James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years (aka James E Pepper 1776 Bourbon 6 Years) is sourced MGP bourbon made using MGP’s high rye mashbill and delivered non-chill filtered at 46% ABV. Though I wish they had bottled it at 50% like they do all of their NAS products.
Looking through their past releases It seems like anything that carried an age-statement got reduced down to 92/91 proof which is a bit silly in my mind. If you can deliver at least at 50% why not do it and charge a wee bit more? Consumers will always appreciate it, but hey, I don’t own the brand I jut drink the whiskey.
We already hit a brief history in the James E Pepper Rye, so there’s not much else to go over here, so let’s shimmy on down to the James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years review.
Whiskey Review: James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years
In James E. Pepper’s Words: James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years
“Sold Out” <- personal pet peeve; just because you don’t currently carry it anymore doesn’t mean you should remove all the info about it. Keep that info live so people can find out more about it if they find a bottle or bought one and then open it years later.
James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years price, ABV, age and other details
Region: Indiana, USA
Distiller: MGP
Bottler: James E. Pepper
Mash Bill: 60% Corn, 36% Rye, 4% Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: 6 Years
ABV: 46%
Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Price: $35 (when it was available)
James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years Tasting Notes
EYE
Amber
NOSE
Heavy dark sweets, oak, dilly herbal character, grain, raspberry heavy dark fruit, chalk and a bit of tropical fruit, vanilla and leather.
PALATE
Oak, toffee, dark sweets, cinnamon, dill, biscuits, vanilla, fruit, citrus, Smarties and light bits of cocoa powder and butter.
FINISH
Long -> Oak, caramel, dilly spice, vanilla and cocoa.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Well balanced, round body and a warm silken feel.
James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years Review – OVERALL
James E Pepper Bourbon 6 Years is a really nice bourbon. It has a sweet and rustic character that comes across comforting and warm with a soft delivery that’s almost oily. I would be happy to have this whiskey in my glass any day, it’s a solid daily drinker and it’s too bad it’s discontinued.
However, there’s no need to despair, we just need to wait 6 years and we’ll get to try it from the distillery itself and since it’ll be made by one of the distillers who made the stuff in this glass it should end up being at least as good as this. At least that’s the theory, we’ll patiently wait and see how that theory pans out.
SCORE: 87/100 (B+)
- Nose
- Palate
- Finish
- BBF
User Review
( votes)( reviews)
PS-doubled checked after I posted this (!) and Big House is a mash bill of 60/35/5, not 60/30/10 as I previously posted.
Never had a chance to try this but it sounds a lot like Big House Bourbon sold by Underdog Spirits in CA.
BH is 6 yrs old, 60/30/10 mash bill, and 90 proof. It too is sourced from MGP. Sells for around $20 in SE Indiana.
It would be interesting to see how it compares to the JEP version you reviewed.
Ps – in response to Tony’s aim to only support real distilleries, JEP is a real distillery, just does not have their own whiskey ready to bottle at this time. MGP is also a real distillery so either way you will be supporting a real distillery if you buy JEP brands.
Never had any of the Big House stuff, but sounds like I might like it because I like these aged MGP recipes. Cheers Kraig!
I saw it today at the ShopRite liquors in Byram, NJ. Didn’t buy any though. I prefer to support real distilleries.
Hey Tony, I hear ya, but to get technical MGP is a “real distillery” and they put out really good stuff and JEP is fully transparent in that they’re sourcing from MGP while they’re renovating the original JEP distillery and getting it up and running. They’re one of the few out there doing it right. Worth a buy IMO because A) They’re honest and B) Because all the profit goes towards them bringing the original distillery back to life.