Belle Meade Cask Strength Bourbon Review

By Randall H. Borkus

Rating: B+

In the late 1800’s, Belle Meade Bourbon was one of some 30 different labels that Charles Nelson produced, differing from some of his other products in that the brand was sourced from Sperry Wade & Company in Nashville, TN.  Belle Meade Bourbon became well known for its quality and was sold from 1878 until Tennessee adopted state-wide Prohibition in 1909 and legal whiskey production ended in Tennessee, well ahead of the enactment of the 18th Amendment and national Prohibition.

In 2006 Charles Nelson’s descendants, Andy and Charlie Nelson, brought the family name back into the whiskey business, after much thought about their family history. They reopened due south of the family’s old distilling site, in Nashville, and started out (as many have) with whiskey sourced from MGP.

In celebration of the 1835 birthdate of founder Charles Nelson, they released this Belle Meade Bourbon Cask Strength Reserve. Using seven superior barrels of 7 to 11 year old high rye bourbon, bottled non-chill filtered at cask strength. This is a non-age statement (NAS) whiskey that came in at a commanding 59.4% ABV.

The Bourbon
The Belle Meade Bourbon label is striking and has a great horse farm story, Belle Meade Plantation being a famous local horse breeding estate of yore. The horse depicted on the right, Bonnie Scotland, is one of the Northern Dancer bloodline originators which include heritage descendants such as Seabiscuit, War Admiral, Man O’ War, Secretariat, California Chrome, American Pharaoh, and Nyquist to name just a few. The stud on the left side of the label was known as Brown Dick, who never won a race, but was famous as a sire nonetheless. Brown Dick was a little too provocative name for the Nelson brothers so they alerted the original label by removing the names of both horses.

The bourbon color is a classic dark brown honey, and the juice has respectable legs clinging to my glass.  The nose jumped out of my glass with solid high-rye bourbon spice, vanilla, caramel and lots of oak and leather.  This is just a hair short of 120 proof, but after the first sip the nose opens nicely.

The mouthfeel is warm and juicy, with honey caramel upfront, spicy cinnamon-orange peel blast mid-palate, and then sweet vanilla coupled with dense oak spice. The finish bares elements of ripe fall fruits, custard, liquorice extract, and a musty earthy essence of oak overtones that last a long time.

This is a robust juice that drinks like a mature, good whiskey. The distinct touches of mature oak brings loads of flavor complexity without bitter tannins, with the high-rye spiciness you’d expect.

The Price
You’ll find in stores at $59.00 and up to $89 a bottle online