The Whisky Mercenary 13 Years Old Tennessee Bourbon 51.5% 2003

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (84)

This is most probably one of those indie Dickels that have surfaced in recent months. Colour: dark gold. Nose: classic bourbon, smooth, all on sponge cake, pecan pie, maple syrup, white chocolate, and just hectolitres of good custard. Very nice hints of roasted peanuts in the background, perhaps even peanut butter. With water: Turkish delights, vanilla fudge, rye bread… Mouth (neat): this is liquid praline, to which both some concentrated orange juice and quite a spoonful of cinnamon have been added. Add a good slice of walnut cake for good measure. With water: gets rather fruitier and more honeyed. Don’t we find notes of preserved pineapples too? Finish: medium, on Jaffa cake and more roasted peanuts. Comments: really good despite the relative thinness of the distillate. Now while this was well some American whisky, since the bottler’s European we’ve decided to grant tasting tax exemption, mind you. Dura Lex, Sed Lex.