The nose is walnuts, prunes, and floral notes. The palate mimics the nose with walnuts, prunes, spices, intertwined with lavender and balanced with the perfect amount of acid, that leads you down a path of lingering burnt caramel.Bill Thomas, Jack Rose Dining SaloonClick to explore our complete library of reviews to help you choose your next perfect bottle.
Horse Soldier Small Batch Bourbon
- DISTILLER: American Freedom Distillery
- MASH BILL: 70% Corn (Yellow Dent 2) | 20% Wheat (Soft red winter) | 10% Barley (Two-row, combination distillers malt and base two-row)
- AGE: Undisclosed
- YEAR: 2019
- PROOF: 95 Proof (47.6% ABV)
- MSRP: $59.99
- BUY ONLINE: Wine-Searcher.com
NOSE: Toasted Corn | Toffee | Fruitcake | Uncooked Grain | Acetone
TASTE: Caramel | Apricot | Lightly Roasted Nuts | White Pepper | Acetone
FINISH: The acetone unfortunately comes through in the finish, too, but the Kentucky Hug is long-lasting and pleasant. There’s also a really nice heat right at the back of the mouth long after the hug is gone.
SHARE WITH: People that are more patriotic than bourbon drinkers.
WORTH THE PRICE: No. The base of the whiskey is pleasant, but the acetone/shellac is there throughout.
BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bust. As much as I, as a veteran, want to like this whiskey, it's not one I can recommend.
OVERALL: There is a great story behind this whiskey. The US responded to 9/11 attacks with insertions of small teams of Green Berets mounted on horseback, called the Horse Soldiers and are honored at Ground Zero by the America’s Response Monument. Some of these men got together to make Horse Soldier Bourbon Whiskey.
As a veteran myself, how can I not want this whiskey to be great? Unfortunately, the base of a nice whiskey is ruined with overtones of less pleasant things. Honestly, it’s a drinkable whiskey, and the good parts on their own would probably be worth a bottle, but I can’t get past the fact that I get past this acetone/shellac overtone. I tasted this over a couple of months, hoping it improved, and parts of it did, but not enough to save this whiskey for me.
Learn more about Curt's whiskey preferences and check out more of his reviews…
Disclaimer: American Freedom distillery provided Bourbon & Banter with a sample of their product for this review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.
Curt has a love for things that taste good, starting in barbecue competitions, then moving to teaching cooking classes, writing a food blog and writing for national grilling-related companies, and, currently, as a regular on a local news show in SW Ohio doing food segments (for which he’s become known for his use of bourbon in food). In fact, when interviewed about his top five cooking ingredients, bourbon was included in that list.
Curt’s love of whisky goes back years, but, more recently, his wife encouraged him to have more than one partially filled bottle of Lagavulin by buying an Ardbeg for him for Christmas, then letting him add more and more to his collection. Now amassing a pretty nice little group of Scotch, bourbon, and ryes (and a few other whiskeys here and there), Curt enjoys his whiskey mostly with nothing but a couple drops of water (but is fine with a whiskey cocktail now and then, too). Curt’s feeling is that you don’t have to like the same whisky he likes, but he hopes you enjoy yours as much as he’s enjoying whichever is currently in his glass.
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Curt,
You hit the taste perfectly, though I thought it was more like jet fuel. It’s a definite bust for the money. I don’t think it’s worth 10 bucks a bottle. Compelling story, and I wanted it to be great. I bought two bottles online because they don’t carry it in Tennessee to support these guys. Bad mistake. I bought the single barrel and it was 80 bucks a bottle
Totally agree with the acetone part. The backstory is great and as a fellow veteran I was expecting great things as reviews on other sites raved about it. This is the only bottle I have ever wanted to do the dreaded drain pour with. A complete waste of $80. Turned me off on buying bottles I’d never tried before for quite awhile.
I picked up the Horse Soldier Barrel Strength Bourbon after a tasting at a whiskey festival this past weekend. 8 years old, its excellent and pairs with many foods including chocolate, fruit jams and warm deli ham.