Rebel Yell 10 Year Single Barrel is a Kentucky straight bourbon sourced by Lux Row Distillers. Bottled at 100 proof, it features a mashbill of corn, wheat and malt.
Holding this comparison up to, say, Evan Williams Black vs. Single Barrel, I’m not as impressed by the ultimate expression presented by Luxco here. Die hard fans of Rebel Yell, however, may find the next rung on the ladder to bourbon enlightenment through this new release.
Rebel Yell 10 year old has come pretty close to a house style, and that sort of consistent excellence in a single barrel whiskey is an achievement in itself.
All around the edges, though, spice continues to dominate, those cinnamon and vanilla notes lingering, echoing, and beautifully complementing the cocoa-dusted conclusion. Another top-notch release in the Rebel Yell lineup.
Rebel Yell 10 is not exactly what I expected from a “wheater” the first time I tried it. The somewhat aggressive ethanol presence makes it much spicier than most other wheated bourbons I have tried.
If you're a fan of wheated bourbons, this may be the best value on the shelf to find a wheater with some age bottled at a respectable proof. Luxco could have gone many different ways with this one, but it seems they made all the right choices. Well worth a sip, especially at the price.
It's light, doughy, fruity, sweet - everything a wheater typically is. That being said, it wasn't impressive. It wasn't really exciting. It was almost too delicate - the thin mouthfeel for a 100pf product was sort of a letdown.
Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.
House Review
Nose:
Lightly floral. Sweet cream. Caramel. A nice fruitcake-ish set of notes. Light, sweet, doughy. Not a lot of oak, dryness, tannins or notes like clove and leather.
Taste:
Thin mouthfeel. Sweet and light. Vanilla reigns supreme here with a bit more of that fruity dough. Again, its sweet and inoffensive without more robust notes like clove, oak, leather, cinnamon, etc.
Finish:
The finish is surprisingly nice. No heat, good length. The fruit notes grow a little sour though, some oak represents and a good bit of vanilla steals the show.
Overall:
Despite the tone my notes may give - this isn't a bad product. I enjoyed it, but wasn't blown away. Its unique, though, and gives a little different feel than most oak or spice driven bourbons. It's light, doughy, fruity, sweet - everything a wheater typically is. That being said, it wasn't impressive. It wasn't really exciting. It was almost too delicate - the thin mouthfeel for a 100pf product was sort of a letdown. I won't hesitate to say I like this much better than Makers Mark but if you offered me this and a dram of Buffalo Trace, it wouldn't be an easy decision. I don't take price into my ranking, but for a product that is double or more at the register, I'm not so sure that's a great impression to have been left with.
Score:
80
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
Get the inside scoop on the latest & greatest spirit releases in our daily newsletter.
