Old Granddad 114 7 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

For those who don’t know the brand histories, Jim Beam had a reason for using Old Granddad’s distillate in creating the Basil Hayden brand back in the 1990s. Raymond Hayden created the Old Granddad brand in the 1880s, naming it for his grandfather, Meredith Basil Hayden. The two names have been intertwined from the start and remain linked today as bourbon brands based on the same stock of Jim Beam high rye (27% rye content) bourbon.

As the Bourbon Boom gained steam after 2010, Beam systematically built up three of the brands in its premium Small Batch Collection: Knob Creek, Booker’s and Basil Hayden. Along with Jim Beam itself, the four brands received major marketing pushes and saw revamps and brand extensions. However, this left many other brands in the Beam stable neglected. So, while Beam’s high rye bourbon was getting time in the spotlight with Basil Hayden and its many expressions, it’s original brand user Old Granddad was left relatively neglected. For a long time, it was just the three legacy expressions: Old Granddad Straight Bourbon, Old Granddad Bottled in Bond and Old Granddad 114.

That began to change only in recent years and the neglected brands like Old Granddad, Baker’s and Old Overholt began receiving attention from the marketing department. Last year saw an ultra-aged, Old Granddad 16 Year Old. The new Old Granddad 7 Year Old Single Barrel is an example. Old Granddad 114 was a fan favorite for its ballsy and spicy character, as well as its low price tag of around $35.

So, this expression is a somewhat older version of the classic 114, showing the barrel selection that goes with the single barrel designation. In that respect, it may be more useful to imagine it as a stronger, single barrel version of Basil Hayden. Although that brand lost its 8 year age statement years ago, it is generally perceived as being the more aged sibling to Old Granddad, and seven years is probably on the mark for a lot of the stock that goes into Basil Hayden.

The Bourbon
The pour took on a bronze look in my Glencairn glass.

I found the nose on this older spin on Old Granddad 114 a touch hot, but not so much as to actually be a bother. The scent was like a thick caramel candy on a dry, peppery wood skewer, with a dusting of cinnamon. Sipping yielded the traditional melted brown sugar and vanilla, but also some toffee mixed into that candied center. This core was rounded out by dry oak and rye spice. The finish opened with that rye spice, but that quickly gave way to lingering caramel.

That last part, the fading caramel finish, was quite a twist and the most interesting part. Sip after sip, I kept expecting the conclusion to run to something drier and woodier, but it never did.

The Price
In keeping with Old Granddad generally, the price tag on this bottle is a real winner: $50.