Widow Jane - The Vaults - 15 Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey
$225
Widow Jane – The Vaults – 15 Year Straight Bourbon Whiskeys
Collection: Batch 1 – Bottle # 830 – Release 2020
Proof: 99
Age: 15+ Years (Blended)
Distillery: Sourced, Blended & Bottled at Widow Jane Distillery
Type: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Mash: Unknown
Website: Widow Jane
*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, Vanilla, Banana, Nutmeg, and Baking Spices, Wet Leather.
Taste/Palate: Moderate Oak, Leather & Barrel Char Upfront. Orange zest, the typical Caramel & Vanilla, Root Beer, and Tobacco.
Finish: The Barrel Char fades but Oak, Tobacco, and Leather remain. More Orange Zest, mild on the Caramel and Vanilla, spice notes of Nutmeg and All-Spice come through and blend with a finish that leans toward sweet
Verdict: This is a great bourbon, but it has a cost to it. MSRP is $200+. That’s a hefty price tag. Almost the same as Pappy Van Winkle 20 & 23 MSRP. Easier to find than Pappy obviously. I’m not disappointed that I spent a little more than usual on this bottle, but I feel for $200+ there are other bottles I’d pick up over this one, if I could ever find them. In the end I was not disappointed because this bottle was in my hand and others in this price point might be considered unicorns. Its a great pour with the large drawback that it’s costs a pretty penny. This is a great pour, but the price tag knocks it down a peg or two. There’s all the key components of a great bourbon. The value of this bourbon is what keeps it from being great. I put it in the same class of Pappy 15, but it has twice the MSRP. Availability is what this has going for it, but that’s still limited.
MSRP: Buy if you have the $ Price Ceiling: Not above MSRP ~$250 (The most I’d pay for this bottle)
The Story: I came across this bottle in a Binny’s while driving through the Chicago area. I have Widow Jane 12 and Widow Jane lucky 13 and was pleased with both. This bottle presents that it is the better version of the lot. I decided to jump on the bottle and give it a go. I’m happy to have it join my bourbon collection to share, but as I said before I’d pick up other bottles over this. It has a complexity to it and you can taste the maturity.
The best part of the story is that I was able to bring it to a friend gathering and we all got to give it a go. I gave my group a decision. Should I open the bottle of Blood Oath 7 or this Widow Jane 15. The group chose this one and all seemed to enjoy it.
The Distillery’s Story: Widow Jane has a good footing in the bourbon world. They have the Widow Jane 10 which is more of a staple to their collection and other variants. They have also decided to add interesting takes on bourbon, like one I picked up for a friend that was a rye aged on Applewood. It was great in an Old Fashioned.
Specific to the Widow Jane – The Vaults – 15 year. From what I could find in my research it’s a blend of 15 – 17 year bourbons sourced from Indiana and Tennessee I believe. It was aged in air seasoned oak for 5-8 years. The standard is 1-2 years of air seasoning for the wood. This collection is called The Vaults because these barrels are hand selected to be of the finest quality. All of this info I’m getting from secondary sources. If you happen to look at the link for the website, Widow Jane does not have the Vaults 15 year listed on their website, at least at the time of this post. They only have The Vaults 14 year listed. I find this a little strange given this is a 2020 release and here it is almost 6 months into 2021. If I find out more or better info I’ll be sure to update the post. 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.
Reviewer: David S
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