Review #83 Bear Creek: Bourbon

Score: 7.2 / 10

Distillery: Bear Creek

Type: Craft Straight Bourbon

Checking out the hometown whiskies tonight. My actual hometown of Lakewood, Colorado. That used to be rare for me as Colorado hasn't been the best for whisky in my past, but I've branched out a ton since those days. Founded in late 2012 we have not seen a ton of expressions from these guys. However, it's nice to see a straight 4 year bourbon right out of the gates. That puts it pretty high in my respect for young craft distilleries.

Straight means you are not going to get weird grain neutral spirits or anything else. So after all that. Sure i'll snag it. It passes the sniff test. If you want to know more about what I am talking about check out episode 2 of the Po It Up whiskey podcast here.

Whiskey Review:

Nose: Green apple mixed with a mint? Off to a strange start here. Then comes caramel and brown sugar blending together.

Palate: Fairly strong ethanol even for 4 year, young oak and matured raisins swirl complement each other.

Finish: Medium in length, oily mouthfeel comes on in the finish. Extra virgin olive oil, maybe ethanol mixed with a leather polish. Oak and brown sugar still penetrate.

Score: 7.2

Scale:

S+ Sensational - The Pinnacle (9.5+)

A - AXEceptional (astounding) (9-9.5)

B - bravo (step aBove average) (8-8.9)

C - competent (7-7.9)

D - disappointing (6-6.9)

F - flush it down the toilet (fail) (5.9 below)

Notes: Availability? Common. Especially in Colorado. I'm not sure how far this has made it into the whiskey nether. However if it's not on your shelves, it will be soon.

If you thought some of my notes were weird, it's due to the fact that I think this is merely ok. It has strange characteristics. I'm an old fashioned guy when it comes to bourbon profile. That is not this bottle. However it gave me a chance to take a photo of this sweet new bear lamp!