Basil Hayden 10 Year Old Bourbon Review (2020)

Updated February 17, 2021

By Richard Thomas

Average Rating: B

If one steps back and take a look, it almost seems as if Fred Noe is determined to toss a little egg into the faces of all the pundits who told scary stories about the bourbon shortage, and told their readers to get used to a world of ever younger and pricier American whiskey. The reintroduction of Knob Creek 9 Year Old combined with the addition of regular release Knob Creek 12 Year Old and limited, annual edition 15 Year Old was a pretty strong statement about how Jim Beam felt about its supply and demand issues, but it’s not the only one.

Although there hasn’t been even a hint that Basil Hayden 8 Year Old is on its way back *, Beam Suntory has introduced a 10 Year Old annual limited edition expression. Beam’s stock of the “high rye” formulation that goes into bottles of Old Grandad and Basil Hayden may have been in short supply several years ago, but if that were the case now, introducing even a limited bottling of aged stock like this 10 Year Old should have been impossible.

As high rye whiskey goes, Beam’s mash bill isn’t especially high, being 27% rye. I tend to think the flavoring grain really springs out at the drinker the way “high” designation suggests it should when it’s above 30%, but nonetheless this is their higher rye recipe. I must admit that Basil Hayden has never been my favorite among the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection alumni bourbons, which has more to do with its bottling at 80 proof than anything else. I felt that strength didn’t bring out enough of the dry, spicy potential of the whiskey, and the liquid was too light for my tastes, but perhaps two-plus extra years in the barrel will bring more out of the whiskey.

The Bourbon
A pour of Basil Hayden 10 has a darkened copper look, and the light, dry nose I was expecting. It’s a little fruity, with a hint of apricot, and a hint of oakiness is there as well, but in the main it smells like a warm plate of cinnamon toast.

The palate is just as light and dry as the nose, if not lighter. The vanilla and brown sugar course through the middle of the flavor, accented by a touch of damp wood, apricot, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s equally sweet and spicy, so it has good balance to it, but the lightness prevents it from developing any read character. On the back end, I found the damp wood turned nutty, lending it just a little bit of complexity. The finish was a touch oaky.

It’s been a while since I had Basil Hayden No Age Statement (NAS) and even longer since Basil Hayden 8 Year Old, but while I feel this is an improvement on my memories, it’s not enough of an improvement to merit a step up in grading. Still, the extra aging brought out some good things, and I look forward to a future expression that is either stronger or older (the latter being more likely).

Addendum by Randall H. Borkus

Basil Hayden’s is a medium body bourbon whiskey in the Jim Beam family of small batch bourbons crafted by Beam Suntory, in contrast with its sibling brands all higher alcohol strengths (Knob Creek, Booker’s, and Baker’s).

Basil Hayden’s brand was introduced in 1992 and is named in honor of Meredith Basil Hayden Sr. who was a distiller.  Hayden used a higher rye ratio in his mash bill than others.  In time, Hayden’s grandson Raymond B. Hayden founded a distillery in Nelson County under the label “Old Grand-Dad” to honor his grandpa.  Beam Industries introduced “Basil Hayden’s,” utilizing a similar mash bill used by Hayden in 1792.

The brand expression was labeled as “Aged 8 Years” for the longest time, unfortunately in 2014, the age statement disappeared and was replaced by the words “Artfully Aged”.

Basil Hayden’s 10-Year-Old Bourbon features a similar high-rye bourbon recipe that Hayden’s Old Granddad fans have come to know and love, but this bourbon whiskey sleeps a bit longer in barrel to create another layer of complexity and a much deeper flavor experience.  This is the Fall 2020 release that many wait for each year with anticipation.

The result of the additional aging is a nice sipping whiskey with large oak aromas along with hints of caramel-vanilla sweetness and oak spice.  The mash bill is 63% Corn, 27% Rye, 10% Malted Barley with an ABV 40%.  At 80-proof, this whiskey is easy on the palette without the heat associated with many higher-proof Jim Beam bourbons.

The bottle boasting a black label is a grand presentation of what’s to come when you open the bottle.  The whiskey is a dark golden amber that looks a bit charred.  The nose is easy and full of that trademark caramel-vanilla sweetness and spice.  The front and mid palette is filled with caramel essence and fresh leather.  This Whiskey has great balance, medium body and a delicate finish full of oak spice and a touch of citrus, making the whiskey a worthy addition to your bar shelf.

Serving with a drop of water, or on-the-rocks allows the sweet caramel and vanilla notes to radiate nicely complementing the rye spice flavors which has become typical expectation in the Basil Hayden’s Bourbon high-rye mash bill.

I would love this at cask strength but that’s only a dream.  I was fortunate to sample Basil Hayden’s straight form the barrel at the distillery a few years back and it was hands down some of the best cask strength whiskey I ever imbibed.  I asked Fred Noe that day if we could expect to see a cask strength Basil Hayden’s available on the shelf in the future?  He simply smiled and said “No”.

The Price
Originally priced at $60 per bottle, the Basil Hayden 10 Year Old reviewed here has since gone up to $70.

* Editor’s Note: Basil Hayden Small Batch dropped it’s 8 year old age statement in 2014.