I have been looking forward to getting my hands on Playboy Spirits’ Rare Hare 1953. Bottled at 55.5% ABV and priced at $639.99 This is a rich amber color, it promises genuine character.
Nose
This is a rich amber color. It forms a ring of very small droplets around the glass that take a very long time to fall. This is quite hot and almost unpalatable for me out of the bottle. I get heavy oak and tannin, a slight spice and tobacco, and a fruit quality that is so faint Im not sure if it is just from the nose. Watering this down certainly helps with the heat, but the oak is just too much for me. The addition of water makes this like licking a barrel that has had some caramel drizzled on it. The finish when diluted is just a heavy oak and tannin.
Palate
While pouring this it smelled like a Cinnabon. In the glass it smells like butter and brown sugar. It has a noticeable fruitiness with dried cherry and pineapple. There is a bit of vanilla and oak in there as well. I really enjoy how this smells. This was certainly not for me. I found it to be overly oaked and quite abrasive. As I said above I have never really been a big fan of bourbon that is aged for this long. I just think it takes on too much of the barrel. I recognize that there is a big market for old bourbon, and if you enjoy heavily oaked, overproof whiskey you might like this.
Finish
55.5% ABV. Straight bourbon aged a minimum of 17 years and finished in XXO Cognac barrels. This is a 1,953 bottle run. MSRP $639.99 Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by Whiskeyful or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.
The Bottom Line
Playboy Spirits’ Rare Hare 1953 is fine — not bad, not great, just fine. At $639.99 This is a rich amber color, I think there are better options in this range if you are willing to look around.
