Review: Eric LeGrand Bourbon
First questions first: Who is Eric LeGrand? Why, he’s a former college football defensive tackle who was paralyzed while playing for Rutgers back in 2010. As part of his rehabilitation, he turned his mind toward entrepreneurship has teamed up with spirits mogul Brian Axelrod to create a bourbon with charitable aims at its heart. $5.20 of every case sold of Eric LeGrand Bourbon is donated to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to support spinal cord injury research.
What’s in the bottle? Sourced Kentucky straight bourbon, no age statement (though at least two four years old, obviously).
It’s solid stuff, ever so slightly defying expectations of what has become a fairly well-worn category. The nose evokes coconut husks, torched brown sugar, and some barrel char, tempering the sweetness and giving the wood a little more room to shine. It never smells young, but rather comes across as fairly well balanced, a lightly ashy quality lingering in the glass.
The whiskey continues to develop this profile on the palate, here the coconut notes taking on a green coconut character, lightly sweet and tropical at times. Notes of almond and nougat fold in more traditional nutty notes, before lots of vanilla, almost like a cream soda, comes into view. This straightforward, effusive brightness is balanced out by just enough gritty barrel char and the lightest hint of black cherry, all of which complement the proceedings. The finish is sweeter, but only a little, with coconut nectar notes making a small reprise.
88 proof.
A- / $45 / ericlegrandwhiskey.com
Eric LeGrand Bourbon
$45
