I felt sure that I had reviewed this bourbon under its former name, Rebel Yell, but I found nothing when I searched my archives so…here we are reviewing the relatively newly renamed Rebel 100, a “defiantly smooth wheated bourbon” bottled at 100 proof and made by Lux Row Distillers of Bardstown, Kentucky.
This product does have a lineage greater than 150 years, and while I probably had the forerunner to the regular “Rebel” brand, Rebel 100 is a new label. They say it takes “everything you love about our Kentucky Straight Bourbon and dials it up.”
I noted that the color was a pale amber in the glass. They don’t have an age statement for this product, but I’d be surprised if it is even four years old. The aroma from it was light honey, vanilla, and a touch of oak. Taking a sip, I remember how astounded I was the first sip I took a few weeks previously…this whiskey truly is wonderfully sweet and smooth. It has notes of molasses and dried fruit up front, with a nice spiciness coming in after a few seconds, and a long, lingering finish that featured even more fruit sweetness.
This isn’t my favorite new find of the year, but at around $22/bottle, it is definitely a steal…an exceptionally easy drink neat and probably enough punch to hold its own in a cocktail.
SINGLE BARREL SELECTED BY KYLE BUSCH
After writing the above review, I started branching out to other expressions of Rebel, including the Single Barrel Selected by Kyle Busch, a 108 proof bourbon. The first time I tried it was at a gathering of other cigar smoking bourbon drinkers…and I liked it! Then I tried sipping it a week or two later and thought, “Wow…what was I thinking before?”
So I had to go at it one more time, because maybe something I had eaten that day messed with my palate. Turns out this Kyle Busch selected Bourbon is still very good, although not as good as a couple other expressions of Rebel that I’ve had the privilege to try. It seems a little young, so while it is sweet and shows off the wheat influence, it is also a little rough at times. I don’t hate this one, but there are other whiskies in the same price range (~$40-45) that I like better, so I probably won’t be revisiting it.
