut down and everything sat. Brown-Forman purchased Early Times due to the demand of their whiskey since they were one of the few that had approval to sell whiskey for medicinal purposes. Brown-Forman owned and sold Early Times under their umbrella until 2020/2021 when it was purchased by Sazerak. Sazerak will return Early times to the Bardstown area and distill out of their 1792 location.
In Summary: There was a brand change in the middle of the aging of my particular bottle. Given the age statement I’m 99.9% sure what I’m drinking was produced under Brown-Foreman. Will this change in 2025 when Sazerak juice hits these BiB bottles? I don’t know. But as for my experience with this particular bottle it was very pleasant. Especially pleasant during a time when distilleries are asking over more and more for their products during the Bourbon Craze.
Rating Side Note: This dram might score better than some other bottles that might taste slightly better because of the value perspective. My rating weight is 25/25/25/25 in even percentages. Some might disagree with this approach, but value means a lot. If you are going to purchase a bottle of Whistle Pig Boss Hog at the MI state minimum price of $499 I think that value rating is important. This begs a question. Would you take 20 bottles of Early Times BiB and be set for a while or 1 bottle of Whistle Pig Boss Hog and be set for 1 night with a few friends? I can’t answer that question for you, but this is my rationale behind the value rating. Cheers!
Methodologies for Rating:
1. Dump it down the drain or regift it to someone you don’t care for.
2. This doesn’t even belong in a mixed drink. Use in case of an emergency.
3. It’s really not for me, but I heard some people like it.
4. Its only good when I’ve had too many and it’s decent in a mixer.
5. Solid. It hit all of what’s expected.
6. Above average. Good to bring to an event and you wouldn’t expect any guff from it.
7. Buy two if you see it to make sure you have one on reserve.
8. Very Very good. Constantly a GREAT POUR.
9. Superb. If I were to drink this and only this from now on I’d be a happy person.
10. Perfection is impossible. But this really comes as close as you can possibly get.
Nose, Palate, and Finish I rank regardless of cost. Value (recent addition) is ranked based on taste vs price.
Reviewer: David S
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