Experimental Whiskey Brand Drops Its Most Straightforward—and Potentially Best—Bourbon Yet

Jefferson’s Bourbon, known for its aging experiments, has just released perhaps the purest expression of its whiskey yet: Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength.

Since founding the brand with his father in 1997, Trey Zoeller has always approached the category with an outside-the-box strategy. The brand has made its name with unique cask finished bourbons as well as whiskeys aged in different environments.

“I’ve always taken pride in the fact that we’ve always done more than just distill, age, and bottle,” Zoeller says.

Among these experiments is Jefferson’s Tropics, a bourbon that was aged in the sweltering heat and humidity of Singapore. Jefferson’s Ocean, a Kentucky bourbon that's aged across different climates at sea, is among the brand’s most unique and successful experiments.

For Zoeller’s latest release, he’s taking things back to basics. Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength is an eight-year-old, non chill filtered Kentucky bourbon bottled at 130 proof (65 percent ABV). No cask finishes, no unique maturation experiments. This is Jefferson’s Bourbon in its purest form.

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“It’s what we use as a base for almost all of our products,” Zoeller explains. “We haven’t showcased it by itself yet, and it’s pretty damn good.”

Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength is a blend of just over 1,000 barrels of four different Kentucky bourbons. The barrels, having spent eight years aging in Kentucky, were all at different proof points. 

“It averaged out right at 130 proof,” Zoeller says.

The new cask strength release allows bourbon enthusiasts and fans of Jefferson’s to get a close-up look at the bourbon that makes up the DNA of most of the Jefferson’s range—unfiltered and at barrel proof. It’s a new approach for Jefferson’s, but it’s one that Zoeller thinks you’re going to like.

“Sometimes you want a big damn bourbon,” Zoeller says. “And this drinks like that.”

Trey Zoeller normally makes experimental bourbon for Jefferson's. This time, he decided to make an elevated basic: cask strength bourbon.

Courtesy Image

What Does Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength Taste Like?

On the nose, Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength has a rich and creamy aroma with notes of butterscotch and salted caramel. For a 130 proof bourbon, there’s surprisingly little ethanol heat on the nose.

Once sipped, the bourbon is spicy and gripping. It's surprisingly rye-like, despite its mash bill containing only 17 percent of the grain. Notes of black pepper and allspice are bolstered with two levels of cherry sweetness, both fresh black cherry and medicinal, along with brûléed sugar. Again, it drinks way below its proof, with a balanced, satisfying, and complex flavor profile and a creamy, round mouthfeel.

Just with the nose and the palate, the high proof presents itself as baking spice notes on the finish, with notes of nutmeg and clove leading the way. Butterscotch and vanilla round out the finish, which is satisfying and lengthy, but slightly dry with a small but noticeable presence of tannic bitterness on the side palate.

Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength: The Final Verdict

For a stripped-down expression of Jefferson’s Bourbon, this cask strength offering has a lot of character. The most noteworthy characteristic of the whiskey is that it drinks far easier than its proof may lead one to believe. Instead of harsh ethanol, the bourbon's strength presents as a unique blend of baking spices, with different notes popping up during different parts of the tasting experience. The spicy notes balance well with the bourbon’s creamy character, making it dangerously easy to sip at its strength.

“Nobody drinks cask strength bourbon for the first time and says ‘Where has this been all my life?’ You build up to it. It’s a graduation,” Zoeller says. 

With this expression, it feels like Zoeller and the team at Jefferson’s may have created a high-octane bourbon that might actually be able to convert new drinkers to the cask strength cult.

At a suggested retail price of $70, Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength sits right around the same tier as other popular cask strength offerings like Wild Turkey Rare Breed and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. While those expressions tend to be punchier and a bit more aggressive, Jefferson’s Cask Strength presents a more approachable form of cask strength bourbon.

Related: The Man Behind Jefferson's Bourbon Shares What the Next Limited Releases Will Be