Review: Ben Holladay Missouri Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond
Review: Ben Holladay Missouri Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond
Ben Holladay is Missouri’s oldest distillery, and after a $10 million renovation in 2015, it began distilling bourbon on-site for the first time in three decades. Seven years later, the first bourbon from those days was completed and bottled, having been released sometime last year. All production from mash (73% corn, 15% rye, 12% malted barley) to distillation to barrel aging are completed on site here in Weston, Missouri.
Today Ben Holladay is part of the McCormick Distilling Company, which produces Five Farms Irish Cream, 360 Vodka, Tequila Rose, Broker’s Gin, and more. This is the first bourbon in its lineup, a six year old straight Missouri bourbon, bottled at six years of age and bottled in bond. Let’s give it a try.
Ben Holladay Missouri Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond Review
Well, color me duly impressed. The nose here is on par with anything of this age from Kentucky or Tennessee, a pleasant melding of peanut butter, Corn Nuts, and a pinch of baking spice. A slight touch of petrol evokes a sense of youth, but the aroma is overall quite easygoing and approachable. The palate falls right in line with expectations, though its more corn-heavy than the nose might suggest. Some grassy, not-quite-dill-but-close notes emerge here, alongside touches of mint, a slight bite of orange peel, and a more pepper-driven spice. Again, some ethanol-driven character provides a bit of bite, but it’s never out of bounds.
All told it’s a solid bonded mixer — made all the more interesting thanks to its unusual state of origin.
100 proof.
B+ / $60 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Ben Holladay Missouri Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond
USD60
Hmm. A solid Bonded Mixer for $60+. Not sure now if I bought the right Ben Holladay expression. By any chance do you have the details on this bottle. What warehouse it was and the percentages of the blend? It is on the side of the front label. Also what was the bottling date? I’m hoping for some batch variance as the one I have was bottled in Jan 2023 from Warehouse C. These go for $63 in my area and to pay that much for a Bonded Mixer. I could just buy JW Dant BIB and much less and use that.