By Richard Thomas
Ranking: C
The Benchmark model was created within the late Nineteen Sixties by the Seagram Firm, the Canadian drinks large of the mid-to-late twentieth Century. From the beginning, it was envisioned as a premium bourbon. The slogan hooked up to it was to “Measure your bourbon in opposition to it.” Initially and for a very long time thereafter it was made on the Previous Prentice Distillery, now known as 4 Roses.
Sazerac acquired the model in 1989, a couple of years earlier than they purchased Buffalo Hint. So, for some time Benchmark manufacturing didn’t have its present residence on the banks of the Kentucky River. The identify was lately modified to McAfee’s Benchmark, in order to extra firmly tie the model to Buffalo Hint Distillery: James, George and Robert McAfee had been the frontier explorers who first surveyed the Buffalo Hint website in 1773.
Benchmark comes from Buffalo Hint’s Mash Invoice #1, and in most respects it is rather a lot a counterpoise to a different model Buffalo Hint makes, however doesn’t personal: Historical Age. Benchmark and Historical Age bear no age assertion, however is thought to be roughly three years outdated; the usual Benchmark is bottled at 80 proof; however it’s made with the mash invoice that’s reserved for merchandise owned by Sazerac itself, and never companions.
The Bourbon
A mirrored image of the youth of the whiskey is the colour, which isn’t full amber, however fairly not as darkish or intense, being extra like unpolished gold. The nostril is mild, with a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Sipping the bourbon brings on some hints of non-descript darkish fruits, caramel and a splash of barrel char. The end delivers a jolt of spice and wooden, however simply that jolt, and fades away swiftly.
The Value
In one other comparability, Benchmark beats Historical Age for worth. I routinely see it marked for a pair bucks decrease than Historical Age, and to get decrease than that worth level one is actually in rotgut territory, and this bourbon shouldn’t be rotgut. A bottle is commonly out there within the $15 to $20 vary, however I’ve seen it priced for as little as $11.
