Description
A testament to the art and experience of a master. This complex, delicate, and delicious whiskey shows what is possible by using multiple wood/barrel stocks to take bourbon to a level usually only seen with a fine Scotch or Japanese whiskey.
Notes: An interesting collaboration within the Beam Suntory company. While there are a number of previous expressions of Legent Bourbon of various ages, this most recent release seems to be the pinnacle. This is a bourbon that was aged in Yamazaki Whisky cask in Japan. That is a very simplified description. The complex and highly nuanced details are thus: Essentially, this whiskey is comprised of 4 different bourbon whiskies – all of which are eight years old- that were aged in different barrel stocks and then blended together- the sum being much greater than their constituent parts ( having tried all four separately at a guided tasting in New Orleans). First is a bourbon aged in French wine casks, the second is bourbon aged in Spanish Sherry casks, and the third is a bourbon aged in Spanish Sherry casks, which previously held Yamazaki Single Malt Japanese Whiskey. The fourth and final bourbon is an 8-year-old Kentucky bourbon aged in new charred American oak barrels. All of these whisky stocks were transported to the Yamazaki Distillery in Osaka, Japan to age in their unique climate that features distinct seasons and a warm, humid climate ( ideal for whiskey aging for a number of reasons). This is where the magic happens. Legent is a collaborative effort between Master Distiller Fred Noe of Jim Beam (and son of Booker Noe) and Fifth Generation Master Blender Shinji Fukuyo of Yamazaki Whiskey, displaying the Japanese Tsukuriwake or “diversity of making,” and American craft and know-how of bourbon production to give birth to a stunning collaborative whiskey that spans cultures to deliver a singular whiskey.
