A friend suggested I try Legent, so I honored his request and picked up a bottle this week, and I’ll tell you I was not disappointed.
Legent is a rare beast. I suppose you could say that it follows new trends in flavor blending, but I think it goes to another level. It’s the brainchild of Jim Beams third generation Master Distiller Joe Noe, and Shinji Fukuyo, Suntory Whisky’s chief blender in Japan. This pour represents the marriage of two countries, two craft masters, and three barrels – the bourbon barrel (which allows it to be called bourbon) as well as finishing in sherry casks and aging in California red wine casks.
On the nose, the wine and the oak stand out, unmistakeably, but on the palette it’s the sherry that stands out to me, with hints of fruit, pepper and oak. On the finish, I got more traditional bourbon notes, like vanilla and cinnamon, but also a slight sense of grass, perhaps from the 12% rye that is a part of the mashbill, along with 76% corn and 10% malted barley.
Over ice, much of the fruit and ethanol bite faded, but the vanilla, pepper and cinnamon stood out, along with hints of plum. Overall, I really enjoyed the pour and look forward to the next occasion when a dram a Legent sounds good to me.
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Enjoy! 🥃