Here is something I have not reviewed in a while: a bourbon. My last bourbon review was posted all the way back in November 2022. That was a single barrel of 1792 bottled for Total Wine. Today I have for you something older, something in the genre that bourbon people refer to as “dusties”: bottles of older bourbon that sat around in stores for decades, gathering dust. This particular dusty is the 1985 release of Old Taylor. Rather than pretending that I know very much about the brand I am going to send you to the source of my sample to find out more about what may be in this bourbon. That source is Michael K. of the excellent Diving for Pearls blog (on the short list of the very best full-time whisky blogs still on the go). He has a head-to-head-to-head review of Old Taylor releases from 1985, 1987 and 1996 that goes into some detail into the history of the brand and the likely provenance of this whiskey and if you’re interested you should check it out. All I can tell you is what I think of it. Speaking of which…

Old Taylor 6, 1985 Release (43%; from a sample from a friend)

Nose: A very nice mix of butterscotch, orange peel, light caramel and black tea, stirred with a cinnamon stick and, er, a clove. Continues in that vein. A drop or two of water and the herbs from the palate come out to join the softer notes.

Palate: As indicated by the nose but there’s more oak here (not tannic in the slightest) and more cinnamon. Decent texture and bite at 43%. Spicier on the second sip and then with more time, more herbal (mint, sage). The cinnamon notes turn more mentholated with time and there’s some talcum powder as well. Water pushes the oak and spice back and pulls out more of the citrus peel.

Finish: Medium. Continues mostly in the vein of the palate with the oak and spice dimming with time. As on the palate with water.

Comments: I don’t know what the mashbill was but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was some wheat in there. Well, whether it’s the wheat or just that this sample came from a dusty bottle, this is not terribly corn-forward. And even the oak is not too talkative. Which is to say, it’s the kind of bourbon I really like.

Rating: 87 points.