Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star Bourbon Review

Welcome to a new tasting series on lower shelf bourbons. Bourbon & Banter contributor, Thomas Fondano, will be trying out and commenting on bourbons priced under $20. Knowing that not all sub-$20 bourbons will be great, Thomas will be adding a new category to our standard tasting notes – Straight, Old Fashioned or Manhattan  – to see whether a classic cocktail improves on a straight tasting. We hope you enjoy this new series of reviews and hope you’ll help us shape future reviews by letting us know in the comments what sub-$20 bourbon you’d like us to review next.

Last year I hosted a bourbon tasting for some friends. We tasted the entire high-rye Mash Bill #2 from Buffalo Trace which consists of Ancient Age, Elmer T. Lee, Blanton’s, Rock Hill Farms, and Hancock’s President’s Reserve. The $10 Ancient Age was a surprise hit among this group of single-barrel bourbons.

When I saw Ancient Ancient Age in a liquor store a month ago I was excited to give it a try. How would it compare to its younger, lower-proof sibling? Let’s find out.

Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star Bourbon Review

Proof: 90

Age: 6 years

Year: 2014

How I Drank It:  Neat, in Glencairn whiskey glass.

My Nose Noticed:  Honey | Cherry | Oak | Cedar

First Sip: Corn | Rye | Toffee | Char | Ash

The Burn: More like The Burnt. Letting it roll around my mouth made me suddenly feel like I burned my entire tongue and deadened my taste buds.

Neat, Splash or Rocks: A few drops of water sweetened the nose but seemed to dilute the better flavors and leave only the charred, ashy flavor. At this point, I felt my palate wasn’t even up for trying this on the rocks. So the question became…

Straight, Old Fashioned or Manhattan: Old Fashioned. The sugar and bitters along with the slow dilution from some large ice tame the rough edges. (The Manhattan was a bust. My wife summed it up nicely, "This tastes like a Manhattan you get at a wedding.")

Share With: People at the end of a party after all of the good stuff is gone.

Worth The Price: I paid about $16 for this and was a little surprised at my disappointment. I definitely prefer the regular Ancient Age.

Bottle, Bar or Bust: For me, it was mostly a bust, though I know this bourbon has its fans. I’d be surprised to find this in a bar, so bottle would be your best bet if you want to try it.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this bottling. Maybe I got a bad bottle? If you’ve had Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star, let us know how your experience compared. Also, let us know in the comments what under $20 bourbon you’d like us to try next.