Belle Meade XO Cognac Finished Bourbon Review
The Belle Meade XO Cognac finished bourbon is very near and dear to my heart because it is the second bottle of bourbon (whiskey) to enter my abode. My friends over at Memorial Fine Wine and Spirits introduced me to this pour during one of our feast and booze nights and it helped pave the way to my borderline addiction.
Belle Meade is produced by Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery in Tennessee which is a fairly new operations (2011; 2014 for production). I’ve had a few of their other products but I favor this one over them all. I always recommend this particular bottle to those wanting to get their feet wet in bourbon because it’s at the right price range and is a bit sweeter with less of an initial bourbon-kick.
They don’t mention how long the bourbon (whiskey) finishes in the XO Cognac (at the time of this bottle - Cognac that was no less than 12 years old) casks but I think they’ve got that time just right. The finishing is why I keep saying (whiskey) because bourbon cannot technically be aged in anything but new, American white oak barrels. While the French are probably about 3rd on my list of most irritating cowards they produce some damn good food and wine - so they are forgiven. On the nose of this bad boy I get coffee and maple syrup. As mentioned in several reviews I love when a spirit gets all up in my sinuses to where I feel like I’m swimming in it and this does just that.
For a bourbon it has a bit of a thin mouthfeel to it but has a bold flavor that makes up for it. I get brown sugar and cinnamon on the taste but the coolest part is when you put your ear to the glass you can hear a Frenchman going, “HOHN HOHN HOHN!” As a disclaimer I do zero research on tasting notes before I dive in but I speculated that there was some rye in this bitch and I was right. There’s actually a solid amount in the mash and you can definitely tell on the finish. I identify that rye by the sour taste in a bourbon and there’s a hint of that in the finale.
I highly recommend this bottle for your collection if you’re wanting to get into the bourbon world. It also makes you sound fancy when you pull it out (THE BOTTLE, PERV!) and say, “It’s aged in Cognac barrels…” with your eyes closed.