LEXINGTON BOURBON

I had been eying the bottle of Lexington Bourbon Whiskey sitting on the shelf of my favorite watering hole for quite some time. The bottle reminded me of Woodford Reserve’s annual Derby bottles – and rightly so: The horse on the bottle is a portrait of Lexington, the stallion that sired the Duke of Magenta. For you horse-racing fans out there, In 1878 the Duke of Magenta won the Preakness Stakes, the Withers Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, and the Travers Stakes, a feat accomplished since by only two other colts.

At $5 a pour, it wasn’t hard to make the decision to give Lexington Bourbon Whiskey a try. I can say, however, it was hard to finish it.

LEXINGTON BOURBON TASTING NOTES

The nose was reminiscent of swamp gas. I remember traveling to the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, and memories of that trip came back to me in the nose of this bourbon. Petroleum also stood out in a big way – the same way it would if Lexington was a high proof bourbon: but this stuff is under 90 proof. Not a good sign.

I winced as I took the first sip. Another bad sign. Unfortunately, this bourbon is true to its nose. I would have rather had a shot of gasoline than this young tasting glass of corn ethanol. There is smoke in the middle and in the finish – but oil fire smoke. Not the smoke that a bourbon drinker would appreciate.

The first words out of my mouth (after a cough) were “this is not good”. And I stand by that statement. Lexington Bourbon Whiskey claims a score of 95 by Tasting Panel Magazine. I don’t know if money exchanged hands before that score was given, but I cant see for the life of me how anybody could grade this stuff a 95.

Normally, I appreciate a full bodied, viscous bourbon. Not here. I want this out of my mouth as soon as possible, but Lexington continues to punish me by coating my mouth with its chemical flavor.

Normally, I also appreciate the flavor of corn. But Lexington has so much of it that one would be forgiven for thinking this was corn whiskey and not bourbon.

OUR VERDICT