Whiskey Galore: Joshua Brook

Resident DJ and whiskey expert Steve Edmond has manfully undertaken the onerous task of reviewing every whiskey at the Lexington. Why, Steve?

Since the Lexington has well over 50 different American whiskeys on offer I thought the least I could do was make sure I sample each one and then, if I can still write at the end of the evening, review a different one each week.

Most of the US whiskeys the Lexington has are Bourbons - to officially be allowed to call itself a bourbon, the whiskey has to meet the following criteria: The ABC of Bourbon, if you will (thanks to Simon Difford for this)

American - Must be made in the USA
Barrels - Must be aged in brand new, charred oak barrels.
Corn - Must have a mash formed from between 51-79% corn
Distillation - Must be distilled to strength of less than 80% abv.
Entry - Must go into the barrels at no more than 62.5% abv.
Filled - Must be bottled at minimum of 40%abv.
Genuine - Must not contain any artificial flavours, colours or other alcohols. If so it must be labelled as 'blend' or 'blended'

So the first whiskey I decided to review is one I've not tried before:

Joshua Brook
An 8-year, Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.Higher than average abv at 90%
Smells spicier than it tastes. Nice slow warming heat, rather than any real burn.
Mild, some vanilla and maple syrup flavours with quite a long finish.
Good value for an 8-year bourbon.
Similar to Jim Beam Black, but not quite as tasty.