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Jim Murray has one of those jobs most of us can always dream about. Each year, he samples an impressive number of aged liquors to create his annual Whisky Bible, which contains more than 4,600 expert reviews of whisk(e)ys around the globe.
This year’s version won’t be released until November 28, but Murray recently revealed which brown liquor earned the title of World Whisky of the Year in the 2018 edition. A 13-year-old Booker’s Rye took home the gold last year, but this year the distinction was given to E.H. Taylor, Jr. Four Grain, a 12-year-old, bottled in bond bourbon produced by Buffalo Trace.
The whiskey was inspired by a Civil War colonel named Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., who opened a distillery on the Kentucky River in 1865. The recipe is a well-balanced callback to his original:
“Using the highest quality grains and a distinct combination of corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley, to create a flavor that is sweet with hints of caramel and vanilla, yet spicy with notes of clove and pepper.”
Murray added his own notes, describing the bourbon as a “slow, slightly oiled, gently spiced chocolate fade, which goes on…and on.” He said that ““it was though time stood still in the tasting room,” which explains the impressive 97.5 out of 100 score he awarded to the drink (Redbreast 21 Year Old received the second highest score followed by Glen Grant 13 Year Old Rare Edition).
E.H. Taylor retails for $70, and I’d like to offer my sincere congratulations to anyone who manages to find it at that price now that this award has been handed out.