Well, another day, another tasting and, yet again, another local distillery. This time up it is Hotel Tango Reserve Bourbon American Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Limited Series Number 003. The distillery honors disabled vets and gives to causes that support disabled vets. The main man behind Hotel Tango is Travis Barnes, who is himself a disabled vet. From their website ” With plenty of encouragement, Travis, Hilary, and some friends start Hotel Tango in 2014. To honor Travis’ military service, they name it based on the NATO phonetic alphabet- Hotel for Hilary, Tango for Travis. Surrounding themselves with exceptional people at every level, they focus on crafting equally exceptional spirits.”
Hotel Tango Reserve Bourbon sells for $65, bottled at 90 proof, aged 6 years, is widely available, at least here in Indpls, and comes in a very fun corked bottle. And by fun we mean all the witty sayings, Ready to Drink, Pour with Purpose, etc. Seems like every time we pick the bottle up, we see something we hadn’t seen before.
We tried to find out, to no avail, what exactly is an American Bourbon Whiskey. We could not determine the mash bill. If it just said American Whiskey, then it can be almost any combo of grains and aged in whatever type of barrels they wished to use. Having said that, there are a lot of great American Whiskeys out there. But by having the term Bourbon in the name, it has to follow the Bourbon rules. The same if it was labeled an American Rye. The bottle already states that it is made in Indianapolis, so we know it is an American product. Maybe a military pride thing?
Being a local distillery, we have tried a lot of their products, Bourbon, gin, vodka, and rum. And we are probably forgetting something. All have been good bottles for decent prices. Having said that, we have never tasted this particular drink. Hopefully, their Reserve Bourbon continues the trend. Cheers!
NOSE
Todd: A nice traditional nose of caramel, sweet corn and oak. Also pick up scents of leather, cinnamon, chocolate, and toffee. Very good, can’t wait to taste.
Matt: Smells hot, can even burn your nose a little if you take in it too quickly. Delicious, strong aromas of vanilla and caramel lead the way. Coming in behind is a nutty, grassy cinnamon bread smell. I also like it.
TASTE
Todd: Very tasty, albeit a little hot neat. Still get the corn but the caramel on the nose has turned to butterscotch and brown sugar on the tongue. Also, get the cinnamon and leather that I got on the nose. Ice mellowed the heat and brought a very slight medicinal taste.
Matt: Doesn’t taste as hot as it smelled. Strong wood flavor up front followed by leather, and sweet vanilla. With ice I taste just a hint of cucumber with skin.
FINISH
Todd: Medium long with a hint of raisins.
Matt: Medium with a little bitterness.
OVERALL
Todd: Probably a tad bit on the high side for what you get, but not by much. It has a great story, a great cause, and is local, so I will buy it again.
Matt: Decent Bourbon that is a little pricey. But I will always have a bottle of it on my shelf because they are owned by vets and do a lot for the veteran community.
Nose 4.5 out of 5
Taste 8 out of 10
Finish 3.75 out of 5
Total score 16.25 out of 20 barrels.
Well, while Hotel Tango Reserve Bourbon didn’t blow us out of the water, it is a good balanced Bourbon with a lot of the traditional scents and flavors. It’s awesome cause of giving to and helping our vets is a reason in of itself to go out, buy a bottle, drink it, get another one, repeat. It has a nice heat to it while not being overpowering so makes for a good cocktail as well as a good drink neat or on the rocks.
Yes, we both thought it a little on the pricey side, but when you consider where some of the profits go, in our opinion, it is worth it. So do the patriotic thing and march on over to your closest liquor store and pick up a bottle.
Want to try different bourbons without buying the whole bottle, only to find out it’s yucky? We recommend Flaviar