Stone fruits | Cinnamon stick | Plum | Nutmeg | Mellowed oak | Vanilla bean | Floral undertone | Hot cross bun | Inviting

Honey | Raisin | Dry oak | Leather | Faint dried tobacco leaf | Currant | Baking spices | Baked apple

Cinnamon spice | Brown sugar | Light rye spice | Apple | Raisin | White peppercorn | Chewy aged oak | Light lingering spice & apple

Blade and Bow 12-Year-Old Solera Reserve is produced at the original site of the iconic Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. The original distillery closed its doors in 1992, and Diageo reopened the facility in 2014. Regarding the origins of the Blade and Bow name, it represents the two parts of a skeleton key, the blade shaft and the ornate bow. Diageo states that “The Blade and Bow brand is a tribute to the five keys that once hung on the door of the Stitzel-Weller Distillery,” which stands for the five steps of making bourbon – grains, yeast, fermentation, distillation, and aging.
Like the no age statement Blade and Bow Bourbon, the 12-Year-Old Solera Reserve also utilizes a solera method with a twist. For this release, the whiskey is aged for 12 years before going through what the company calls a multi-vat solera finishing and blending process. The finishing barrels used are four distinct wine casks, which are remingled before bottling. This marks the first time that the brand has explored releasing a finished bourbon.

The sip opens with an incredibly inviting aroma that features lush stone fruits, plum, and a floral undertone. Scents of cinnamon stick, nutmeg, vanilla bean, and hot cross bun add additional sweetness before the bourbon pivots to a more grounded midpoint. A focus of raisin, dry oak, leather, currant, and faint dried tobacco leaf lean into the bourbon's age and multiple finishing barrels. However, honey and a baked apple note provide a dash of sweetness to balance things out. Ending on a pleasing combination of flavors, the bourbon rides out on a wave of light lingering spice and apple.

While Blade and Bow 12-Year-Old Solera Reserve is finished in four different wine casks, the end result never comes across as being overly influenced by any single barrel. Instead, Nicole Austin, the Director of American Whiskey Liquid Development and Capabilities at Diageo, produced an extremely well-integrated sip that is downright excellent. The age of the bourbon pairs well with the finishing vats chosen, resulting in rich flavors that are delivered in easy-to-digest waves rather than a bombardment of flavor. While I find the standard Blade and Bow to be just an average bourbon, Blade and Bow 12-Year-Old Solera Reserve is anything but, and set at a reasonable price point, this is a bourbon that’s a downright win for consumers.