BHAKTA 1928 Review: A Unique Blend of Rye and Vintage Spirits
The nose is warm with apple pie filling and dark, caramelized sugar. Despite a mostly rye recipe, it’s quite plush, almost buttery, with little in the way of lively spice.
The nose is warm with apple pie filling and dark, caramelized sugar. Despite a mostly rye recipe, it’s quite plush, almost buttery, with little in the way of lively spice.
On the palate, things are once again unsurprisingly approachable, dangerously approachable even. In fact, this is one of the easiest drinking whiskeys I’ve encountered.
High notes of lemon cream candy, butterscotch, hibiscus, agave nectar, oak and baking spice combine for an incredibly balanced pour whose finish is bright, tingly, clean and short.
I have to admit that when I learned of this new release, I thought, “How long can this Wood Finishing Series go on?” Well, it took only one taste of The Keepers Release to convince me that this extension of the series is a great idea.
After sampling a handful of these different 8- and 10-year-old barrels, Pops and I decided that instead of a “Bottle” rating, we should buy a barrel.
I keep harping on the Bernheim Barrel Proof A release from 2024, but it really did stand out to me in a short-lived series that, while consistently good, hasn’t produced many very memorable expressions. This latest release, however, is nipping at its heels.
Tingling with spices like white pepper and coriander, it practically vibrates on the palate. Darkly toasted bread, French roast coffee, charred lemon, dried cherry, spearmint and some campfire mingle nicely alongside cocoa nibs. The finish is simple: long and warming.
It’s big on the palate without being a brute; as in none of the Coy Hill muscle or heat. I like those, too, but they have their place, and there’s no place for that in this mature, balanced and well-mannered Tennessee whiskey.
This whiskey is all about toasted aromas and flavors being superbly integrated. I’ll take this whiskey over any purposely “toasted” release I can think of because those notes aren’t all barrel and new lumber.
This high-proof release is in my sweet spot for wheated bourbon. Below 100 proof, wheated bourbon is unassertive and short on spice for my palate. As Maker’s Mark Cask Strength proved years ago, magic happens in wheated bourbon proofed well past the century mark.