Today, Talking Bourbon is going to be talking about the Bourbon Widow Jane. A lot of Bourbon lovers really like this relatively new whiskey. Their claim to fame, according to them, is the water they use to make the Bourbon. from their website, “All Widow Jane whiskeys are proofed with pure limestone mineral water from the legendary Rosendale Mines of NY.” And ” This water is our fingerprint and signature ingredient in all Widow Jane whiskeys.” Not sure how much this changes things since most Kentucky Bourbons also use limestone water. And while it uses water from NY, the Bourbon is distilled in Kentucky. In fact, there was a mini-controversy about that; the bottle seemed to imply that the juice was made in New York.
Widow Jane can sometimes be hard to find, is 91 proof, costs $65, is aged for 10 years, and comes in a somewhat plain-looking corked bottle. We could not find any info on the mash bill. Widow Jane 10 year is a very small batch Bourbon, made in 5-barrel batches. One note about the bottle, it states it is aged in new American oak barrels, it is our understanding, that to be called Bourbon, it has to be aged in new American oak.
We here at Talking Bourbon are not part of the cult of Widow Jane whiskies, and believe us, they are out there. In fact, for a couple of us, this is the first time tasting the 10-year-old. We did a review of their Apple Wood Rye a few months back and liked it. Hopefully, we will feel the same about the 10-year-old.
While there are still three of us still tasting all things for the reviews, we are going to speak in one voice going forward. We felt like there was too much repetition, with sometimes all three of us saying pretty much the same thing. When we have a guest taster, they will be separate from us.
NOSE
TB: A very nice Bourbon-like nose with a pleasant variety of aromas. No dominant scent, but rather a very balanced mixture of rye, vanilla, brown sugar, cedar, and leather. Also, has some fruit, including green apple, cherry, and orange. We all got a slight bit of leather as well. Ice mutes most things but does bring out more grain.
TASTE
TB: Fairly hot neat, especially for being 91 proof. Like the nose, nothing really stands out. Getting some rye, vanilla, butterscotch, bread, black pepper, and a bit of cherry. Ice makes it sweeter and fruitier.
FINISH
TB: Medium with some more fruit and something floral.
OVERALL
TB: Nose is great but we expected more from the taste and finish. Not bad but not sure it is worth the price.
Nose 4.25 out of 5
Taste 6 out of 10
Finish 2.75 out of 5
Total score 13 out of 20 barrels.
While not a bad sip, Widow Jane’s 10-year-old just didn’t live up to the hype. Maybe if we hadn’t heard the hype or if the price was $30 lower, we might have had a different view of this Bourbon. As it is, we probably wouldn’t buy another bottle.
As for our recommendation to you the reader? Widow Jane 10 year is somewhat unique, can be hard to find, and has a good story. As mentioned before, it has a cult-like following, so it is not necessarily a bad bottle to have around. And we know that $60 has pretty much become the new $30, so $65 is not outrageous. But if you are looking at it on a value basis, there are other Bourbons that are better at lower prices.