Caramel | Sweet corn | Cinnamon | Rosemary | Lavender

Carmel | Vanilla | Sweet oak | Brown sugar

Orange rind | Cinnamon spice | Charred oak | Slight tannins

Eric LeGrand was a football player at Rutgers University. In October 2010, LeGrand sustained a spinal cord injury at his C3 and C4 vertebrae during a fourth quarter play at MetLife Stadium. Since that time, LeGrand has defied doctors, “shattering all expectations for his recovery and rehabilitation,” according to the company’s press materials. His jersey number was 52, and as a nod to it, the bourbon is proofed at 52% ABV. According to the company’s website, “$5.20 of every case sold is donated to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, supporting those living with and impacted by paralysis by finding the cure for spinal cord injuries.”

The bourbon opens with a rich and classic style aroma of caramel and sweet corn before adding in cinnamon and some light herbal elements. The palate also goes for a very traditional bourbon flavor profile, but it's the bourbon’s finish that offers up some uniqueness. Orange rind combined with cinnamon spice and charred oak with a touch of oak tannins helps elevate the sip.

Though no barrel designation is given on the label, I’d expect the company is shooting for a very traditional style of bourbon with small but meaningful uniqueness pop. It is definitely one of the better Green River Distillery single barrels in recent memory, as it combines the company’s brown sugar notes that dominated many of their first releases with some of the spicy pop we’ve seen in recent releases. Eric LeGrand Single Barrel Bourbon is simply an enjoyable, high quality single barrel through and through.