Table Of Contents
The Details
Rating | 90 2024 Top 50 |
Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
ABV | 47.6% |
Availability | Limited |
Price | $149.99 |
Reviewed By | |
Review Updated | 2024-12-04 |
Forbidden Batch 3 Bourbon Review
Marianne Eaves made history as Kentucky’s first post-Prohibition female master distiller, and her resume includes positions at both behemoth producer Brown-Forman and upstart Castle & Key. These days, Eaves is focused on Forbidden, a brand she currently distills in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Company.
Forbidden’s hallmark releases include a wheated Kentucky bourbon made with both white corn and white wheat. (The full mash bill is 75 percent white corn, 12 percent white wheat, and 13 percent malted barley.) Eaves is one of the few modern distillers to work with white corn, a grain she’s gone on record praising for both its flavor characteristics and additional challenges in distilling.
And unlike a number of today’s producers, Eaves is keen on sharing information regarding what exactly denotes a “Small Batch” for her brand: Each batch is comprised of 50 barrels or less.
Though it doesn’t carry an age statement directly on the label, Forbidden Batch 3 is at least five years old. It’s bottled at 95.2 proof.
Let’s see how it tastes!
Forbidden Batch 3 Bourbon: Stats and Availability
While there’s no officially released bottle count for Forbidden Batch 3, we know there are at maximum 50 barrels total in the batch. The brand’s Small Batch releases are largely sold online with a retail price of around $150, though additional expansion into brick-and-mortar retailers is on the horizon. That’s certainly a premium price for a non-age-stated bourbon under 10 years old, so if you’re looking to grab a bottle, I wouldn’t expect retail or secondary markups quite yet.
Forbidden Batch 3 Bourbon Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
The nose kicks things off with light lavender and honey syrup, with floral and sweet notes taking center stage throughout.
Bright oak wafts in shortly after, the bourbon showing some age without veering at all into dark or tannic territory on the nose. I wouldn’t have minded significantly more oak here, though it’s difficult to determine how far this batch could go into barrel influence without losing some of the levity and lightness that have become Forbidden hallmarks. (After all, Eaves has stated these batched releases are blended for “a smooth approachable profile for seasoned bourbon consumers and newbies alike.”)
More time in the glass brings tart fruit, and combined with the honey-sweet element, it’s reminiscent of candied orange peel and lemon drops. That combination of citrus notes is bolstered nicely by the lavender; interestingly, I get the impression that dark or red fruits might have clashed.
Light allspice and nutmeg wrap things up satisfactorily, though again, I wouldn’t have minded more punch of either.
Taste
Bready at first sip, Forbidden Batch 3 reminds me of King's Hawaiian dinner rolls, with an unmistakable combination of wheat flour and sugar syrup.
I immediately search for that citrus from the nose and find it as lemon peel that unfolds just before the midpalate, a bit of welcome tartness emerging from that sugary sweetness. The mouthfeel seems spot-on appropriate for 95.2 proof, carrying just enough viscosity for the tongue to hold flavors without getting overly coated.
Sweetness evolves over the course of sips: simple syrup at first, then gradually transitioning to honey (as on the nose), and finally a light molasses and pan caramel. The midpalate is heavy on yellow raisins. As with the nose, Forbidden Batch 3 exhibits its spice toward the back end; as the sweet elements darken, spice — allspice, nutmeg, and clove — folds in just enough to make its presence known.
Finish
A little above-proof heat bridges the back of the palate to the finish, though ethanol quickly gives way to more wood sugars, dried citrus peel, and buttercream frosting.
Forbidden Batch 3 Bourbon Rating
90/100
Recap
Forbidden Batch 3 is a bright, borderline-refreshing wheated bourbon blended with a deft touch. If you’re looking to explore the floral side of American whiskey, this could be a good starting point, albeit one priced in premium territory.
Tasty as it is, I’d be excited to taste this distillate with significantly more age to see if the white corn base can maintain that brightness while incorporating additional oak characteristics. We’ll see if these releases start ticking up in age across additional small batches.
*Images retrieved from drink forbidden
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