2014-06-02 10.38.42

We couldn’t ignore the drooling faces of our fellow DIAers any longer – we finally cracked open the bottle of Basil Hayden’s. The bourbon aficionados have been eyeing the bottle since it arrived and believe us it was well worth the wait.

You may not know it but Basil Hayden’s is actually a part of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection, along with our friend Knob Creek. We expect nothing but the best when we dive into the Small Batch Collection and Basil Hayden’s certainly delivered. We popped open the bottle and could immediately smell the sweet vanilla and caramel notes of bourbon combined with a subtle spice.

We poured a bit over rocks and the flavor only got better. Basil Hayden’s has hints of sweet nuttiness with an oaky finish. It was (almost too) easy to sip and we’d love to try it in an Old Fashioned. Some of our bourbon experts would prefer something not so sweet as Basil Hayden’s but overall we agreed it was a winner in our books.

Pick yourself up a bottle ($36.99), a bottle of bitters, an orange slice and cherries and whip up a cocktail.