Union Horse Kansas City Bourbon Whiskey (750ml)

Every now and again (maybe every six months), I taste an American craft whiskey that actually tastes like real whiskey and I get excited. Then I see the price and all that enthusiasm deflates like a popped balloon at a birthday party. This week, however, I received the rare pleasure of tasting a non-Kentucky Bourbon from a small distillery that tasted like real Bourbon and was priced fairly, to boot! The Union Horse Distilling Kansas Bourbon is labeled as a "two year minimum," but in the case of this particular batch has whiskey as old as five years in the mix. Having opened originally in 2010, the distillery is a "grain to glass' operation, meaning they source their own local Kansas grains, mill them, ferment them, and distill entirely in their 500 gallon pot still. More importantly, while I heard they originally started with small barriques, the whiskey doesn't have any of that quarter cask oak flavor. It's rich, and spicy, and tastes like standard 53 gallon, Bourbon barrel-aged Bourbon because it is! What a concept! Kudos to them. I found this whiskey an absolute pleasure to drink and I hope to find more whiskies like this as the craft movement's origins continue their way to market. (David Driscoll, Spirits Buyer)