E.H. Taylor Cured Oak Review

E.H. Taylor Cured Oak gets its name from the curing process the staves went through before making the barrels. Typically independent Stave will air dry (cure) Buffalo Trace’s barrel staves for about 6 months before being fashioned into barrels, but for this project, the staves were cured for 13 months. After being fashioned into barrels and filled with BT’s Mash #1 new make the barrels were placed in warehouse C, which is a cooler brick and mortar warehouse, to age for 17 years.

Being placed in warehouse C means that while the whiskey was placed in extra seasoned barrels it was left to be matured in a warehouse that doesn’t get as hot as the metal and wood ones do. It’s an interesting side note because the barrels for the Wild Turkey Master’s Keep were also kept in a stone warehouse for a while and it had a noticeable affect on the whiskey. Just how profound of an affect we don’t know since no one has released a stone vs wood and metal matured bourbon for us to try, that I know of, but it would be an interesting thing to experience. Enough jibber jabber; on to the E.H. Taylor Cured Oak review!

E.H. Taylor Cured Oak Info

Region: Kentucky, USA

Distiller: Buffalo Trace
Mashbill: Mash #1 (low-rye)
Cask: Cured oak
Age: 17 years
ABV: 50%

Price: NA – Auctions, specialty stores or private collectors

E.H. Taylor Cured Oak Review

EYE
Medium caramel

NOSE
Fruity, woody, citrus, brown sugar, dried dark fruit and a light bit of citrus that reminds me of 7UP and a touch of spice. The fruity sweetness of this whiskey threw me at first, but after a while I began to dig it in a weird way.

PALATE
Fruity and heavy with maraschino cherries, oak, brown sugar, and a dark note that was a bit like leather and a bit like tobacco. Some light notes of citrus and spice showed up somewhere along the way. The fruitiness threw me at first here too, but it didn’t take too long to settle into it.

FINISH
Medium fade of wood, maraschino, spice and dark sweets.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Strangely enough it has a nice balance to it with the darker notes holding against the fruit, a medium body and a smooth feel.

OVERALL
E.H. Taylor Cured Oak is a weird whisky. The fruitiness kind of threw me for a loop at first, but after a moment it settled into a decent balance of sweet and darker earthy notes sitting alongside each other. Despite the balance, in the end I honestly I felt rather “meh”about it. Would I maybe pick up a bottle if I could get it at MSRP of $70? Sure, it might be an interesting whiskey to keep around for comparisons, but would I pay the obscene secondary prices on this? No… no I would not.

As with anything that has a limited release these days the secondary prices have very little to do with if the whiskey is actually any good or not. Is the E.H. Taylor Cured Oak a decent whiskey? Sure, and taste is objective, but it’s definitely not worth the $400+ I’ve seen it go for on whiskey “trading” sites. I know it’s something I’ve touched on more than once in the last couple months, but it’s difficult to watch these prices fly around when there’s so much good whiskey out there sitting on the shelves for much cheaper prices.

SCORE: 83-86/100 (B, consumed at a tasting)